..:Aɪɴᴄʀᴀᴅ Nᴇxᴜs:.. [Cʏᴘʜᴇʀxᴋ2 & Iʀᴏɴɪᴄ]

"Good think you told me or I would have made stew from this wolf." He was a toxic type and would be useful when it came to stunning her targets, as well as damage over time. A small heart icon appeared, asking her if she would like to try and catch the wolf. It was grayed out, though. She needed to get it low enough for it to become available.

After a few good attacks with her rapier, one-hit's to ensure she didn't get him too low enough to slain, the icon became available to touch. A bright neon pink shot through her fingertips and into the wolf's chest where his heart was located. His body began to spasm until the once red name appeared green. He marched over to her, standing faithfully beside her right leg.

'What would you like to name your new pet?' A box popped up, a smaller one below it to enter in the desired name. Asuna thought about it briefly before choosing a very vanilla name, Toxin. It wasn't the best but it fit him well.

Trystal ran towards Asuna to help but she had already taken care of business. "We should help Caliban now. He has something more tough than we did." Asuna said before darting towards Caliban, Toxin following her movements. Trystal and her new feline companion was close behind as well.

"Toxin, attack the Darkness Dragon!" She hollered, Toxin sprouting upwards into the air and clamped his muzzle into the back of the dragon's scales. He had a rough time piercing through the hardened surface, but luckily his canine's were sharp enough to pierce through enough to have his venom take effect. It was a stun that would last for ten seconds, hopefully buying them some time.
 
Unfortunately, the Dragon had a moderate stun resistance so it recovered in half the time. That gave it time to swat Caliban aside into a tree. That hurt, it put him in the red. It also caused him to become stunned for thirty seconds. He wasn't moving, as his body became pixelated for a brief few moments, almost like he was about to become disconnected. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't conscious either.

Seeming to be disappointed, the dragon left, one of it's scales falling off it's chest from where Caliban had almost pierced it's thin layer of scales with an airborne Stinger sword skill. Caliban would get another chance at it, but it was too high a level for them at the moment. Trystal was by Caliban's side instantly, trying to shake him awake. She really wasn't doing him any favors by doing that. His Life just dropped a few more points after every few shakes.

"Caliban? Come on, wake up. Caliban? Caliban!!" She yelled, as the gem on his necklace darkened as if simulating growing anger.
 
Asuna frowned as she watched the dragon disappear, wanting Caliban to obtain and tame the beast for his own pet. Her eyes focused now on Caliban once the dragon left, watching as his body glitched as if it was about to get disconnected. Her eyes widened in shock, his health red and barley on the screen of his health bar. She took of running towards him, almost tripping as her feet went faster than she could keep up with.

"Trystal, stop!!! You're only making things worse!" Asuna screamed as she violently shoved the weeping girl off from his body. Trystal thudded against the ground, not even fighting back towards Asuna's blunt actions. Asuna placed a delicate hand underneath Caliban's head as she would make it lift upwards. His mouth was slightly parted, enough to get down some liquid.

She used her free hand to reach around behind her back, fumbling through her inventory before grabbing a glass vase filled with a deep red liquid. Using her teeth she pit down on the cork-like top and popped it open. Knowing that she couldn't spare any time she hurriedly poured every drop of the vase into his slightly opened mouth. His health climbed back up, his body ceasing its glitching.

"Oh, Caliban!" She wept silently as her head buried into his chest as her hands wrapped around his body, tears cascading down her face and soaking into his shirt as she cried.
 
"Unless you're intending to kill me.... I suggest you loosen up your grip a bit." Caliban said a few minutes later, barely audible since he'd had the wind knocked out of him, "Besides, shouldn't you be hating my guts right now."

His arm wrapped around Asuna, hugging her weakly as he tried to sit up. The gem that represented to started blinking insistently, meaning Yui wanted to be alone with him for a bit. Using the hand not draped around Asuna, he hid the gem from view, acknowledging Yui's wishes. That would come later, right now he had to recover as much as he could. His eyes focused on a point ahead of him, calling up his status screen and menu. He had a D. Dragon Scale, meaning he could track that dragon down later.

"Are you okay?" Trystal asked, wiping tears away from her eyes as she crawled closer.

"I will be..... But this mining trip was a bit of a bust for me..... I'll try again later." He replied, some strength reentering his voice.
 
Asuna released her grip as soon as he mentioned how tight she really was holding onto him. She was just glad that he was okay for now. "You need to rest up, we should all head back in the Inn. We will find the dragon later once we find the time is right." Toxin sat down as he looked up at his new master, panting as his green tongue hung out. He reminded her of a Siberian Husky, a favorite breed of hers. She would bond well with him. Her hand tenderly stroked the back of his ears lovingly.

"Hey, sorry for pushing you earlier." Asuna sympathetically said to Trystal, landing a reassuring hand over her shoulder. "You know why I had to do that. You just weren't thinking at the moment." She wiped away a tear that started to stroll down her rosy red cheeks.

"Yeah... I know..." Trystal sounded ashamed, but everything was done and over with and it was time to settle down for a moment. "I don't want that to happen again."

"I don't think any of us does. That wouldn't be fun at all." Asuna tried to put on a smile, attempting to make the situation better and veer away from what had just happened. "Hey, how about I cook that rare hare? Sound good?" Toxin howled in response, standing on all fours as his tail wagged excitedly.
 
"Definitely." Trystal said as she helped Caliban to his feet, "I am kinda hungry."

"Teleport, Falconreach Manor." Caliban said, taking Asuna's hand as they teleported to the main hall of his player owned house outside Colbalt Ravine, "We can stay here for now. I own it so anyone in a party or guild with me can enter as long as I permit them access."

He walked over to a set of double doors, Trystal's new pet, whom she named Sapphire, acting as a support for him. Touching the door, a Guild creation menu popped up. Filling it out quickly, His Wyrmfire coat and equipment turned gray with black trim as a Hooded Skull with a scythe and flame behind it appeared beside his name. A few minutes later had two guild invite notifications appeared to Trystal and Asuna. Trystal accepted it, letting out a cry as her armor changed in the same way as Caliban's did.

'Guild Leader, Caliban, invites you to join the Twilight Reapers. Do you accept? Y/N'

"Your call, Asuna. You join, that automatically makes you the sub-commander. Caliban said, as a preview of what her avatar would look like in a Twilight Reaper guild uniform appeared alongside the invitation, "I honestly wouldn't want anyone else besides Trystal with me in a guild."
 
"You have a nice place." Asuna said as soon as she stepped inside, her head turning as she tried to take in everything at once.

Her screen flickered to show a preview of her avatar, the colors dark and black instead of bright red that she was so accustomed to. She frowned for a second before moving her lips back and fourth, thinking about the decision. Sighing, she tapped on the Y, her body soon glowing immediately afterwards.

Asuna's body lit up as her clothes began to pixelate away, the blackened outfit quickly replacing what had left. Her eyes closed as she allowed the effect to take over her body, soon opening those lids once she felt the effect ware off. She extended her hands and feet outwards so she could oogle over her new appearance. "How do I look?" She asked as she spun around, the longer fabric of cloth behind her twirling with the wind as she whirled around.

"I like it." Trystal answered as she looked at her own outfit, similar to Asuna's. "Does mine look okay too?" She asked, picking up her skirt-like fabric and curtsied.

"It fits you well." Asuna grinned as she nodded in approval. Trystal blushed before smiling, admiring the compliment. "And you look great too, Caliban." Asuna eyed over his apparel. "I appreciate the privileged of being sub-commander. It means a lot to me." Toxin barked before wagging his tail, his tongue sticking out as he panted.

"Okay guys, sit tight and let me prepare food."
 
"The uniform is customizable so you don't have to stick with the default color choice." Caliban said, his equipment reverting back to normal as he tapped a few things on his open menu, "The change in color is merely a cosmetic thing. It didn't provide any bonuses for anything. There's a large bathtub upstairs if you two want to clean up first."

He was alarmed at how fast Trystal had moved. One moment she was standing next to him, the next moment she was dragging Asuna behind up the stairs after intercepting her in the dining hall. Blinking, he missed Yui materializing in front of him after they had gone out of sight. She knocked him over by glomping him. Knocked out of his stunned state, he was forced to focus on preventing her from crushing his ribcage.

"Ouch.... Easy, Yui.... You're hurting me a bit. He said as he comforted the young girl.
 
"H-Hey!" Asuna responded in shock as Trystal hastily gripped her and was tugging her upstairs. "Why are you acting so funny?" She then added as they stopped at the top, Asuna quickly retrieving her hand and rubbing it slightly from her tightened grasp.

"I just wanted to get away for a minute." Trystal let out a long sigh of relief. "To be honest, I don't want to take a bath alone. I get scared. I know it sounds foolish but it's true! I feel like something can happen to me..." She admitted as her head sunk into her shoulders, as if regretting her truthfulness. Asuna exhaled roughly from her nose before pulling a reassuring hand over her petite frame.

"No need to go into detail. I perfectly understand." Her smile also carried a reassuring vibe to it, the duo walking towards the large bathroom. It was elegant and beautiful, a perfect place for a luxurious bath. Without hesitation, Asuna undressed herself and exposed her body to Trystal, not putting any thought into it since she was a female as well. Trystal on the other hand found it hard to undress, her palms shaking as she stripped. Asuna already plunged into the bath once it filled with warm water, sinking in it as she thought silently for a moment until Trystal made her way inside too.

"I've never really done this with anyone before... T-Thank you, Asuna." Trystal sunk her face in the water in embarrassment, Asuna giggle in reaction.

"You're so cute when you act this way. You're the one who proposed the idea yet I wasn't a bit shy when I undressed. You, on the other hand were. It's just comical to me." Asuna wiped away a tear that fell from laughing so hard. "It feels suuupppeerrr nice, though, you have to admit."

"Yeah... It really does. I could sit in here forever..." Trystal sighed as her head rested on the back of the tub, closing her eyes as her body soaked in the warmth. They stayed in the tub for around thirty minutes. Talking, laughing, speaking about their lives outside of the game and everything. They bonded in this short moment in time.

They cleaned up and exited the bathroom, stretching their now relaxed muscles. "That was nice." Trystal hummed as the pair walked downstairs. Asuna had changed into her cooking outfit, heading towards the kitchen to prepare their meal.
 
He'd managed to sooth Yui ten minutes before the girls came down. In that time before Asuna came in the kitchen, he'd started cooking some things of his own. Turns out he'd maxed out his cooking skill as well so he was some high level cakes. Granted, he was more interested in fighting but that didn't mean he couldn't have some benign skills. Turning as he glanced at Asuna, he realized he felt attrached to her. That wasn't good in the slightest.

"Feeling better? You look amazing, by the way." He said, gesturing to the open space on the island in the center of the kitchen, "Game has more a more realistic approach to cooking. More interactive in the steps."
 
Asuna stopped in her tracks as soon as his compliment made way into her ear. She couldn't subside the blush that was growing on her pale cheeks. "U-uhm... T-thanks, Caliban." She stuttered for a moment, not use to having someone compliment her after her and Kirito's break up. Gaining her composure she cleared her throat before searching in her inventory to get out the rare hare she caught earlier.

"I do enjoy the game being more interactive than before. It's nice. It almost keeps you sane from how realistic it is." she noted as she began to skin and gut the rabbit. It was a messy task but needed to be done either way. "I am debating on making something out of the fur afterwards." She said as she hung the fur to allow the blood and skin underneath to dry out. The head, feet, paws and tail were cut off and she couldn't use anything out of it so she gave it to her and Trystal's pet for consumption. They were happy to eat it, the bones crunching from the strength of their jaws.

Delicately she tore the meat from the bones and set it aside for cooking. She tossed the bits of fat to the pets but kept some for flavor purposes. Next she brought in the vegetables. Carrots, celery, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and tomatoes as well as garlic and onions were chopped and placed in the boiling pot of water. She lastly placed the meat in the green pot before closing the lid.

"Whelp, it'll cook for an hour and then it'll be done!" She slapped her hands together before placing them on her hips in a job well done.

"It already smells so good in here!" Trystal said and her nose sniffed around to catch in the sweet aroma. "Reminds me of back home almost."
 
All of a sudden, Caliban saw Toxin going into attack mode right in the middle of gnawing on the ragout rabbit's skull as the wolf heard an unfamiliar voice. He reacted almost instantly, kneeling in front of the wolf while boxing it's ears. A few sharp words calmed him down but his ears were still flat against his head as a growl radiated from him. Gesturing for Asuna to interact with Toxin and for her and Trystal to stay in the kitchen, he went to see what the issue was. Trystal's Soul Cat just shrunk to the size of a house cat and jumped on Toxin's back.

"What was that about?" Trystal said, being drawn like a magnet to the green pot as faint conversation was heard in the main hall a full minute before Caliban's Skill point gauge decreased and the sound of furniture shattering was heard, "Oh, screw this, Let's go!"
 
Asuna knelt down besides Toxin and stroked his fur as his ears were still folded back. His body was tense and he wanted to break free. She had to hold him down but Trystal insisted on checking out the situation.

She would've said no until the found of ruckus grabbed her attention. What in the hell was going on? Her tight hold on Toxin was removed but he bolted off into the direction of the main hall. Asuna and Trystal both darted towards Toxin, the cat jumped off and was following close by too.
 
"WHO'D HAVE THOUGHT A SNAKE LIKE YOU WOULD HAVE GOTTEN CAUGHT IN A TRAP THAT YOU PUSHED ME INTO CONSIDER MAKING????!!!!!!" Caliban was heard screaming, sounding almost demented as he turned to see Toxin staring feral daggers at his unexpected/unwanted guest, "Fuck it.... Tox, new chew toy... Have at it....."

Have at it Toxin did, the uninvited guest found the wolf was all over him as soon as Caliban had said "Have". Apparently Caliban had established a unique secondary tamer bond with the wolf unintentionally as the wolf had followed his words as soon as he'd said them. A secondary tamer bond was something where a pet owned by someone develops an affinity for another player, often influenced by the owner themselves. That said, Toxin's affinity for Caliban was almost maxed out, meaning the former would follow almost all commands that the latter gives him provided Asuna wasn't commanding him at the time. That also led into another feature that Caliban had kept close to the vest, hoping it wouldn't be put into effect.

"Toxin, off. What did you really want Reggie? I know you wouldn't bug me in the original SAO or ALO unless you wanted me to play damage sponge for you." Caliban asked as Toxin walked back to Asuna with Reggie's Col purse, "Huh, Toxin has an active Mug attack ability.... Better keep that in mind, Asuna."

"There's a Sub-Boss raid going down in two days, I wanted to know if you'd help out." Reggie said, red scratches and a laceration over his chest from a Stinger sword skill over most of his avatar dispite not losing health.

"Hey, you should be asking all of us, idiot." Trystal said, huffing as she stopped beside him, "He and I are in a guild with another player after all."

"Him?! Part of a guild?! That's rich!!" Reggie sputtered as he started laughing like a hyena.

"Keep laughing and the wolf gets to eat you....." Caliban said darkly as Toxin snapping his jaws together to punctuate the point happily, "He sounds kinda hungry to me."
 
The girls ran into the room to watch everything unfold. Their eyes were wide and confusion struck at them. Obviously Caliban knew this guy called Reggie but to Trystal and Asuna he was nothing but a stranger. Toxin readily stood by Asuna's side with his snout snarling in aggression.

Asuna didn't find it quite comical that Caliban was in a guild. In fact, it pissed her off more than anything. She held her tongue though, knowing that this is Caliban's business and not theirs. Trystal though wanted to be apart of the situation.

She bent down and picked up the Col purse that Toxin had snagged. It had a bit of Col in it surprisingly. She stuck the purse in the guilds inventory so everyone could access it.

"What's so wrong with being in a guild?" Trystal asked as she sassily placed her hands on her hips. "It's not a sign of weakness. Teamwork goes a long way and gets you further in my opinion."
 
Once Reggie realized Caliban was serious and saw he was, in fact, part of a Guild, he changed his tune almost immediately. Unfortunately for him, Trystal's Soul Cat reverted into her normal size and pinned the hapless idiot to the ground. This brought a laugh out of Caliban, even if it came out like a mad man's cackle. He was getting a kick out of this. Reggie always did have a knack for getting abused in some way.

"So..... What beings you to my home and Guild hall of the Twilight Reapers?" He asked, scratching the Soul Cat behind the ears as she hissed at him, "You better not say to join because I'll let Flash behind me turn you into swiss cheese and Tryst chop you into cube streak."

"I didn't...... I never..... I didn't..... I.... I..... I......"

"Stop babbling, you're embarrassing yourself in front of two women, you cowardly dodo brain." Caliban retorted, using the forgotten "Borrow" feature to smack Reggie upside the head with Trystal's axe, "Geez, if you lock up like this now, I'd hate to see how you are when a female consents to have sex with you."
 
Asuna couldn't help herself but laugh at the idea of Caliban bringing up sex in front of them. She was very immature when it came to situations like this but in a sense it lightened the mood with how immature it was. "Why did you ask for his help anyways? Whats your motive?" Asuna asked as her arms were folded against her chest as she stood besides the snarling pets. Toxin was anxious and wanted to join the big cat.

"I was wondering the same thing." Trystal replied as she too stood beside Asuna and looked at the poor soul beneath them. "You're a sucker for pain or something?"

"I just feel bad because this fool stepped inside of the wrong home. He got more than what he had bargained for... For sure." Asuna giggled from her response as Toxin started to salivate. "Steady..." Asuna reassured her baby as he sat down, his tongue lapping at his muzzle as his innocent eyes gazed at hers. She smiled before stroking the back of his ears tenderly.
 
"Chances are he wants me to play damage sponge for him again." Caliban said as he shrugged, not really interested, "Also, he's a magnet for misfortune. He manages to get into every bad situation imaginable and runs from even the weakest enemies out of fear."

"Come on, man." Reggie squeaked, undercutting his attempt to make himself seem tougher than he really was, "I don't run from anything..... WHAAAAH.... GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!"

Trystal's Soul Cat had placed it's jaws around Reggie's head as a joke, making him scream like a little girl. This just caused Caliban to start laughing his ass off. Man, Reggie was such a clown. How the hell he survived being on the original assault team in the original SAO was beyond him. There was a vague hope that the moron would survive this time too.
 
Asuna was listening to the conversation, laughing with Caliban as the poor boy started to scream in fear. Trystal chimed in too and laughed.

"I wonder how he managed to make it out of SAO alive. He must've been pretty good at using people if he's going around asking people like us. Except, well, I don't think we're all that foolish." Asuna raised a brow at Reggie, watching the Soul Cat have its own fun with her toy.

"It's funny seeing her act that way." Trystal commented as she watched her feline companion toy with the boy. "Makes me wonder more how she could kill you." She laughed sadistically before shrugging off the thought.
 
"Oh please, every time anyone said anything about dungeon clearing or boss raids, he vanished quicker than a Revenent Chimera in a graveyard." Caliban snorted, shoving Asuna playfully as his hand brushed her hip, "More often than not he was cowering in the orphanage on the first floor in the original SAO. Can't tell you how many times I beat the crap outta him on the doorstep of that place after finding him."

For some reason, his body jolted from accidentally touching Asuna's hip. It felt as though his nervous system had been electrified for that moment, which caused him to lose consciousness momentarily. As he recovered, he found both Toxin and Killua, his name for Trystal's Soul Cat, supporting him. Reggie, having curled up into a fetal position, tried to crawl under a nearby stand. Standing up while thanking both pets, he kicked the whimpering player as he looked at Asuna and Trystal.

"What say we hunt down this Sub-boss and Reap it ourselves tomorrow?" He asked with a devious grin.
 
Asuna giggled as Caliban playfully shoved into her until his hand accidentally touched her hip. It stunned her almost, causing her to stay still as she recalled what had just happened. It didn't wierd her out or anything, she knew it was an accident and she carried on with the group of laughter.

"Yes!!! That sounds like a challenge I'm ready for!" Trystal sprouted to her feet as a look of determination coated her expression. Killua meowed in approval, her tail swaying back and forth. Asuna nodded as her hands were placed on her hips, smiling.

"I'm ready for some action. As long as it's not a repeat of this morning I'm good!" She pat Toxin on the head as his green tongue slithered outwards in a pant. "I wouldn't of have gotten you if it wasn't for today!" She smiled at her new companion.

"No, that's unfair you can't do that!" Reggie retorted as he stood up on his feet. He kept his cower though as Toxin and Killua fixed their irises on their prey.
 
"Sounds like someone just volunteered to help as a guest." Caliban said as a mandatory quest notification popped up for him and Asuna, "Guess dinner will have to wait for some of us. Toxin, fetch."

He got a more detailed version of the quest listing than Asuna. It didn't permit pets, so Asuna couldn't being Toxin along. That didn't change the fact that while vague, it alluded to Yui in his version. They had to do it now. He felt compelled to do the quest.

"Asuna, let's go. There's something we need to do." Caliban said, his good cheer suddenly gone in a flash as a look of determined seriousness dominated his features while Toxin and Killua dragged Reggie by his ankles, kicking and screaming, down the hall into a walk in closet under the stairs, "Trystal, don't eat until we get back and make sure Toxin doesn't poison Reggie."
 
Asuna squinted her eyes to have a better look at the quest. It didn't have much detail and she was confused why only her and Caliban received the quest and Trystal didn't. It then came to her that she had to do a quest with him for Yui but she wasn't sure if it was the quest for that or not. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Why can't I go?" Trystal asked as the two started to head out the door, Reggie still trying to get the animals off of him.

"I don't know, it's only for us. Don't take it personal. We'll be back!" Asuna shouted behind her as she walked alongside Caliban as he directed their way towards the quest. While they were alone she whispered in his ear. "What's with this?"
 
"Yui." He said simply as he noticed Yui's heart wasn't around his neck anymore after reaching to touch it, "Something's off. Wha.... Where'd it go?!"

He cause a flash of black hair as he whirled to see the entrance to the secret dungeon he designed. Everything in him just plummeted. This wasn't happening...... It couldn't possibly be happening now. They hadn't even started on their camaraderie. His feet was moving as a growing sense of dread surged through him.

"Nononononono...... Not now........ We're nowhere near ready......." He mumbled aloud, not even realizing he'd left Asuna far him as he rammed his shoulder into the metal door that closed just before he got to it, "Damnit..... I can't lose her again..... I refuse to lose her again!!"

He rammed the door once more before putting all his weight into trying to forcing it open by pushing. He was actually crying as he dug in. Losing Yui once had deeply scarred him, losing her a second time wasn't gonna happen. Death would have to enslave him before he let it happen. It was a good thing he had.....

"Asuna, I need you here!!!" He cried out with gritted teeth.
 
"Caliban, calm down, what's going on?!" Asuna asked him as she watched the poor guy break down as he couldn't find something he had lost. Asuna never noticed the necklace he wore around her neck, he had always seemed to keep it in his shirt away from her. If she saw it she would know exactly that is was Yui because Kirito had made the necklace for her before Yui was deleted back in SAO.

Her hand comfortingly wrapped around the sobbing Caliban as her head rested on his shoulder. "Shh... Just calm down. I'm here, try and take deep breaths and tell me what's going on. I don't know what's happening and it's hard for me to help." She tried to talk as calm as possible but it was hard when he was acting the way he was.
 
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