As per command from the Yuuki Clan head, their forces were on standby, ready to face the result of Noboyuki's failure. Or so they thought.

They would not know that their traditional enemy prepared to attack them. That the reinforcements sent to the hospital, to clear it of all anomalies, will not return either. They would not know that it was to be only the start.

At the shrill yell of denial coming from the room where Asuna and Kirito were, Ryotaro Tsuboi, Klein to his SAO friends, turned to the bloodsucking parasite that was Argo (and with the rates on her info in that game, he should have figured her for the parasitic monster that she was in RL), and they shared a look.

Then both hurried to the room, and he opened the door, bracing for violence.

His buddy Kirito was leaning on an empty bed, crying, as he looked around at the nosie of the opening door, something wild and not entirely sane in his eyes.

"She's gone…" the boy started mumbling. "She was here a moment ago, and then she just disappeared, like a midsummer dream... " he looked at Klein with a searching gaze, as tears fell on his cheeks. "She glowed and then disappeared, just like she did on that floor, when I dueled Heathclif…"

Kirito broke eye contact then, searching the bed with eyes and hands. "She was here, and now, I can't even catch the dust that corpses leave in SAO… She can't be gone! Asuna just can't be gone!"

"Kii-bou-" Argo started uncertain-and wild eyes refocused on her mid-search.

The black swordsman was steal very much malnourished and weak, having awoken from the DeathGame himself too recently, but one wouldn't have guessed, from the speed at which he was suddenly facing the girl, holding her with all the strength he still had, and shaking her. "Where is she? Do you know Argo? Where is Asuna? Where did she gone to?" Kirito desperately asked, his voice rising with every question, ending in a shout.

The vamp tried her eye hypnosis trick on the boy, but it didn't catch this time, as the Clearer of SAO dropped his hold on her as if burned, instead of succumbing to it, to the surprise of both the werewolf and the vampire.

The boy recoiled from the girl he used to call friend for what felt like so long, and, exhausted by the mad dash to Asuna and the events of the night, no longer supported by Adrenalin, The Hero of Aincrad couldn't stand anymore, and fell to his knees, repeating Asuna's name, calling for her. Each time quieter then the previous.

Harry One (and it was still weird to be called by any other name, after the two years in SAO), a proud member of Klein's guild, looked decidedly less charming then he used to, covered in blood as he was. Some of it was even his.

'Shit, just what mess did you lead us thistime, following the back of kirito, 'fearless leader'?'

Not that he would have refused, had he known what he would find, on his way. The truck may have been disguised as civilian, but the smell of oil and gunpowder-and most importantly, blood-was prominent warning about the presence of armed troops inside. Them opening fire on sight at him was clear declaration of intent. Even if he was hiding himself supernaturally, about to reach the hospital.

Still, with the lives of both the hero who freed them, and three hundred fellow Players of Aincrad, he couldn't do anything else. It was what they all did, every day, for the last two years, after all.

He may have preferred to handle this armed ambush a bit differently, but he wast where he wanted to be, covering his packmate-er… guildmate, and other comrades.

The woman who was once called Yulier, in the DeathGame of SAO, found herself anguishing over her current situation, as she observed a werewolf tear through an armed hit squad. And so close to the hospital where most, if not all, of the remaining three hundred SAO players that still didn't wake, were tended to.

'I know that I promised to call you, Thinker dearest, but we shouldn't have trusted them monsters! I knew they were up to no good! I hope you will come to understand it, my love.'

With those last thoughts, she called the next number.

"Get the team ready, code red, I repeat, code red, we meet at the hospital, expect action."

The voice on the other end barked an affirmative, and she picked her weapons and armed herself.

She wouldn't let those monsters prey on the sick in that hospital; she will protect the SAO victims, at least this once.

Author Notes: First of all, thousands apologies! Its been more then a year since last update, and i am very sorry for it. the multiple other fics i updated, since are only partial excuse. Every time i tried to sit and write new chapter for this, it ended up akin to a staring contest between me and the computer-im all 'Ill write the chapter NOW! ...any moment...any moment...

and the computer as if taunting me "Not today"...

I hope the next update won't take nearly as long, but can't make any promises. I do want to thank to everyone still interested in the story for their patience, as well as any new readers i might get, for their attention.

in here, after the fight of the SAO part of the fusion ended, we start our real fight of the 'World of Darkness' part of it. Will the former comrades from the virtual reality of Kayaba turn on each other? will Kirito ever recover? Just what happened to Asuna? find out in future chapters.

Also, no matter how much the next chapter may delay, I want to ensure that this fic is NOT abandoned NOR on hiatus.