Snow

Snow, unfortunately, lacked the clothing options to settle into something more conformable. Those remained in the storage trunk of her room at the Inn. However, the light hoodie, blue shirt, and base layer leggings she wore afforded plenty of comfort for the time being. She followed Mari to the kotatsu in the corner and took a seat on the tatami floor. Snow oddly preferred sitting on the floor. When she was young, her parents struggled to afford fancy furniture or even a home that would fit much at all. Her fondest memories were sitting on the floor with her back against the small love seat couch and her dad's legs draped over her shoulders. As Mari poured tea for her, the blonde started to feel the numbness of the cold melt away and with it, a sense of security. She began to understand why some choose to visit the redhead and escape from their problems.

"Thank you." Snow again nodded her head with thanks before taking the tea in two hands and sipping gently from the warm rim of the cup. "Delicious. And lovely chinaware, too."

She looked around the cottage one more time, pausing to admire the cold outdoors while feeling warm and safe inside. "Sounds like you enjoy helping others..."

Snow kept her focus outside as small, round birds jumped from branch to branch. Their tiny bodies pushed the delicately balanced powder off and to the ground below. 

"Was it always that way?" The question came from the girl in a tone of innocence. She remembered that her own circumstances weren't always as selfless as they were today. "Until recently, I only worried about myself."

@Mari

The pointed reply fell flat on Snow's ears. They all wanted to get out. In a way... she realized her reasons were no different, just a different flavor than vanilla. The mention of goals outside of the game piqued the girl's interest. She tried to think of what her goals were years ago, but she struggled to bring it to view. The normalcy of day to day then seemed so foreign now. She knew she took it for granted the first few days inside the Nervegear. And now, since venturing out, the only normal was overcoming a new challenge every day; such as this one.

"Well, I can relate." Snow stated. She turned her attention toward the task at hand. So far, nothing stood out to her. "You said you wanted to finish pursuing some goals once you get out..."

Snow hung on the end of those words. She didn't know her company very well. To assume she could pry would be rude.

"I used to be an exchange student." Snow diverted the conversation. She felt sharing her own story would cause less conflict. "Came to Japan from overseas. Have you heard of the Czech Republic?"

Snow knew she what she shared was personal. Most players found it taboo to divulge personal information inside SAO. In a more normal scenario, that would make sense. Since Snow knew no one was logging out any time soon to look her up online, stalk her, attack her, or whatever real world consequence, it made no sense to her to withhold that kind of information. If she'd share it in-person, why not here? Here was the new "in-person". It might be the last "in-person".

"I was born there." Snow continued. "My parents worked hard for me to go to school and pursue my goals. They sent me to Kyoto for a better education and a chance to get the attention of a big name studio."

Snow ran her fingers through her hair and over her ear to stop the tickle of some rogue strands.

"Me? I'm not sure how this will change all that if I get out." She didn't pay any heed to the word she used; a more pessimistic option to some.

@Galilea

Snow nodded at Mari's gesture and followed the footprints left by her small feet. The place seemed smaller up close, but the smaller footprint likely kept the roof from collapsing from the layers upon layers of powder atop its roof. Snow remembered having to climb on the roof with her parents as a kid to help shovel it clean after several days of snowfall or a particularly bad storm. She smiled at the thought and shook her head solemnly. She felt silly thinking a mechanic like that would exist in a fantasy world like this.

"No worries," Snow assured. "I like small. It's more cozy and personal. Reminds me when I was a kid."

As she entered, Snow bowed her head to Mari -- a custom she adopted and instinctively performed from her time in Japan. The interior didn't impress, but the warmth and quaintness of it brought ample peace and comfort. Snow noticed the small table with room for two at best. The kotatsu also seemed small, but adequate for one or two. The blonde made way to the middle of Mari's humble cottage and turned to her. She felt the next question on her mind out of place, but decided to ask regardless. 

"You don't get very many visitors, do you?" Asked Snow. She felt rude the moment the final word left her lips.

"Shame," she tried to correct. "It's a hidden gem."

A short, nervous laugh followed.

"Thank you for inviting me."

Rewards:

+1 SP
+3 Quest SP
+1 Quarantine SP

1,000 Col

+1 T1 Material

+Extra Skill: <<Concentration>>

When Snow arrived back to town, the event of the day still lingered in her mind, but the result stood stronger in the forefront. Snow learned a lot about herself today. She shed some of her weakness and donned new strengths. Above all, she acquired a new skill to help her carve a future for the rest of the players still clinging on to the hope of a long life. In her hands she held a familiar spear, but it took on a different form. It's weight felt heavier with the responsibility left behind to her. 

She halted in the archway to the town and paused to reflect. The road ahead was filled with uncertainty and the road behind her filled with sorrow. Forward was the only option.

"You look pretty strong." A hooded figure approached Snow and offered a simple challenge.

"%$#^ off..." spat the girl. She mounted the spear upon her back and made way to the central hub.

The light on the horizon peeped through the trees. Snow neared the town she originally departed this morning. As she neared her objective, she kept her senses open for any lucky chances at further items she could use. As she looked carefully about her, Snow started to feel normal again. Memories of Daire and Opal had returned to the back of her mind. Although their loss still pained her deeply, she felt a sense of resolution from the quest. In a way, it allowed her to face her fears and doubts. She noticed a more confident stride in her step. The armor on her body felt more comfortable and less foreign. The fit of the spear in her hands felt more like a tool than a deadly weapon.

Snow began to settle into her role. She began to accept the will of a survivor. She wanted to prove to herself and to her friends that it all wasn't for naught.

Feeling better, the lancer decided to continue gathering. Later, she could relax in her shop on the fourth floor and cook. Cooking always brought a calm to Snow and she felt even more relieved when thinking of the joy it brought other. She thought of the fun she had back in Japan with her college friends. They would frequent the local cafes and occasionally pitched in for barbecue. Her favorite was being able to cook and eat together at the table. She remembered always letting someone else take the last piece of meat even when she was still hungry.

Speaking of hunger, the blonde continued her search for usable ingredients while she doubled back to town. Mostly sticks, weeds, and dead leaves filled her view. Not even the sound of possible prey sounded. The silence began to bother her. So, Snow softly started to hum to herself. Quietly, as to not disturb a potential ingredient in her restaurant.

Snow's mind wandered. She kept thinking about her purpose. She kept thinking about what she would do on Aincrad to continue on the legacy left behind for her. The foliage of the forest she walked past became a blur. The blonde focused inward instead of toward location a trash mob to hunt for ingredients. A small, high pitched squeal snapped her back to reality. Nearby, a bush rustled. Tiny grunts and snorts sounded from the shadows beneath as it shook. The blonde removed the spear from her back and readied a strike. Concentration was it?

She narrowed her field of view where she believed it to be hiding. She could only hear it, not see it. Cardinal seemed to take over and she felt the tip of her spear hone in on a specific area. With a quick thrust, she heard the squeal again. Retracting her polearm, she found a <<Pygmy Boar>> impaled on its tip. Snow felt a small rush of excitement. The little trash mob was well known for savory barbecue, especially when sliced thin for things like yakiniku, and hot pots.

Snow accepted the boon and added the cooking material to her inventory.

She rose up and dusted herself off. She had to carry on for all of them. She place Sif's Needle on her back, held by whatever physics the game deemed appropriate. Snow decided she would make the most of the day. With her new skill, she decided to try it out on a lower level trash mob. The forested area The Gemini took her consisted mostly of these small creatures and had become a popular spot for players to collect ingredients. If lucky, they could find a Ragout Rabbit, a rare ingredient used to craft a particularly helpful meal. Despite the stat perks, players raved about the amazing flavors once prepared by a high enough level chef.

Snow dabbed at the corners of her eyes to relieve any moisture that had resided after her confrontation. 

Refreshed to the best of her ability. Snow set out to find a target. After all that, it had better been worth it.

Snow let out a deep sigh of relief and collapsed where she stood. She cupped her face and focused on her steady, slow breaths. She needed to ground herself. For a game, it immersed everyone into a second reality. It almost always felt like this had become her new reality. Years inside this prison, the she could barely if at all tell the subtle differences of a real smell versus a simulated one. The breeze here felt just like the warm winds in her old apartment. There, her body lay numb and limp. Here, she had control, could feel, see, taste.

The pounding in her chest began to calm.

Sword Art Online was supposed to be an escape -- a game to take a load off from the real world. Right now, Snow wished she could find an escape from this world. If Kayaba put more sinister tricks in the system compared to this one, she doubted she would have the fortitude to handle it. Then, she remembered her words.

A weary face emerged from her hands. She took a breath and reached for her spear to help her lift off the ground.

Right beside the first, Snow noticed the similar broad leaf patter and quickly scored the second of the five needed quest items. She accepted it into her inventory and turned back to Galilea.

"Well, my room mate." Snow raised the corner of her lips into a forced smile. "Some people aren't here anymore."

The brightness in her tone faltered. The effort to remain positive reflected in her expression but to a keen eye, they would see the painted lie over the truth beneath. Snow stepped closer to Galilea but knelt beside her to inspect a rounded bush and the plump, red berries contrasted against deep greens.

"For them, you know?" Snow trailed off. Her slender fingers pinched a leaf between thumb and index. "It would be selfish to not carry on for them. Those dreams, goals, memories..."

Snow smiled to the plant. Her mind replayed tender moments which flooded her with happiness and added weight to her heart. She turned to the senior of the two of them.

"What about you?" Snow asked. Her blue eyes sparkled bright with withheld tears and a crafted smile conveyed vulnerable warmth.

@Galilea

Snow giggled at Mari's play of words. She didn't expect such hospitality from an acquaintance, moreso from someone with a public history floating ominously above their head. Still, for someone with a checkered past, Snow found Mari exceptionally open and receptive. Despite the blonde's trusting personality, the small voice in the back of her head warned her. Any day could be her last, and any player could put a knife in her back out here -- colored marker or not.

"You don't have to," Snow politely began, "but that does sound lovely."

Above all the caution and instinctual warning, Snow yearned deep down for her anchor. She yearned for that pillar of support she found in Daire and felt that promise of companionship in her new acquaintance. Of all the players the blonde met, nearly half had taken a life and bore their sin to bare for all to see. To Snow, she looked past the obvious and searched for the person under the label. Even the worst of them all had reason for their actions. Sometimes those reasons were as simple as not believing the threat of death was real. And to Snow, she understood that kind of coping. Even for those players with hands thickened in the blood of actual people's lives, she couldn't help but see the fear and anxiety of a person under the false confidence of digital numbers. No one wanted to die. And those that did...

"Are you sure I'm not being a bother?" Snow spoke to divert her thoughts. "I'd hate to have you feel obligated."

@Mari

Snow had heard of a famous artisan on the first floor. It took some asking around, but she finally found herself in front of a humble little shop. The greenery in front of the shop caught the girl's eyes first. Her love for nature and the care given to the plants already made Snow a fan. As she approached, a woman sipping tea sat on the steps with a journal in hand. The blonde approached her quietly as not to rudely interrupt, but softly did just that with a few words.

"Hi, miss," Snow's voice stayed soft and courteous. "I heard there was someone here that might be able to fashion a ring for me."

Snow moved her fingers to access a quick menu presenting an image and description of the item.

"I don't have much, but I hope 550 col might be enough?"

@NIGHT

The young blonde felt very uncomfortable on the high floors. The jeers and glares of much more menacing and experienced players pressured her to turn around and go to a more appropriate floor. However, she overheard of a blacksmith of great renown that worked for front line players. If she could get a piece of his masterwork, maybe she would stand a better chance as she leveled in the floors below. After following the tips she gathered from several players and coy eavesdrops, she stopped in front of a building surrounded by raw ores and minerals scattered about. Many of them simply too large to move and fixed in place by the owner. Confident, Snow strode through the door and toward the counter.

"Hello!" she chimed. "I was hoping you could make something for me? I have plenty of materials to compensate you for your time and effort..."

The questioned contained nothing but respect and genuine interest for the master blacksmith. She had a quick message prepared just for the occasion and summoned it on display for the smith. With it, the offer for eight crafting materials.

@Oikawa

Order 1:

Order 2:

"Alright." Snow planted the butt of her weapon beside her. "You're free to go."

Her reflection looked up with reddened eyes. The pity Snow felt was almost as unbearable as the pain it caused her. The red of its HP bar halted shy of the final pixel and the scars across its avatar mended. The gemini rose from the ground to compose itself. 

"Very good," its voice reverted to when Snow met it. "Compassion, resolve, forgiveness..."

"I don't forgive you," Snow interrupted. "Just get on with it and get out of here."

"Very well." The NPC held out its hand and a menu appeared for Snow to accept. She plainly took its offer of the <<Concentration>> skill. How apt. "You've bested me through your sheer focus and determination. May this skill serve you well for what's to come."

An ominous message from a horrid quest giver. On its last word, a column of light akin to a player teleport removed it from Snow's sight.
 

In a last ditch effort to preserve itself, the image of Snow's failures dug its spear deep into her chest. The girl felt a numbness in her breast that already lingered from the memory of her losses. The few ticks of lost health replenished and the spearwoman never broke focus on her reflection.

"I'm sorry, let me go! Please!" The words were just programming. Dialogue to round out some reality to the game. 

Snow snarled and slammed her spear through the NPC's thigh and into the earth beneath. The gemini howled in pain and began to softly weep. It's body heaved. Red polygons freely spilled from its avatar.

"I'm going to finish this." The stern words followed the removal of the copy's weapon from her chest. As she watched the reflection of herself suffer, unable to fight back, and engrossed in the acceptance of its fate, Snow felt her malice pull away.

The image at her feet. The red bar above its head slowly diminished. It's imitation weeps embracing the end.

Snow saw into the possible future in this moment. The sight before her briefly called the memory of Daire. Was this how she felt in the end? Is this what Snow would feel in the end?

"You win..." Words slipped through damp sobs.

"What a cruel quest, Kayaba..."

"If I don't, someone else will die," Snow spoke, eyes red from her relapse into sealed trauma. She looked into the imitation of herself and saw weakness. The young woman lifted the blade from it and red pixels flowed forth to the forest floor. Fate, as it were, sunk into the copy. Mathematically, it knew its fate as did Snow. In these next fleeting moments, it would continue to bleed until it vanished forever. Unlike her friends, Kayaba's cruel invention of a quest would populate once more to prey on another player.

It sickened her.

"So many people will die. All because of one twisted man." Snow walked up to her copy. It held out a hand as though to stop her and Snow drove her spear through its palm.

"Please, I don't want to die," it spoke. "I give up."

"You don't get to decide that!" Snow shouted to it, but she hoped her words would carry to its creator.

"I have to..." Snow spoke. She pushed forward and knocked the Gemini to its back. She threw its spear back to it as she rose to her feet. The blonde looked down upon it with pity. She looked at herself on the floor. She felt pity for her past, for her inability to act. Snow rose her weapon.

"I have to... for the both of us." Resolve filled her words -- words spoken only to herself.

"Please," the imitation begged.

The blonde shook her head with a scowl and buried Sif's Needle deep between the metal plating where her stomach was exposed. The mimic's health bar dipped and slowly drained. 

"I should have done this sooner..." Snow spoke. She watched the copy feign a pained expression and clutch the object that invaded its innards. Pinned and powerless, Snow began to understand. She understood what the result of her inaction meant. She understood what Daire felt as she faced the end. She understood her resolve.

"Hey Snow..." The beginning of that message began to read out from its permanent etching in her mind. "I have some news about Last_Chance..."

"Well, if you're going to sit there..." Her copy began to charge. Snow could hear the footsteps. She felt despair seize her muscles.

"She didn't make it... The floor boss... I'm sorry. If you need anything..." The thought trailed off. Her senses dulled. She felt as though the forest faded away to that girl alone in the white room. Safe, alone, content not leaving.

"Listen," Daire's voice echoed in the room. "I know you're scared, but I can't just sit here and wait while others are out doing something to get us all out of here. I'm going to go help. We owe it to ourselves and everyone trapped in here with us. If you want to stay here, I understand. Just, keep in touch okay? I'll keep visiting. I just want to make sure you're okay."

Snow's heart felt like breaking all over.

"But if something happens to me. If I don't make it..."

"Daire, no. Please! Don't say that!"

"If I don't make it, you have to get out of here for both of us. Whatever that takes. You have to go back for the both of us."

Snow clenched her teeth. The drumming of feet neared. She shot her hand up and grabbed Gemini's spear. Fire burned in her eyes filled with tears as she thrust a counter-blow into the artificial duplicate.

The shadow took advantage of Snow's footing and the girl felt a numbness in her back. She felt her weight forced further into the tree. She swung behind her to retaliate but only found leaves, branches, and air.

"Hey Alyssa, I heard about this new game I'd like you to try," echoed Daire's voice in her mind. "I did a little work for them in the early design stages."

Snow finally found the round length buried in her back and uprooted it from her with a quick spin. The maneuver dropped her to the ground, tangled in underbrush.

"I don't think I can do this." Snow remembered her words to Daire after they learned of being trapped. "I can't do this."

"Giving up already?" teased her reflection.

"Stop," Snow begged. She knew she wasn't in danger. She knew it couldn't hurt her, but it tore open old wounds she thought healed.

"Please stop..." The words weren't for anyone but herself. She knew where these memories lead.

"Are you afraid to face what you've done?" The gemini's words in her own voice crawled beneath the girl's skin. She didn't do anything. She didn't do...

"SHUT UP!" She screamed. Snow blindly charged again.

As her feet pounded into the dead leaves and damp soil below, memories of Daire's smile flooded her thoughts. Opal sat in her relaxed and confident pose and took a sip from a beer that would never get her drunk. The image of a single rose left beside a black slab of scratched out names. Finally, a room of white with one girl stood in the middle, she smiled blissfully. She was alone. She was isolated. She was Snow.

The gemini moved to avoid Snow. It cleared the brunt of her attack but the momentum of her charge slammed them into one another. Snow lost her footing, tripped into the bushes on the perimeter of the clearing, and prevented a fall with the help of a tree's trunk.

The copy tried to strafe away from the previous blow only to be met with the blunt length of Snow's weapon. The loud echo of metal against the helmet they both wore resounded in the woods around them. The shadow staggered and Snow broke her advance.

"I know you're just a piece of code," Snow spoke, her tone still sharp. "But I hate that you're me. I hate that I'm fighting you. I hate that this is how this quest goes."

The mimic looked up with its hand against the side of its head. Again it grinned and made Snow sick to her stomach. 

"What, you can't face yourself?" It chided. The words bit into Snow despite knowing all of this was scripted or programmed by some advanced AI.

"Stop talking," the blonde warned. Her racing thoughts of guilt, cowardice, and longing took the forefront of her mind. "You don't know me. You wouldn't understand what I've been through! This is such a cruel thing to do, Kayaba!"

Her words rang out into the depths of the woods for no one to hear. 

Snow rose the tip of her spear level to the gemini, eyes harsh and focused. Her foes grip tightened on the shaft of an identical weapon but lacked the resolve only a player could exhibit. It saw its original advance and moved to impale her. Snow pressured the middle of the shaft with a clockwise motion of her palm as the two lengths of metal collided. They sang against one another, but the motion Snow forced into her weapon wrapped and repelled the copy's defensive thrust.

The weapon's tip bit into the shoulder of the gemini. A tick of health fell from the bar above its head.

Thought she felt the blow firmly connect, this imitation also shared her heavy armor. Snow knew she wasn't meant for offense and it showed. She needed to be exact. She needed to target the openings in the armor. There, she knew she would find the upper hand.

Snow broke away and twisted, swinging the spear high for a blow to the head.

Both parties stepped apart. Snow took the distance to clutch her neck, but the spill of red polygons halted. A faint green aura lingered on her hand. The blonde tried to make a noise and felt immediate relief to hear her own voice. It absolved her panic to the point she forgot the tingle of damage vanished entirely from her body. She caught a glimpse of motion in the corner of her HUD as the few ticks of missing health slowly replenished.

"Regeneration..." mumbled the girl. She had become so absorbed in the shock of her reflection, elements of the game slipped her mind. The stress and panic melted away further.

"What?!" Cried her copy. "How?!"

Snow turned up her gaze and straightened her posture. The stiffness relaxed out of her stance and a cold, calculated calm settled into her expression. 

"This is just a game." Those words slipped through soft lips with the sharpness of a dozen blades.

"Weak, just like you," mocked the copy. It lifted itself from the ground, butt of the shaft connecting with Snow's chin. 

She staggered back from the force of the blow. A slight tingle filled her head conveying the depth of the damage, but the second, intense numbness that followed in her throat forced her back further. From her neck poured glowing red chips of digital blood. Less disturbing than actual blood, Snow's mind heightened with the gravity of the blow. Wild, azure eyes burned and fixed on the imitation.

"How does that feel?" Her copy assumed an aggressive stance with lance held high. A sinister grin spread across its face, voice no longer skewed by Snow's cleaving blow.

The girl opened her mouth to reply. She swore her lips formed the words, but no sound resonated in her ears. The blow robbed her of her voice and the pace of Snow's heart quickened. Her only option spurred another strike from Sif's Needle. The blow came wide and fierce, blunted by the copy's parry. Snow pressed her weight into the follow though and marred the metal plating across her doppelganger's chest.