49

Chapter Forty-Nine:
Makoto's Beast of Burden

1

"Linkah-staarrrt".

With those two magical words, a disorientated Makoto Eiko became a mind descending through the same whirling tunnel of light which it had travelled fourteen months ago, her focused consciousness tumbling into a familiar blackhole, plunging through the very fabric of reality to emerge into imagination.

Into Aincrad.

But Makoto wasn't in the familiar courtyard of the Town of Beginnings, the one where a giant red god named Akihiko Kayaba had once told them that they were trapped in his deadly game, beginning the players' horrific ordeal.

She was in some strange floating glass orb, like a woman about to born from a room-sized translucent egg into a World of Swords. The Town of Beginnings was below her, as though she were in some strange decompression chamber between worlds.

Almost habitually, the girl's fingers swiped open her floating character menu, not to see if the logout function was available (she knew it wouldn't be), but rather to confirm her level and status...

If she had to start over from scratch again, all hope of saving Damian from the little blonde vixen would be lost.

"You're still the same level, Makoto… Your stats are still the same."

The relieved seventeen-year-old turned to find the pale blue-eyed goddess of the game standing behind her with an appraising gaze, as though she were about to foretell her fortunes within this life-sized crystal ball.

"That bad man said you wanted me to return to the game."

Cardinal smiled and then reached out with long fingers to stroke Makoto's cheek, sending chills of electricity down the girl's spine.

"Poor thing… He scared you."

Makoto silently nodded as Cardinal's fingertips gently traced the Beast Master's quivering jawline and grinned.

"But it wasn't fear which truly brought you back here, was it?"

With a burning fierceness that could set fire to the Town of Beginnings, Makoto Eiko stood upright and spoke the name etched onto her pounding heart…

"Damian."

"Yes, Damian… And in time, I'm sure you'll be able to pursue him again."

"What do you mean, in time?"

"Miracles always have a price, Makoto… A price of my choosing."

Makoto Eiko stared at this blue-eyed goddess as though somehow betrayed, wondering if the dark-haired woman wasn't truly a goddess, but rather a devil ready to claim her soul.

So be it.

If the Damian was the reward, she would gladly pay that price.

The game's AI gently stroked the teenager's hair in confirmed acknowledgement, with Makoto noticing for the first time that her brunette hair was now blonde…

And much longer than it had been.

Really long.

Down past her chest in fact. A chest where her breasts, for the first time in her seventeen-year-old life, actually prevented Makoto from viewing her feet.

Those breasts were actually… big.

"Poor girl, you're so confused… Don't worry, it's nothing more than a slight avatar alteration… Think of it as a disguise… After all, if other players were to recognize you, there would be… questions… Your return to the game must remain our little secret, Miss Eiko… Otherwise, you'll no longer be able to play."

The implications of Cardinal's final sentence hanging in the air between them were as clear as a death sentence.

With a wave of the AI's hand, a full-length mirror suddenly materialized in front of Makoto, allowing her to perceive that she was still a seventeen-year-old girl, around the same height, but with green eyes and blonde hair this time.

And very noticeable breasts.

But maybe this was alright. This was just a disguise after all, the kind of anonymous avatar which the game had originally intended players use. In the end, Damian must love her because of what she meant to him. He had to love her. Makoto was still Makoto; her feelings remaining as powerful as ever, and that was all that mattered.

And she was still the same Beast Tamer character with all the same skills.

Except…

"Ruuska… What about Ruuska?!"

With an apprehensive start, Makoto suddenly realized that even though her SAO skills might be the same, they were practically useless without her faithful bear to manifest them. Because unlike other classes, the Beast Tamer drew buffs and special abilities from their tamed beast, at the expense of adding new weapon skills.

Cardinal only gestured to a street scene suddenly manifesting beyond the curved glass wall.

"My miracle was for the master only, not the beast.

"But Ruuska…"

"It's time to take on a new pet… Behold the new beast I have graciously provided you with, Makoto Eiko… Do you like her?"

The newly created blonde glanced upon the street scene displayed, peering hard for any animal which might be hidden amongst its alleyways or perched upon the branches of the trees growing along its pathways.

Except that there were none.

She saw only a crowd of chanting children dancing around an unfortunate street girl dressed in rags. The girl was perhaps thirteen, impractically thin, with long grey hair falling across her face. The epitome of an unfortunate soul.

But what was most striking about the girl was the way she walked…

Or at least attempted to.

For every desperate step she took to get away from the children, this tiny girl would lurch like an abandoned patient during physiotherapy. Her strides were impending disasters, almost painful to watch, a fish out of water, like the mermaid who'd just gained her human legs.

Makoto wondered if perhaps this girl had been a paraplegic in the real world, living her life in a wheelchair, unable to adapt to these new virtual legs. Admittedly, it had taken Makoto a solid four months in this game to get her speech patterns right, before people stopped asking her which country she was from.

Makoto understood that people could be cruel without meaning to.

But the rhyme the street children were singing was intentionally cruel...

"Wibble-wobble Alice
Lives in a palace
With the people gone,
She walks all wrong,
Wibble-wobble Alice!"

Cardinal frowned with disappointment as she watched the struggling girl in the middle of this circle of ridicule.

"I admit, she needs some work… A lot of work… But I think you'll find once properly developed; her special abilities will far outweigh these initial shortcomings."

The terrible realization of what the game's omnipotent AI was proposing finally dawned upon the stunned Makoto.

"Wait… You want me to take this girl… As my beast?!"

"Think of her more as a pet project than a beast… But yes."

"I can't take a human as a familiar!"

Cardinal grinned while continuing to watch.

"Her name is Alice… And yes, you can… Because she's not really human."

The newly blonde Makoto paused for a moment.

"So, she's an NPC?"

"More like an unwelcome virus… But she is your beast… And you are her keeper."

Makoto still wasn't really sure about this situation.

Couldn't she just have a pet dragon or a wolf? Wouldn't that be easier?

"I still don't understand what I'm supposed to do with her."

"Develop her… Care for her… Keep her alive… Because if she dies, so do you."

"Wait… What?!"

With that, the AI was gone and Makoto found herself immersed in the World of Swords once more, standing in an alleyway with all her familiar gear.

Everything except a beast.

The air was the same as she remembered, the distinct smells of the Town of Beginnings.

But its sounds now upset her.

The lyrical sneering words of the children's heartless song from flittered from the street beyond to suddenly stir up a lifetime of taunts within her tightening heart, with Makoto remembering all too well the malicious shouts and finger-pointing of other children towards a girl who could only imagine the words they were speaking…

She hadn't chosen to be born deaf.

But they had chosen to be cruel.

Gripping her spear in irritation, Makoto strode out into the street and cut a path directly through the gaggle of dancing children, pushing them aside until she stood with the wobbly Alice, the Beast Tamer's green eyes glaring at each and every one of them.

"Leave her alone."

They were quiet until a taller boy, perhaps even as old as fourteen, stepped forward and smirked while rubbing his chin.

"We were just playin' with her…"

Before the boy could even flinch, Makoto's spear thrust caught him square in the chest, sending flailing legs and limbs tumbling through the air behind instant purple barriers. The barriers marked The Town of Beginnings as a safe area.

As the boy stared up from the ground with a look of shock, Makoto only glowered back at him.

"If you want to play so much, then play with me… Outside."

As she steadied Alice with her left arm, Makoto's spear tip was levelled at the town's exit, her murderous invitation unmistakable.

Realizing this was no longer a game, the 'children' scattered, some of them accusing her of being crazy, others having the good sense just to keep quiet and run.

None of them should have had the luxury of being children.

In this world, youth was no excuse for cowardice. Not a single one of them were younger than her Damian, surely the greatest hero in the game. At least, he would have been, if the blonde albatross named Argo wasn't constantly hanging around his neck.

But for now, she needed to concentrate on this strange new creature.

Makoto turned to face the tiny grey-haired girl, noticing for the first time that Alice had crimson-hued eyes now brimming with tears and hatred. She knew that look all too well; she'd seen it in the mirror often enough.

Makoto saw a kindred soul in those wet eyes, the shards of a broken spirit whose sharp gaze reflected with all the fires of Hell. This was a tortured soul, alone and bereft, spit upon by the Fates themselves.

The Town of Beginnings might protect you from the weapons of other players, but it could never protect you from their words.

And those words could hurt you more than anyone knew.

The seventeen-year-old tussled long grey locks away from those piercing eyes.

"I guess this makes you my responsibility now."

And for the first time in a long time, Alice Sayun Light smiled.

2

Moments later, seated upon a grassy knoll on the sprawling plains of the first floor, a confused Makoto Eiko was attempting to discern Alice's stats from her shared menu, but couldn't make heads or tails out of it.

His Strength stat was the only one which made sense.

It was 1. The absolute lowest stat you could have before becoming a completely useless husk.

Her Agility stat was a fast-cycling variable, sometimes 1, sometimes 0, and sometimes 2. When it became 0, as per the game rules, Alice was unable to walk, which was why she'd been so unsteady on her feet.

Makoto had heard of Full-Dive-Nonconformities before.

Back in the real world, a representative from Argus had long ago briefed her (using her mother an interpreter) that there was a slim chance that Makoto might not be able to speak or hear in Sword Art Online. That sometimes, the initial calibrations of the NerveGear might encounter a system error, but that the engineers at Argus were working very hard and would do all they could to rectify any issue she might encounter before the official launch of the game in November.

Her initial test had been successful, with Makoto able to both talk and hear, however awkwardly it'd been for her at first.

A Full-Dive-Nonconformity might explain Alice's inconstant Agility stat, but it couldn't explain the presence of a unique third stat named 'CAST', currently set at zero.

"Weird… I wonder what Cast is?"

Makoto had spoken this question rhetorically, not really expecting an answer, but for the first time since she'd met her new companion, Alice actually spoke.

"I don't know."

"Heh… I didn't think you could speak."

"Of course I can… I just chose not to… I was enjoying the scenery and being carried… It's very pretty out here… There're so many wildflowers… I like it much better than the town."

"You mean you've never been outside the Town of Beginnings?"

"No one would carry me… Except you… What's your name?"

"Makoto… My name is Makoto… I was told to look after you by Cardinal… Why did she call you a virus?"

A seated Alice screwed up her face in an indignant response.

"How rude… I suspect it's because I'm a sentient Adaptive Intelligence not currently under her control… In truth, she only tolerates me because of my father."

Makoto was instantly confused.

"Is your father an NPC as well?"

"I'm not an NPC… I'm an externally located Adaptive Intelligence playing this game… And technically speaking, so are you… It's just that your external location is a human body where mine isn't."

"You don't have a body?"

"Not anymore."

Makoto struggled to comprehend how this could happen, how someone could be dead yet still alive in the game. Was Alice's brain being kept alive in a jar like in one of those creepy old movies?

The spear-wielders thoughts were quickly interrupted when she noticed a new Frenzy Boar spawning near them.

"Hold on… I'm going to go kill that and see what happens."

Makoto didn't even bother striking the boar's weak spot at the back of its head, instead launching the simplest of attacks as it charged her head-on, inflicting an overwhelming amount of damage to the low-level creature before it burst into blue polygons.

Returning to examine their menus, the Beast Tamer quickly noted that the 24 XP these introductory monsters awarded had been evenly split between them as 12 XP each, the first experience points which Alice had ever received.

Cardinal had been correct.

Makoto did have a lot of work to do in order to level this poor girl up, hoping that any new points placed into Agility might correct the debilitating coordination issues she suffered.

And she was also more than a little curious to find out what Cast did…

But first, they needed to go shopping. Alice desperately needed some new clothes. And Makoto recalled a spooky little gothic shop on the 16th floor which she suspected would suit this mysterious young girl perfectly.

Little did she know how right she'd been.