SAO: Roleplay

"You're in Laughing Coffin," I growled. "I've read the reports from survivors. You wear the same mask. Like Zaza." The poison wore off, and I came to my feet.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head, "I had this mask made so that people wouldn't know what I looked like when I won. People would kill for the chance to speak to their families."

"And it just happens to match the design of Xaxa's mask?" I shot back. "Now it all makes sense, how you knew not to go on that route, told me right after my guild made it back to our base. You're one of them."

"You're jumping to a ridiculous conclusion!" I retorted, "Would you want to risk Laughing Coffin, or any other orange guild, finding out that you'd won this token thing?"

"You know what, forget it. It ain't worth listening to you lying to my face, so take your win and go." With that, I turned to leave.

"Ridiculous." I said, shaking my head.

Still upset, I headed back to the gate. I wanted out of here, away from this. I wasn't sure which had me upset more, the loss of a chance to talk to my parents, or that my first friend here in SAO was a red player. I admit, I had nothing concrete but somehow it seemed to make sense. I didn't see her that often, right around the same time that LC was on the rise. She used poison and paralysis, LC used poison and paralysis. Her mask looked the same as the ones worn by LC members for Christ's sake.

I sent PoH a short message telling him that I was going to turn in the redemption quest so that I could have peace of mind when I got the messages. The only reason I was saving it was so that I could still raid again, but with my only PvE friend, Tavi, now wanting nothing to do with me, there was no point.
Sat in my room of the inn, I opened my inventory, selecting "Token of the Messenger".
"Hiya mum," I said, "How are you all? I'm doing fine in here, and we're doing well, so I should be out sometime soon." I paused; now that I had the chance to speak to them, I didn't know what to say. "I love you."

I ended the message, and when prompted, filled out my mother's email. I knew she'd see the email. All I had to do now was wait for her to reply.

When we got back to our HQ, we all just.....went and did our own thing. The mood was pretty dower here, everyone upset at losing a chance to see our family again. Going up to my room, I shut the door behind me and went to my bed, mainly to sleep the day away.

<New Message>
I jumped at the ping, the dark room being lit up by the message window. There was a video instead of text, and I opened it.
My mum and my dad were both in what looked like a hospital, crying as they spoke.
"Thank God you're alright," My mum said, "We keep hearing about it when another person dies, and every time we think about you. Danny starts school this year, and he keeps asking where you are." She went quiet, she obviously had the same problem I'd had. "Stay safe, we love you."

I sat there in the dark, the video being instantly deleted out of my inbox.
Life's gone on without me, I thought, starting to truly hate Kayaba for what he'd stolen from me. But my mind went back to the start of the message.
"We keep hearing about it when another person dies," She'd said, and I felt cold, sick, scared and regretting my actions so much that it hurt. Then I remembered; Tavi's guild had come in second place, it had ended in duels of us and them, so that made them the target.

I messaged one of them, asking where Tavi was. They gave me the location of the guild's base, and tell me which way they went if they left. Changing armour from the browns I'd worn in the colloseum into a newly made set of white armour, complete with hood and cape, I sprinted for the teleport gate.

I would have slept, but there was a knock at my door. Groaning, I got out of bed and walked over, opening it to find Eduardo standing outside. "Hey," he said. "Listen, I know today was....well, terrible" --to which I grunted in agreement--"so we were thinking of going out, do some farming." He jabbed me in the shoulder and said "Take it out on some monsters."

Chuckling, I nodded and left the room with him, heading out with my guild for our favorite farming spot, outside the city and in the woods nearby.

I panting by the time I got the PM with their directions. It wasn't that far now, but I'd had to slow my pace thanks to exhaustion. It didn't take me long to find the guild building, and from there I could follow them exactly, I just had to hope I'd make it in time.

"So," Artemis started, which was another first, "you really think Astra was a member of Laughing Coffin?" Frowning, I kept walking as I said "Honestly.....no. I was just angry. Angry for losing, for losing a chance to see my folks. And I was even going to share the message with all of you, have one big greeting planned out for all our folks." Takashi smiled a little, thumping me on the shoulder and saying "We would have appreciated it man. But hey, we're halfway done with this game, we'll get to see them again soon."

That....somehow didn't seem true. I knew we'd see them again, but soon? Not likely at the pace we were going.

It was over in under two seconds. The three members of Laughing Coffin from the tournament had each thrown their picks at the same time, though they were wearing their own, personalised masks instead of copies of Xaxa's. The attack managed to take the Demons of Razgriz unawares. They stepped out of the trees, laughing.

We had walked into a trap, each of us paralyzed. Though if I knew Artemis.....she was our potion/poison expert and had managed to boost her resistance up pretty high. So if there was a chance for us, it was in her. Which was why she was staying still, not just because she still had a paralysis timer, but to let the LC boys get closer. "What's so funny, chickenshits?" I growled from where I was.

"We're gonna kill you and take your loot." Idolitrine said, "We saw you fighting, we're not taking chances." He raised an axe above his head, ready to kill one of the tanks.

I saw him raise the axe, and charged my lunge skill, dropping in under his weapon from his left flank. Eagle was first to react, swinging his weapon wildly at me. It was easy enough to dodge, but Idol was back up and attacking. My heart was racing; here I was outnumbered with four other lives on the line. I'd been a higher level than all of them, and as long as I could keep my defence up, I had a chance of winning.

The paralysis wore off for Artemis, and she rose to her feet with her dagger out and a look of fury on her face. Instead of attacking though, she backpedaled towards me, grabbing an antidote crystal from her belt and holding it over me, removing my paralysis. "Get the others," I said, getting up and grabbing my swords. "Hey, assholes," I shouted to the LC members as I charged my sword skill. "Remember this one?"

I blocked another strike from Idol and pulled my arm back, claws glowing. A single hit attack that did an enormous amount of damage, like throwing a punch with the claws. My arm shot forwards, striking him in the chest and reducing his HP to zero. I trusted that Tavi's guild could handle eagle, and turned to face Zasha, only to see him running. If he got away, Laughing Coffin would know... this, and I'd be a target. Zasha had seen this gear before, but he was the only one. The facemask would keep anyone else from telling, though.

I started running after him.

The guy I faced didn't even have time to draw their sword, as I unleashed the starburst stream attack on them. Over and over again, my attack hit them until there was barely an inch on them that wasn't glowing red, and they burst into pixels as their HP hit zero. Our savior ran after the one that retreated, and I thought about joining them, but I had a feeling they could handle it. Besides, my guild was recovering and they were my priority.

As soon as I was in range, I lunged, my attack knocking Zasha to the ground. He stumbled back to his feet and turned, drawing his sword.
"What the fuck!?" He demanded, "Why?"
"Because," I answered, "People are really dying in here, PoH lied."
"Yeah, and?" He replied, "Don't tell me you were dumb enough to believe that."
I felt my throat tighten, I'd considered Zasha a friend, and here he was admitting that he'd known the truth the whole time.

I didn't speak to him again, and after the fight had ended I walked back towards town, making sure my face was properly covered. I wanted to just disappear.

Our guild was safe......for what good it did us. We had come so close to death, only to be saved by someone. Someone who was using claws.....and that fact was enough to make me smile a little. "Everyone good?" I asked. Takashi groaned and said "Aside from wounded pride? Yeah, peachy."

I passed Tavi's group without a word, my claws hidden under my cloak. I was headed for the teleport gate in town. I was going to the front lines, where I could die with at least trying to help others.

As our savior passed us by, I turned and jogged after them. "Hey, wait a minute!" I called after them.

I ignored Tavi as he ran towards me. With my face covered, he wouldn't be able to tell it was me until I spoke. I'd rather he thought I was dead already; it was better that way.

"Would you please stop, we just want to thank you!" I called out again, running now to try and circle her, get in front.

I ignored him again, sidestepping his attempt to block me. I only needed to keep this up until the teleporter, and then I could vanish.

I could have grabbed them.....but what would that have accomplished. So instead, just to test something.....I opened my message menu, selected Astra, and sent her a quick message.

Tavi wrote:

Thank you.

I didn't open the message, pretending like it wasn't there and passed Tavi without another glance.

"Have it your way," I shouted back to her, not in anger just.....frustration. Turning back to my friends, it looked like we were ready to move out and head back home.

April 26th, 2024
Floor: 60

As of now, anybody who'd known me thought I'd died, apart from my information brokers, to whom I'd sold dungeon locations, monster strategies, boss rooms and other information that would keep people alive. I'd bought a large house on the floor below, having nothing else to spend my col on. As much as I'd tried, I hadn't died after saving Tavi, and after I came to my senses, I'd decided it was better to help the current survivors. I'd been seen, of course, and I'd come to the aid of most of the important clearers at one point or another, and I'd been given a new title; The White Tiger, thanks to the hood that'd dropped from a field boss with the shape of a giant Sabertooth tiger, and the fact that I used claws.

So, our guild had actually grown a bit. With the news that I had a unique skill like Duel Wielding, dozens of swordsman and info brokers soon began crowding outside our HQ, just to demand I tell them how I got the skill. My answer was always the same: I didn't know. Honestly if I knew, I would have gladly shared.

But in all that, some good came out of the harassment: we got several new members who were less interested in my skill, and more interested in joining one of the top clearing guilds in SAO. It wasn't all good from the start though, since our HQ wasn't big enough for all the new people. Bright side was that with so many people going out on quests and filling the guild's coffers, we didn't have to wait long before being able to purchase a larger place to operate from and live in. I never heard from Astra again though, despite sending her messages. She was still in my friends list, still listed as alive, and it gave me some hope we might see each-other again.

But hope was for tomorrow, and I was knee-deep in the trenches of today.

I approached my contact in the main town of this floor. Irinad, a large city made of grey stone. It felt almost military, especially when a group of NPC guards passed. I handed over the map of the floor labyrinth, along with the name of the boss, to them, only accepting a fraction of the price most explorers would charge.

One of today's problems, was Laughing Coffin. Three members may have been killed, but that still left plenty of them out there to kill players. It got to the point, that the top guilds, mine included, rallied together to put an end to them once and for all. We were sending messages to eachother, making plans on how to deal with them but first.....we needed a location on their main HQ, since it certainly wasn't in any of the cities. They would have stuck out.

With my job done, I left for home. I only joined the raids solo, and a lot of the time that meant that I couldn't get in, if they had more than six parties of people. Maybe I should find a new group? Some who didn't know me? As I headed for the teleport gate, I stopped at the inn, thirsty. Inside were the top clearing guilds, talking about Laughing Coffin, and how they would deal with them.

The leaders and I were all meeting in an inn (in an inn......confusing to say, ain't it?), a circle of us around a table. There was Heathcliff of the Knights of the Blood, the leader of the Holy Dragon Alliance, Aincrad Liberation Army......and yours truly of course. "Do we have any idea of where Laughing Coffin may be set up?" the head of HDA asked. Heathcliff shook his head, saying "No, they're not in any of the cities or out in the open. We have to assume they're in a dungeon."

"Yeah, but which?" I asked. "If they're in a dungeon, that's about fifty-nine main dungeons and dozens of smaller ones throughout Aincrad, and send people out to search them all would take too long, and waste time we need to use clearing the game." A few nodded, even Heathcliff, who then stood and said "Dealing with Laughing Coffin is the priority, but they must be dealt with swiftly. So the finding of their HQ, must be equally swift."

I could... tell them. I thought hesitantly. I was already a murderer, but I wasn't sure if I could bring myself to sell Laughing Coffin out, some of them had been my friends. For now, I decided to order some food and sit at the back of the inn, pretty much out of sight. I had to remove my facemask to eat, but I kept my hood low. I just had to hope that the clearers were too wrapped up in talks about Laughing Coffin to notice me.

"Have our scouts found anything?" the leader of the ALA asked. "No," the HDA leader said. "Either they find nothing, or Laughing Coffin members kill them, but in so many different areas we can't pinpoint where."

They'd never find them without help, I knew, there were just too many dungeons. I finished my drink and stood up, equipping my mask again as I did, and walked back through the inn to the door.

"Would info brokers know?" the HDA leader asked. I curtly responded "Would info brokers risk getting on Laughing Coffin's bad side? Unless we can guarantee they won't be discovered, we have no way of getting information from an info broker."

"Try a member of Laughing Coffin." I said, my voice so muffled by the mask that I barely recognised it myself, and left, pushing the door open with my shoulder.

We all turned our heads to the source of the voice, but the door was already closed behind them. I was the first one out of my seat and after them, but something told me I wouldn't find them.

In the safety of my home, I again considered telling the clearers where Laughing Coffin were, but again I decided not to. With nothing to do, and not being all that tired, I started going through every menu in the User Interface, seeing if there was anything I'd missed out on, being so focused on playing all the time. In the settings list, I found something interesting; an online preference. It was hidden behind a few sub-options, but it was there. Flicking back to my friends list, where the name Zasha still sat, I realised that every player who had died was listed as offline.

Astra wrote:

I'm sorry.

I sent the message to Tavi, and promptly set my status to 'offline'. At this point, I'd cut ties with everyone else. Only one person knew my username, and that was my information broker, a man named Paroza, and he had agreed not to give my name away, on the condition that I gave my information to exclusively to him, and that I accept a discounted price.

Astra sent me a message, an apology but for what, I had no idea. And I couldn't respond, since she was offline. Was she dead? Or just.....going invisible? Praying for the latter, I headed back for the inn, back for the meeting.

---Timeskip, August 2024---

We finally gt a lead on Laughing Coffin's HQ, one of their own turning Judas for us. So a subjugation party was made, comprised of the best members of the clearing guilds and headed for one of the lower dungeons in Aincrad. Apparently, LC decided to set up shop in a safe zone there, and we were going to put an end to them, once and for all.

I'd done it about a week ago; my resolve finally breaking and my guilt helping to sell out the murderers who had been my friends. I'd PM'd Heathcliff himself, and given the location freely, save for the condition that I not be named or persecuted. It sounded selfish, but I wanted to be able to get others out of here. It wasn't going to bring back anyone I'd killed, it wasn't even going to come close to repaying my crimes, but it was better than dying or languishing in prison without even trying to make up.

Here, again, I was, my hand hovering over the send button, a PM warning PoH of the upcoming attack. I had just sold them out, yet here I was, ready to kill even more of the clearers; without the element of surprise, more of them were sure to die.

I sent it, and I was knocked sick from the wave of regret.

As we made our way through the dungeon, a number of our party were so tense it was a palpable thing. Heck, I was among them. Laughing Coffin was not a group to toy with lightly, and here we were walking into the lion's den. We were all high level players.....but so were they.

I was not among the main force of the crusaders. I was lagging behind, not in any party, hood and mask pulled tight, the tiger's fangs lining the top of my face. Astra had vanished completely now, everyone but my informant, and now Heathcliff, believing she'd died. Tonight, the PKer "Banshee" was going to disappear. A few I couldn't name anyway, so my own identity wasn't obviously hidden.

I didn't know why I was here. I didn't want to fight any of Laughing Coffin, or any of the cleares, who Tavi was among. Maybe I just wanted to see the suffering I'd caused by playing both sides, or maybe I hoped I'd die here for real.

We were getting close now, and as per the plan we paused to drink our potions, some of them supplied by Artemis herself. They were all mainly poison resistance potions, since my guild shared the knowledge that LC enjoyed using poison and paralysis. It wasn't until we got to moving again.....that it happened. We walked into an ambush, and they were on us, all of them cackling with mad glee.

A dozen cloaked figures holding swords, axes, daggers and cleavers came leaping down from an upper level towards us, and it was only the laughter of one of them that gave their surprise away. We barely had time for me to cry out "Ambush!" before they landed in our midst, cutting down three of our party. And then the fight began when our own party retaliated.

I was hidden at the back of the cave, which had been where I'd sat reading during my stay here. It was unlikely anybody would see me here, even though I wasn't hidden. I wondered whether or not the clearers could win, and whether I'd killed all of them, or if I'd only doomed Laughing Coffin.

Engaging my own madman, he and I locked swords as the people around us clashed. There was a mad gleam in his eyes that matched that toothy grin, and he kept lunging at me, trying desperately to run me through with his sword. My duel blades parried each blow, but he was fast enough to not give me an opening to counter-attack. In the corner of my eye, I saw my guild's HP bars, showing they were still alive. There was a shower of pixels from the side, someone dying but who I had no idea.

Parrying his next lunge, I used the movement to spin and ram my other blade into his back, the point of the sword running him through. His arms flew out in pain, and my second sword joined the first, killing him then. Exploding in a shower of pixels, he died.

I stood watching the fighting, and I recognised most of the people here, both from Laughing Coffin or the clearers. I saw Tavi kill a member of Laughing Coffin, but I couldn't see who it had been. This was my fault. I dropped down from my hiding spot, and took the legs out from under a member of Laughing Coffin with a sweeping kick, slamming my claws into his chest once he was down.