Equis Art Online II

Twilight Sparkle sighed and turned back to her work. It was late at night. Almost midnight. She sighed and looked out the window. The stars twinkled, and she smiled to herself. The moon shone brightly over Ponyville. Ever sine Starlight Glimmer's defeat, she had been assaulted by the endless amounts of free time. She had never had this much time to spare. Her copy of Legends of ALfheim was now well-worn, and taped together in several places. She smiled and thought of her friends in Equestria, but her thoughts eventually settled on the friends she had made in the human world.

"Three weeks." She said to herself. "Three weeks since I left the human world and ALfheim. I wonder..."

She turned back to the DimGear rig given to her by Akihiko Kayaba. The once bright blue LED was now shining red. She frowned, and turned back to the papers on her desk. She sighed and stacked them neatly. Then, she smiled and pulled open a desk drawer. Inside was a well-worn book. The gold typing on the cover was still bright and new. Legends of ALfheim, volume II. She opened the book and memories washed over, memories of her time in ALfheim Online. She remembered taking down her first boss, the quests she had done, all the fun she had. Until one day the DimGear device notified her that once she returned to Equestria, she would no longer be able to return. She left Kazuto and Asuna, along with all the friends she made, back on Earth, and she returned. After battling Starlight Glimmer, she was now sending letters to her daily about her progress. She opened the most recent letter and began to reread it.

"Twi?"

Twilight turned to look at Spike, who was walking up with a book in his hands.

"What's up, Spike?"

"I found this in my comic book box. I thought you might want to see it."

Twilight took the book and looked at the cover. A bright silver Legends of Underworld was typed on the cover. Twilight skimmed the book, and after around ten minutes, she closed it.

"Hmm. This is interesting. If I ever go back to the human world, I might have to show this to Kiri...I mean, Kazuto. He'll probably know what this means."

Spike nodded and walked back upstairs. Twilight placed her pen back in the inkwell and turned off the lamp. She smiled and walked to bed. As she did, the book shone in the moonlight.

====================================================================================================

Kazuto Kirigaya looked back at his watch, turning his gaze from his computer screen.

"Midnight. Wow, time really can fly!" he laughed quietly, careful not to wake Alice and Sugu, who were sleeping. He smiled and looked pulled up his shirt, revealing a small scar from a syringe. He frowned at the wound he received form Atsushi Kanamoto, the third Death Gun, now in prison. He pulled his shirt down and looked at the ground. He was thankful for the time he spent in Underworld, and the opportunity to meet Alice and...

"Eugeo." he sighed, shedding a tear for his fallen friend. He wiped his eyes and sat up, turning his gaze to a photo of Twilight's last day in the human world. They had thrown a party for her at the Dicey cafe. He looked at the photo with a smile. Twilight had so much fun in the human world. He missed her quite a bit.

"Three weeks since Twilight left. Three weeks since Underworld." he said quietly. He turned off the computer monitor, and he flopped into bed. He sighed fondly at the photo of Asuna on his nightstand. He was about to got to sleep, when the door opened slight. Alice looked in, with a concerned look.

"Alice, what's wrong? Can't sleep?"

"You could say."

Alice walked in and sat herself down on the computer chair. Kazuto smiled at the Humanoid AI, who smiled back.

"You doing okay? I mean, ever since we left Underworld, you and Asuna have been spending a lot of time together."

"Yeah. You could say that. Thing is, ever since Underworld, I've wanted to be with her more. Since she had to go without me for a while, i wanted to...you know, make up for lost time. I really missed her, and her logging into Underworld to be with me, well, that was really a blessing. It just boils down to the fact that I really like, and want to, spend time with her."

"I see. I guess I can see what you mean. And I respect that." Alice said. "You know, I finally understand now."

"You understand what?" Kazuto asked, curious.

"i understand that you will always be with Asuna, that the two of you will always be there for each other. I know we've had many memories in Underworld together, but what happened in Underworld should stay in Underworld. I really understand now that Asuna and you, well, you're meant to be together." Alice said, turning away slightly.

"Thanks, Alice. Even though you're an AI, I think you're one step closer to being human. Maybe now, you should try to get some sleep. I'm rather tired." Kazuto said, flopping back into his bed. Alice smiled and walked out, back into Suguha's room. Lying down on a sleeping bag, she smiled, and her eyes closed.

====================================================================================================

Asuna Yuki watched as the moon shone through the window. She turned and looked over at the photo of Kazuto on her nightstand. She picked it up, and smiled at the image.

"Mommy?"

Asuna turned to her phone, now resonating with the voice of Yui.

"Are you okay? I'm a bit worried."

"I am a little worried, Yui. I mean, we spent the whole day together. And I'm glad we did, I had a lot of fun, but I'm a little scared."

"Why, mommy?"

"Kirito almost died protecting me from that Death Gun. I mean, I was so scared, I couldn't do anything. If anything like that were to occur again, I don't know..."

"Asuna?"

Asuna looked at her dad standing in the doorway, with a concerned look.

"Is something wrong?"

"Something is, dad. Kirito almost died right in front of me. I don't know if I can get over that." Asuna said.

Shouzou nodded and sat down next to her, and he placed his arm around her.

"You know, when you were trapped in Sword Art Online, I was afraid you wouldn't remember me."

"Really?" Asuna said, shocked.

"Yes. When I found out Sugou was holding you captive, he quickly turned that against me. I wanted my daughter back. Sugou wanted a...well, you know. I'm to disgusted to say it."

Asuna nodded, seeing what he meant.

"When Kazuto told me what he saw him do to you, I was more than shocked. Truth be told, I was ready to kill him. Kazuto convinced me to call the police instead, and he gave me Sugou's location. Now, I think that I did the right thing. The police were initially reluctant to charge Sugou with again, you know, but I convinced them otherwise. They were completely ready to charge him with attempted murder and kidnapping, however."

"Dad..." Asuna said, shedding tears.

"Don't cry, Asuna." Shouzou said, hugging her tight. "It's all over."

Asuna cried more and sighed, letting her grief go. After a few minutes of crying, Asuna stopped.

"There, there. Everything's okay." Shouzou said, gently breaking the hug.

"I know, Dad. I just don't want to lose Kirito again."

"He won't desert you, nor you desert him. I know that." Shouzou said, hugging her again.

"Thanks, Dad." Asuna said.

"It's alright, Asuna. See you in the morning. You should get some sleep. By the way, your mother told me about your talk in ALfheim Online, who knows, I might buy one of those AmuSphere rigs, and start playing myself." Shouzou chuckled.

"That would be nice, better than nice, actually, Dad." Asuna said, covering herself with the blankets.

"Alright. Goodnight, Asuna."

"'Night, dad."

Shouzou turned out the lights, and Asuna slowly closed her eyes in sleep, along with Yui. As the moon rose, a shooting star shot past the moon.