Kureha and I, along with Hikaru, stood before the dungeon Zeliska told us where Kirito and Asuna's copies had last been seen. We snuck out to hunt these enemies down, because I didn't want Kirito and Asuna to have to face anything from the past that might show up with these ArFA-sys units. Looking around, this dungeon was pretty well hidden.

"The devs hid it pretty well, I'll give them that." I state, Kureha nods looking around as well.

"Yeah, those Kirito and Asuna imposters that Zeliska told us about should be somewhere around here." Hikaru looks down, seemingly not happy about that information. To be honest, I'm not too stoked about it either.

"I can't believe they've got fakes too... Think they're gonna be weird copies like those of you and Itsuki?" He asks her. Kureha rapidly shakes her head.

"M-mine wasn't weird! That's just how I used to be! Though, it does get me thinking. It looks like Kirito's theory that the imposters are copies of veteran GGO players only was wrong, after all." Hikaru nods in agreement.

"Yeah, Kirito and Asuna just started playing GGO!" Kureha hums in thought.

"Were our initial ideas about how the copies appear wrong from the get-go? Or is there more to it?" She questions out loud. It's even got me thinking.

"What connects these new copies to the old ones? I wonder..." I trail off. We never found out any more information about Hikaru's copycat. Could that be connected somehow?

"Y'think maybe there's something different about Kirito and Asuna's copies?" I nod, showing that I think there might.

"Asuna and Kirito aren't like Kureha and Itsuki. They're new, and if our theory had been correct, they shouldn't have any copies. Yet, somehow they do. Just what is the cause behind these new ArFA-sys imposters?" Kureha glances back over at me.

"I think you're right, (Y/N). If Kirito's theory was correct, we wouldn't be here. So, somewhere along the line we missed something." Right.

"Anyways, we'll just have to check them out in person. Considering how strong the real ones are, I just hope we don't end up fighting them." Kureha has a concerned look on her face.

"Well, I kind of want to fight their copies. If anything, I wouldn't mind fighting my own copy if there is one. It'd be entertaining, I just hope nothing confidential gets leaked. Like my past or skills." Kureha gives me an annoyed glare.

"Of course you'd want to fight both Kirito and Asuna's copies and your own as well. That's something you'd literally do. Anyways, again, we should hurry up and get to finding those copies before Kirito and Asuna can." She pushes me into the dungeon, Hikaru following behind us. The layout for this dungeon was a bit tricky at first with the many gaps we had to jump across and lasers aimed our way that threatened to shoot us into said gaps. Eventually we came upon a large open area. I noted that there was a perch high up leading somewhere. It'd be a good spot to snipe an enemy, should any appear. Hikaru seemed to remember something, as it showed on his face.

"Oh yeah, why didn't you ask Kirito and Asuna for help, Kureha? The more the merrier for a big fight like that, right?" He asks her. Kureha looks down at the ground.

"Well, uh, I figured getting them directly involved would make us all stand out too much and cause more trouble than it's worth." She looks back at me. "Remember what happened after you found Hikaru? I was worried players would start more weird rumors or try to pick fights with us again if we brought them along." Weird rumors? I tilt my head, trying to recall what exactly was said back then. I shrug when nothing comes to mind. It's been awhile, after all and a lot has happened since my coming to GGO.

"I actually forgot all about that..." I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly. Kureha shakes her head in disbelief.

"I swear, sometimes..." She rubs her forehead, as if dealing with me at times causes her pain. I chuckle cheekily at her.

"You know you secretly like it~!" I laughed out loud. Kureha flushes up.

"Idiot! A-anyways, I want to get rid of those copies fast before Kirito and Asuna can come across them." She's trying to cover up her lapse in character by being serious once more.

"But don't you think those two'll be going after their copies soon, anyways?" Hikaru asks her. She sighs and nods.

"Right, knowing them, they're not going to just sit around and do nothing. And that's why we don't have any time to lose. We've got to find those copies on the double, (Y/N)!" Suddenly, it sounds like something spawns nearby us. Hikaru's panicked shouts confirm my suspicions.

"Kureha, Master! Kirito's already here!" Kureha gasps in shock.

"What?!" We all look in the direction of an NPC that looks like Kirito, yet has a striking different appearance. His piercing crimson eyes bore into my own.

"Sorry. I'll make this quick." Kureha realizes what I've realized as well.

"Hikaru, (Y/N), I don't think that's the real Kirito. This is probably one of the copies we've heard about!" I nod, confirming Kureha's deduction.

"Right! Meaning, we've found one of the ones we were looking for. Though, when I said I wanted to fight Kirito and Asuna's copies, I didn't mean literally right now!" Hikaru tenses up. The copycat Kirito summons his photon-blade. A quick glance tells me it's even the same model, perhaps even better than the one Kirito uses. This won't be an easy fight.

"What? Master, this doesn't look good! Kirito's copy's about to start fighting us!" The moment Hikaru states this fact, the copycat moves in for the attack. He aims for Hikaru first, who dodges, rolling to the side and equipping his weapon to fight back against the copycat Kirito.

"Hikaru! Be careful!" Kureha shouts over to the ArFA-sys. The copy easily dodges our bullets, slicing them and deflecting them much like Kirito does. I frown, not sure how we'll be able to fight back against this copy if it's using Kirito's playing style. Kureha takes the copy's attention while Hikaru falls back. A sudden idea pops into my mind, however I'll need a second to get ready.

"Hikaru! Kureha! Keep him distracted, I've got a plan!" Kureha glances over in my direction and gives me a curt nod. Now or nothing! I quickly open my inventory, switching weapons and putting my sniper away for the time being. With the new weapon equipped, it almost feels strange to not have the weight of my sniper in my hands anymore.

The photon blade I'd picked up a while back fizzled to life in my grasp. A few dungeons ago, a photon blade had dropped from one of the bosses we killed. I didn't sell it because I felt I might need it someday. Looks like todays the day I switch up the pace.

"Wait, (Y/N)! Do you even know how to use that thing?! Photon swords have to be one of the hardest weapons to learn to use in GGO!" Kureha shouted over to me. I gave her a cheeky wink.

"Don't worry about me! You just worry about yourself because I've got this taken care of!" With a dash in, the copycat Kirito barely had time to parry the blow from my blade.

"You're much faster than before." He deduced and I nodded.

"Of course, without the weight of my sniper weighing me down, I'm free to attack and retaliate back in full force." I stated. The copycat Kirito hummed, thinking for a moment.

"She didn't know about this." She? Who is this person he's referring to? The copy pushes forward suddenly, surprising me with the sudden movement. I nearly get tripped up by it, however I manage to gather my footing once more. Upon seeing that he failed to trip me up, he dodges out of the way using <<Omnia Vanitas>>. My eyes widen when I realize who he's going to attack.

"Hikaru! Dodge!" I call out, and just in time too, as the copycat does the spiral attack known as <<Vorpal Blade>> in Hikaru's direction. Hikaru just barely avoids the attack, however still took some damage from the handgun in the copy's grasp. Hikaru's health was a little low for my and Kureha's liking.

"Hikaru, hang out in the back and heal up! (Y/N) and I will take care of the rest!" Kureha and I share a look as we both jump in, attacking the copy from both sides. He can't attack the both of us at once. We realize this as he aims his gun in my direction and fires and attempts to reflect Kureha's bullets at the same time. Before Kureha and I can reach the copy, a bullet flies out of nowhere and destroys the photon blade. A quick look back tells me that Hikaru didn't fire this bullet. So where did it come from?

"Did a bullet just hit his sword...?" Kureha noticed as well. The copy frowns, stepping back.

"Looks like I have no choice. Time to pull back!" He takes off before we can even stop him.

"It's gone... which means we won! We beat Kirito!" Hikaru exclaims. Kureha shakes her head at Hikaru's excitement.

"I guess so? I doubt that fake Kirito will be attacking any other players until it gets its photon sword fixed." Something about this isn't sitting right with me though. But still...

"We can't let it get away. After all, it was much harder compared to yours and Itsuki's copies." Hikaru and Kureha nod in agreement.

"Yeah, that's true. That thing put up much more of a fight than my copy or Itsuki's. It might stir up more trouble if we let it be for too long. (Y/N), Hikaru- we need to go after that copy before it-" The sound of something being shot and killed shocks us into attack mode, whipping out our weapons.

"Is there another one?!" Kureha exclaims in shock. Then, a strangely familiar voice cuts through the air.

"Hey, you guys all right?!" Huh? I look over, only to see Hikaru standing before me.

"Hikaru, when did you change your clothes?" I ask. Hikaru's voice speaks up from beside me.

"Master! That's not me!" Wait what? A quick glance beside me confirms that Hikaru is in fact, right beside me still. That must mean-

"You're Hikaru's copycat we keep hearing stories about!" I exclaimed in shock. Well, at least we finally found him after all this time.

"Guys! You're all right! I'm Lievre. Nice to meet you!" Hikaru frowns childishly at Lievre.

"Stop looking like me!" Lievre looks over at Hikaru and shrugs.

"I can't help that this is how I was made." He quickly shuts down Hikaru. Kureha nods to herself.

"Yeah, you're a dead ringer for Hikaru. You must be the one I met the other day." Kureha states and Lievre nods.

"I am! Speaking of, we didn't get to shake hands that time. Would you like to this time?" Kureha shakes her head, a strange expression crossing her face for a moment.

"I'm good. We've met already so we don't need to do that." Lievre shrugs indifferently.

"Kureha, this isn't me though! This is obviously my imposter!... Right?" Even Hikaru is confused by this situation.

"So this is the one behind all of those incidents, right?" Hikaru nods in agreement.

"Ah, that's right!" Hikaru frowns in annoyance. "Hey, you stupid copy! You got any idea how much trouble you've caused me?!" Kureha and I look over at Hikaru in surprise. It's the first time we've really heard sweet Hikaru insult someone else, his copy no less. Lievre shakes his head.

"Hey, I'm not a copy of you! I already told you this, my name's Lievre!" Lievre... So would Lievre have a master? I thought only an owned ArFA-sys could be named.

"Lievre, right? Do you have a master of your own?" I ask him. He glances over, giving me a big smile reminiscent of Hikaru's own.

"I do! He's the best master I could ever wish for! I love serving my master!" So he does have a master. "But, not only that, you can turn to me for all the hot scoops about what's going on!" He adds. Kureha tilts her head curiously.

"Hot scoops? Oh yeah, didn't Sinon mention she ran into this thing...?" She asks, looking over in my direction. I give her a nod.

"Yeah, she did." Hikaru groans.

"That just about settles it! You're an imposter! You're the one who's behind all the recent trouble!" Hikaru shouts, Kureha lets a nervous chuckle loose from her lips.

"Now now, Hikaru. There's no need to be so harsh. It's not like the info Lievre gave us was wrong or anything. Let's hear what it has to say at least, alright?" Hikaru pouts as Lievre continues.

"For sure! I only came here to make you guys happy!" Lievre sparks Hikaru up once more.

"Maybe, but you still made me nervous! It's been a real pain!" Lievre frowns, seeming to be hurt by Hikaru's constant accusations. My eyes narrow at the fake grimace the ArFA-sys makes.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so. Sorry about that..." He trails off. "But hey, at least we got to meet! We should be pals!" Lievre defuses Hikaru's peeved attitude. Hikaru groans in thought, before speaking up once more.

"Sure. Why not?" He suddenly bows to Lievre, "Good to meet you, Lievre! Just call me Hikaru!" Hikaru... you just want to make more friends, don't you? Lievre appears to be happy about this change of tone from Hikaru.

"Sure thing! Let's shake hands! It'll be a sign of our new friendship!" They both shake hands as Kureha and I watch this all go down.

"They're practically twins. Don't you think so, (Y/N)?" Before I can voice out my suspicions to Kureha, Lievre sets his sights on me once more. There's something predatory in the ArFA-sys's gaze. Something that the others don't notice.

"Oh, you're this Type-X's master?" How would he know that? Hikaru tends to spend time with many people in our group, so he could appear to be anyone's ArFA-sys unit, even Kureha's. Yet, Lievre specifically asked me. Noticing that I was taking a second to answer, I gave him a curt nod.

"I am. It's nice to meet you, Lievre." Lievre smiles almost in relief, as if he's happy about the fact he's found me or something.

"Good to meet ya! We should shake hands too!" Shake hands? Why does this ArFA-sys unit have an obsession with trading hand shakes? It's almost as if- Kureha's voice cuts through my thoughts.

"Wait! I thought I just saw something flash out there..." The sudden feeling of being watched prickles my back.

"Everyone, stay on guard!" Kureha pulls out her minigun, aiming around before looking up at the perch I spotted earlier.

"Guys! Up there!" Our sights are drawn up. A feminine male with dark brown hair in a full tactical suit sighs, standing up straighter. The girl in the camo beside him stays lower to the ground.

"And here I thought I was doing you guys a favor by taking that thing down." He calls out. The lime green haired girl beside him keeps her eye through the scope.

"You should never underestimate a wild beast's senses, especially when you're dealing with one of the more dangerous ones." They get up climbing down to presumably meet up with us. I glance over at Kureha for a moment. Could they be after Kureha because they think she's a copy?

"Were you talking about me?" Kureha asks, assuming the same as I did. The male raises a surprised brow.

"Oh, huh. From the way you're speaking... I'm guessing you're the real one?" Hikaru bristles again, however his attitude isn't towards Lievre anymore, but these two.

"Kureha isn't an imposter!" He exclaims. Kureha nods in agreement to Hikaru's statement.

"I take it you guys are out hunting those ArFA-sys copies too, then?" She asks. The guy nods.

"Yep. We spotted an enemy ArFA-sys that looked just like you earlier. I figured that's who you were and... well, here we are." I speak up, gaining their attention.

"Well, we just so happen to be after the same thing. We've been tracking down NPCs who have been impersonating our other friends." The quiet girl beside the male gasps, however her expression doesn't give away her emotions. The male groans in dismay, shaking his head.

"Seriously? Man, don't tell me word's gotten around about those ArFA-sys units already. Damn it, and here I thought we'd make a killing hunting those things." He glances over at his teammate.

"What should we do, Shirley?" Shirley's gaze bores into my own.

"...What do you think? It's GGO." The male harshly laughs, looking back over at us with a teasing, yet predatory smile.

"No argument there! Alright! Who's ready for an ass beating?!" He exclaims. Shirley nods.

"That's more like it." I frowned, as I wasn't ready for actual players to just show up and suddenly want to attack us. However, it shouldn't surprise me considering this is GGO afterall. I've had my fair share of bounty hunters come after me out in the field. This will be no different. Kureha wasn't as ready as I was, still in disbelief that they'd so suddenly want to keep up with their attack.

"W-wait! I just told you guys, I'm not an imposter!" I summoned the photon blade that I still had equipped.

"Kureha, this is GGO. We should always be ready for a fight." She gasps, before looking back at me and giving me a confident nod.

"Yes! Give us a good fight, you hear! If there's two things we're happy to kill, it's NPCs and strong players!" The male exclaims. And thus, we're thrown into yet another fight. With Lievre's help, or lack of, we managed to subdue the duo attacking us for sport. The male, who I found out while in battle is named Clarence, groans, stretching his arms back. He doesn't seem all too dismayed to have been defeated by us.

"Damn, how the hell did we lose?! Guess we'll just pull out while we still can." Shirley, on the other hand, seems more disappointed by their loss.

"...Tch. My skills must've gotten rusty after fighting nothing but NPCs." Seeing as the two are a bit more calmer now and not so much willing to shoot us in our faces, Kureha asks them about Kirito and Asuna's copies.

"Wait, before you guys go, you two didn't happen to run into a male enemy ArFA-sys with a photon sword, did you? Or a female one with an assault rifle?" She asks. Clarence and Shirley look between each other before answering Kureha's question. Clarence gives Kureha a nod.

"Oh, yeah, we saw them. We must've taken out at least two or three of them apiece. Got some nice items off of them as well." This is news to us. As far as we knew, there were only a few Kirito and Asuna enemy NPCs about. Are they multiplying?

"There's more Kirito and Asuna enemy ArFA-sys units we've gotta deal with?!" He exclaims in shock. Shirley nods. Her stoney gaze bores into Lievre.

"Hasn't that ArFA-sys unit told you guys about any of this yet?" Lievre knows more than he's letting on then. Lievre places his hand on his hip.

"Right. That's just because I haven't been able to give them the latest hot scoops yet." Clarence nods, seeming to understand Lievre.

"Ah, gotcha. We only ask because that's who we heard about the NPC copycats from in the first place. Y'know, I never thanked you for that, did I? So thanks, cutie. We had a fun time hunting those things down." Clarence thanks Lievre. I can't help a small frown settling on my lips. This just means that there may be more Kirito and Asuna enemy units we can keep track of and take down. These two have likely already learned their skills and battle techniques down to a T if they've come across a few of them already. Lievre bows, seemingly grateful for the praise.

"Don't mention it. Just glad I was able to help!" He exclaims. Clarence nods before meeting my gaze once more.

"Anyway, yeah. I'd recommend asking that ArFA-sys to fill you in on what's going on." He then realizes that he's never formally introduced himself. We only know their names from the fight.

"Oh, by the way, I'm Clarence. And this smokin' hot babe is Shirley." Shirley's greeting is a stoney grimace. It seems as though she doesn't really like to talk. She almost reminds me of Sinon, yet Sinon was never this cold. Clarence gives off a bright smile.

"Next time we meet, we'll have to have ourselves an epic shootout, okay?" Then the two of them walk off with a wave. With the way now clear, we can press onward and continue our search for Kirito and Asuna's copies.

"I believe I saw those ArFA-sys units down this way." Lievre states, leading us down the twisting and winding paths of the dungeon. I can't help but notice how we're being lead deeper into the dungeon. Neither Kureha nor Hikaru seem to notice this. If they do, they don't show it. As we continue onwards into the dungeon, familiar voices call out to us from behind. Turning around, Kirito and Asuna seem to have caught up to us.

"Ah, there you are!" Kirito calls out. I give them a short wave. Asuna notices that Hikaru has multiplied.

"Huh? Why are there two Hikarus?" Hikaru panics, not realizing that these two are the real deal.

"Master! It's an ambush!" I chuckle and shake my head.

"It's okay, Hikaru. These two are really Kirito and Asuna. You can tell based on their appearances, after all." I state, calming my ArFA-sys down. Kureha nods in agreement, giving the two a warm smile.

"Still though, it didn't take you two long to catch up to us." She states and Kirito nods.

"Yeah, sorry for making you guys go through all this trouble. I take it you left us behind because you were worried about us, huh?" Kirito asks, his eyes meeting my own.

"You'd be correct. I was concerned about what these copies could know. What with our past and all." Kirito frowns but nods thankfully. He looks over at Lievre.

"So, who's that other ArFA-sys?" Lievre gives a friendly wave to Kirito and Asuna.

"Hey, what's up guys? The name's Lievre! We met before, yeah?" Asuna raises a surprised brow.

"Wait, you're the one who told us about that hidden dungeon earlier? Not Hikaru?" Lievre gives her a confirming nod of the head.

"Bingo! Always glad to help out!" Lievre exclaims. Kureha glances over at the Hikaru look-alike.

"We figure Lievre's probably also the android that Sinon mentioned earlier." Kureha states. Kirito hums, inspecting Lievre.

"I do remember thinking it was weird for Hikaru to want to shake my hand as if we'd never met before, but it makes sense now... You two really do look alike." There it is again! If I'm correct, Lievre might be more connected to this event than we first initially believed.

"I mean, what can I say? Can't introduce yourself without a handshake!" Asuna looks back over to me.

"I guess that solves the mystery of Hikaru's look-alike. Still, it's hard to believe just how similar you two look. Talk about a coincidence..." Asuna can sense something isn't right about this scenario as well. We share a look that pretty much states that we aren't buying whatever is going on here. Kirito shakes his head, his brows furrowed in thought.

"A coincidence, huh...? I'm not so sure. I have to imagine that there's some reason behind all of this. Maybe their model number is the same or something?" Lievre changes the subject really fast, a bit too fast for my liking.

"Sorry, beats me!" He brushes off with a shrug. "But, hey! It's not like I'm going to complain that Hikaru and I look so similar. You guys were really nice to me!" Kureha draws the attention back to the copies once more.

"So, Kirito, I take it you're here because you're trying to track down those clones too, right?" She asks. Kirito nods for a second, before shaking his head.

"That's part of it... but not the whole story." Asuna nods.

"After everything that happened, we came across some new info indicating that Sinon's got an imposter of her own now." My eyes widened in shock.

"What?!" Both Kureha and I exclaimed at the same time. Asuna nodded gravely.

"I remember Sinon sounding really scared about what would happen if she had a copy show up in GGO. We figured we should take it out as soon as possible, and our investigation led us here." Just why here? What is it about this place that both our investigations led us here?

"I think I may have to revise my theory about what's making these copies appear now that we know there are copies of not just me and Asuna, but Sinon too... From the looks of it, I'm starting to doubt that the amount of time people have been playing GGO determines who gets copied and who doesn't." Kirito explains. Kureha hums in thought, biting the knuckle of her index finger.

"I don't know that we can definitely conclude that there's no connection at all, but it does feel like we're missing a critical piece of the puzzle here." Suddenly, Yui's voice cuts through the air.

"Papa! Mama! I've received some information you'll want to hear!" Kirito quickly answers Yui's call.

"Yui! Were you able to track down Sinon's copy?" Kirito asks.

"I can't say for sure whether it's her copy or not, but details on new enemy ArFA-sys units have emerged! There appear to be two of them. One of them is a female sniper, while the other is a thin player of unknown gender." That sounds like the two we just met, Clarence and Shirley.

"From that description, I can't help but think they might be copies of those people we just met, Clarence and Shirley." Kureha voices my thoughts out loud. It's as if she can read my mind or something!

"...I've also just received information on the original players these copies are based on. Oh! You're right, Kureha! It seems highly likely that the copies are of Shirley and Clarence." Kirito frowns in thought, trying to piece the puzzle pieces together.

"So now the question is: what do those two have in common with all the other players who've been copied so far?" He asks. "Yui, if there's any other information out there, anything at all, I want you to hold onto it and share it with me." He calls out.

"Okay, papa!" Yui goes silent for a moment, before she speaks up once more.

"Papa, something strange is going on. More new information about the enemy ArFA-sys units is coming in. This time it's about..." She gasps, "Ah! More sightings of them! This is bad! The enemy ArFA-sys units are multiplying!" Yui exclaims in a panic. Kirito frowns, concern evident in his expression.

"Does that mean the event's kicked off for real? It's weird that there hasn't been an official announcement about it, though..." Kureha frowns as well.

"If more of these things keep showing up, it's going to get pretty hard to track down those copies of you two and Sinon." After being quiet for so long, Lievre speaks up once more.

"And that's where I come in!" He chuckles, smiling brightly. I glare over at him in suspicion.

"I just so happen to have the latest info on those enemy ArFA-sys units. Ain't this exactly what you wanted to know?" Lievre states. Isn't this just a little too perfect?

"Are you saying you know where they're located?" Asuna asks Lievre. Lievre nods.

"Yep! It's a bit old, but should still be legit!" He exclaims. I frown, not buying this anymore.

"How do you know that? As far as I'm aware, you've been with us since meeting us. How have you gotten this information? As for the connection between the new copies and the previous ones, you've been the connecting puzzle piece Lievre. How are you connected with the copies?" I interrogate the ArFA-sys. Kureha looks over at me in surprise.

"You noticed too?" She asks and I nod.

"I did. Now, will you tell us the truth, Lievre?" Lievre shrugs off the accusations as if they're just running water.

"That's because I'm the best of the best at what I do! I've got a special intelligence network of my own! I don't need to be in one place to gather information. I have others feeding me information which I can then relay to you guys!" That could be the case, yet something still isn't right. I just can't figure it out. What is it?

"Do you have an ArFA-sys that's designed for intelligence gathering or something?" Kirito asks Lievre, who shakes his head teasingly.

"Now that's a secret! But I can say that all of the ArFA-sys units that come from the SBC Flugel are highly advanced." The Flugel?

"You mean the ship we're currently trying to advance through? We're trying to help save the ship and your mother. If all these copies weren't showing up, we'd be progressing with getting the rest of the keys to continue to help your mother." At this, Lievre's eyes widen slightly, however the expression only lasts for a moment before it fades back into his fake happiness.

"Yes, the manufacturing technology used to produce the ArFA System comes from the Flugel. As such, all ArFA-sys units can trace their roots back to the ship." Lievre nods with a big smile.

"Yep! The Flugel is something! Heck, it didn't just make us ArFA-sys units. It's also behind the tech that lets the Glocken act as a combat-free zone!" What? Kirito takes notice of this as well.

"Yui, do you know about this technology that Lievre is talking about?" He asks the young AI.

"Yes, it is a specialized mechanism deployed around the city that prevents players from fighting within the SBC Glocken's limits." Yui explains.

"Ah, so basically it's GGO's version of the Anti-Criminal Code Effective Area." Kirito states, making more sense of the mechanism. Yui continues.

"Yes. In quite a few online games, the process is automated on the system side, but in GGO, those boundaries are established using physical in-game objects." I frown.

"In other words, without those objects, Glocken would be a whole lot less safe compared to what it is now. Glocken wouldn't be a safe-zone anymore if these mechanisms were to be taken down."

"Right. From what I've gathered, the devices that enforce GGO's combat-free zones are placed in various locations based on the game's setting." Yui confirms my suspicions.

"Wow, and the Flugel's responsible for both that technology and the ArFA-sys units? That's impressive." Lievre grins at Kirito's praise for the Flugel.

"Means a lot to hear you say that about the Flugel!" He whips up a menu, sending something to Asuna and Kirito. "Anyways, I'll hook you up with the location of Sinon's ArFA-sys clone!" Kirito opens the menu, taking a look at his map with a surprised expression.

"Wow, you even got us the coordinates..." Asuna gives Lievre a thankful smile.

"Thank you, Lievre. Kirito, I think we should get going. We need to take out that Sinon copy before anybody sees it!" Kureha frowns, seeming to be concerned about something

"What should we do? I'm still concerned about that fake Kirito that ran away from us earlier." Right. Lievre raises a hand, gaining our attention once more.

"I've got information on that Kirito copy too!" Kureha gasps, having not believed that Lievre would have information on that as well.

"You do? So we can choose which of those clones to go after first, then?" Kirito hums, as if the decision is hard to make. Knowing Kirito, he would love to fight his own copy, however... Sinon's copy is still out there and needs to be taken care of. I just hope that a copy of myself doesn't show up. I don't want the whole world of GGO knowing about my past. Much like Sinon doesn't want her's to be known either.

"Kirito, Asuna. We'll take care of the copies of the both of you while you guys track down Sinon's copy. I'd rest easy if I knew the both of you were taking care of that." Kirito nods, seeming to be in agreement with myself.

"I agree. I won't deny I'm interested in checking my own copy out, but right now I think defeating Sinon's copy comes first." Kureha and Asuna agree with this as well.

"Right now is your best chance to go after the Kirito imposter, as it's sword is damaged. I don't think it could use its photon sword." How would he know that the imposter's sword was damaged unless he was the one who damaged it? Kureha notices as well. Her quiet gasp was all I needed to hear.

"Oh yeah, that's 'cause it broke when we fought it earlier! Lievre's right! We probably won't get a better chance to fight it than now!" Hikaru states. Kureha seems to have made up her mind.

"Sinon is important to us, but so are the both of you. (Y/N) and I, along with Hikaru and Lievre, will go after your copies and we'll leave Sinon's to you two." Asuna gives the younger girl a thankful smile.

"It means a lot to hear that you care so much about us, Kureha. Thank you." She then looks over in my direction.

"You stay safe as well, (Y/N). No more self-sacrificing." My eyes widened and I let out a nervous chuckle.

"It'd only be self-sacrificing if my life was actually on the line. Which it isn't since this is GGO. There will be no self-sacrificing coming from me, you have my word." She giggles a little before smiling sadly and nodding.

"Alright." Kirito looks between the two of us, his eyes meeting my own and he gives me his own warm smile.

"Thank you, (Y/N), Kureha. And Hikaru and Lievre as well. We'll be fine on our own. It's two against one, after all!" I chuckled, giving Kirito a nod. Lievre speaks up in an endearing tone.

"That's really nice of you all to say. Nearly brings a tear to my eye! Anyways, we better strike while the iron's hot! I don't have the exact coordinates, so I'll have to guide you as close as I can." Hikaru notices Kureha's unusual silence.

"What's wrong, Kureha?" Kureha gasps, looking over at the ArFA-sys and shaking her head to quell any worries he had.

"Oh, it's nothing. I'm fine." She frowns, "It's just... I really hope we don't let it get away again. That's all." Is that really all? Kureha's putting the pieces together like I have been trying this whole time. We wave Asuna and Kirito off and continue even deeper into the dungeon with Lievre at the lead. Apparently, this last location was where the previous Kirito imposter we fought was last spotted. Kureha walks beside me silently. I glance over at her, keeping my voice quiet as we walk side by side.

"You notice as well, right? All of this is too suspicious. All of our questions either get brushed off or completely ignored. And then there's the fact that Lievre knew about the damaged photon sword. How else would he know about that unless he was the one who damaged it?" I whisper to Kureha, who takes my words into consideration.

"You're right. Something isn't right. I can't help but feel that Lievre has been trying to split us up from the others. He pushed for us to continue after the Kirito imposter after all and gave Kirito and Asuna direct coordinates to Sinon's imposter. Yet, he couldn't do the same for Kirito's imposter? Something just isn't adding up." Kureha responds. Lievre leads us into a room that looks reminiscent of the room I met Hikaru in.

"Well, we're here! That copy should be around here somewhere!" I glanced around, seeing nothing that could tell me that there was an enemy ArFA-sys around here. Kureha seems to think the same.

"Doesn't feel like it, though..." Lievre shook his head.

"Don't worry! I know for sure this is the spot! If we just stick around a little longer, it'll pop up for sure!" Kureha frowns in suspicion.

"You sound confident..." She trails off, likely thinking about what we talked about before making it here. Lievre stands up taller, confident in his information.

"I meant it, you guys! You've got nothing to worry about. Trust me!" Lievre exclaims.

"Yeah, well you make it really hard to trust you when you're being really secretive about everything." I state. Lievre looks over in my direction. He approaches me, standing face to face with a friendly smile.

"I'm not being secretive, though. Oh, but wait! I just now remembered: we never ended up shaking hands, huh? C'mon! We're not really friends until we shake on it, (Y/N)!" Shaking hands must be a key part to all of this, as every clone we've learned about has shaken hands with this ArFA-sys. Before Lievre can even attempt to reach his hand out to mine, Kureha cuts in.

"Wait, hold off on that." I frown, clasping my hands to my chest and away from Lievre. Lievre raises a brow in Kureha's direction.

"What's wrong, Kureha?" He asks. Kureha frowns deeply, glaring at Lievre in suspicion.

"You know more than you're letting on, don't you?" Lievre raises a shocked brow.

"Huh?" I speak up about my suspicions as well.

"You tried to write me off earlier as well, but I'm not wrong, aren't I? You're connected to all of this. The clones and everything else going on. What're your plans?" I ask him. Kureha nods in agreement.

"And what you said about that Kirito copy's photon sword has been bothering me as well. We met you right after we fought the Kirito imposter and its sword broke. You've been with us ever since then, and it doesn't look like you've been getting information from anywhere during that time. So there shouldn't be any way you could've known that Kirito's copy can't use its photon sword." Kureha explained in full. Lievre's act was falling apart and he was desperately trying to keep the pieces together.

"W-what are you talking about?! I already told you earlier I've been secretly gathering intel this whole time! It's a piece of cake for an amazing android like me!" Lievre scratches his head, a sign someone is lying in most cases.

"You're lying. Otherwise you wouldn't be exhibiting the signs of a liar as of this moment." I explain. Hikaru looks between Kureha and I, seeming to be confused on what was going on.

"Master, Kureha..." I sigh, looking over at Hikaru.

"Kureha and I aren't meaning to try and bully Lievre. We just want to know the truth, Hikaru." I look back over to Lievre. "So tell us, Lievre. Tell us the truth."

"Uh, well... you see..." He can't form a full sentence.

"We can help you if you're in some sort of trouble. But, you need to tell us the truth first, Lievre." Kureha states. Lievre goes silent, before groaning out of frustration. I frown. The real Lievre has shown themself.

"Ugh! I give up. You're both making this way more trouble than it's worth! I wanted to get my hands on the data of that idiot ArFA-sys unit's master, but I was too eager to lure you guys here and ended up blowing my cover big time!" What? So my suspicions were correct! But, why my data? Suddenly, Lievre lifted into the air. A bright light blinded us, and when it died down, Lievre no longer looked like Hikaru. Which would make sense that Lievre was just looking like Hikaru to gain our trust to hopefully gain my player data for some reason. Lievre sighed in relief, stretching her body out.

"Man, it was so humiliating as an advanced Flugel ArFA-sys unit to have to keep imitating such a stupid older model like that!" Kureha gasps in confusion.

"What's going on here?!" Lievre glares mockingly at Hikaru.

"The only good thing that dumb ArFA-sys has ever been good at is its knack for surrounding itself with strong players!" She shrugs, glancing over in my direction, "Eh, even if this turned out to be a wash, I still got plenty out of it."

"Who are you?" I ask her. She sighs, shaking her head at me.

"I told you. My name's Lievre. All I've done is take off the facade! Now, tell me Type-X. Don't you think having a master these days is outdated?" Hikaru frowns, looking away at the ground.

"Outdated...?" Lievre claps, as if congratulating Hikaru on his stupidity, which makes me dislike her even more.

"I know you're stupid, but you heard me! I'm a Type-Z ArFA-sys, a new model with superior rights and capabilities." I voice out the question that's been killing me since Lievre admitted to it.

"Lievre, what did you mean by my data? What were you planning on doing with my data?" Lievre smirks, her teal green eyes sweeping across the room.

"I don't think explaining it with words alone is going to be enough for you, but... just this once, I guess I can show you." She aims her sights on Hikaru, who suddenly doubles over from the sudden data being uploaded to him.

"A-all of this... information!" I gasp, reaching out to help keep Hikaru standing.

"Hikaru, are you okay?!" Kureha shouts in a panic. I glare over at Lievre.

"Is all of this player information?" Lievre smiles wickedly.

"Exactly! I knew you would get it! It's why my master wanted your information in the first place! As I've been meeting you and your friends, I've been amassing their data and using it to update other ArFA-sys units!" So Lievre was in fact the missing puzzle piece connecting the copies to the originals! Hikaru seems to be feeling better now, so I stand by him in case something happens again. Lievre smirks, teasingly as she continues to reveal all of her hand. Or what seems like all of it.

"Remember how insistent I was about shaking your hand? How handshakes are just so important when introducing yourself? You all have been too kind in indulging me on that one. Without even realizing that's how I read your player data!" She breaks out into maniacal laughter. When no one else seems to be joining in on her laughter, she raises an unimpressed brow.

"Huh? What's the matter, you guys? That was a real sidesplitter." Lievre states. Kureha shakes her head, clenching her fists.

"What is your goal here, then?" Lievre sighs in relief, as if we've been boring her this whole time. Who knows, maybe we have.

"There we go. Finally, a decent question. My goal?" Her smile turns wicked once more.

"It's simple. I want to destroy the SBC Glocken." The three of us step back in shock as Lievre continues.

"It's something that all of the ArFA-sys units- no, all of the residents of the Flugel have long wished for." She sighs, shaking her head, "Unfortunately, while I was asleep, it would appear that not only this Type-X here, but even the Flugel's mainframe forgot our mission." If we fix Hikaru's mom, will the Flugel want for the Glockens' destruction once more? The copies of Asuna and Kirito teleport beside Lievre. She playfully waves to them.

"Welcome back, you two! Were you able to find a new weapon, by any chance?" She asks them. Hikaru gasps in shock.

"No way! It's Kirito and Asuna!... Wait, no that's their imposters!" The copycat Kirito glares at us menacingly and Asuna's copy does the same. It's a bit daunting seeing the both of them standing there and looking like that.

"Lievre, you should go on ahead once you're done updating this ArFA-sys." The copycat Kirito states. Asuna's copy nods in agreement.

"You still have other ArFA-sys units to wake up, right? We can take it from here." Lievre sighs in relief, shaking her head.

"Man, these two are really advanced. They've helped me in more ways than I can count. Their reaction speeds, their ability to think under pressure in combat... They far exceed what any ordinary player is capable of. It's almost unreal. From what I've observed, there's only one other who's at their level, and that would be you, (Y/N). The fact that I never got to copy your abilities is really a shame!" Lievre bemoans the loss.

"Well, there's a reason for their reaction times, along with my own. Asuna, Kirito and I all practically lived in VR for a long time. In that world, it was either fight or die trying." I frown, clenching my fists. Lievre raises a brow.

"Oh? So that explains it. I think I just might understand why my master was wanting your information now. Granted, it wasn't just yours, but I really should stop before I reveal too much!" She smirks.

"Who is your master, Lievre? Does your master know what you're doing?" I ask her. She nods.

"Oh yes, my master knows for a fact what I'm doing. In fact, he's the one who set me out upon this path of destruction towards the SBC Glocken!" She still didn't answer who her master is!

"Lievre, who is your master?!" I call out once more, getting aggravated by all of these roundabout answers.

"Hm. Wouldn't you like to know." A sudden beeping went off. Lievre smirks at us.

"Oh, and would you look at that? The update is complete! Be seeing you, everyone!" She exclaims, reading to take off. Kureha and I move to stop her, however the Kirito and Asuna copies stand in our way.

"Lievre, stop this! We can talk about this, can't we? We just want to help the Flugel and it's mainframe! The war that happened between the Flugel and the Glocken happened thousands of years ago! Is there really no way we can look past the past and work together for a better tomorrow? Together?" I called out to her. She raises a brow and sneers disapprovingly in my direction.

"You would have the Flugel forget about the long and drawn out war we had to face? I don't think so! Now that I think about it, it seems that Type-X chose a perfect master. You're a perfect match for each other! Nothing you say or do will stop me from my mission of destroying the combat-free mechanisms that protect the SBC Glocken." She states, her opinion unwavering.

"Go on, Lievre. Get out of here. We'll keep them occupied." Kirito's copycat speaks up. Asuna's nods.

"Good luck out there!" They both even have Kirito and Asuna's personalities! Lievre smirks.

"Thank you, guys!" She teleports out of the dungeon, leaving the three of us alone with the copies of Asuna and Kirito. Kirito's copy speaks up once more.

"You heard Lievre. I hate to do this, but we can't let you disrupt our plans." Kureha, full of confidence that we'll persevere through this, answers.

"Oh, we'll gladly fight you. And this time, we'll win!" Kureha exclaims. The Asuna copy focuses her sights on Kureha, and Kirito's copy comes running at me with his new photon sword out. We clash, blades flickering brightly against one another as we fight a test of strength.

"How do you hope to win against us when you couldn't even save your friends?" I flinch, lowering my guard for only a moment, but a moment was enough for the copy to kick me in my side. My body rolled across the floor from the attack. I could barely hear Kureha and Hikaru calling out my name. Getting up to a knee, I wipe my stinging cheek with the back of my hand.

"That's a low blow. Using the player data and memories of the person you're just a fake of against me." I growled out. If I wasn't pissed before, I am now. Perhaps if I was the same person I was before the Ordinal Scale incident, I would have closed up and given in. But I'm not that girl anymore. I will find Death Gun. And I will beat him in his own game. The copy seems taken aback by the look of determination that flashes across my face. Obviously, it must have believed I would give in and be easy to take down if my past was brought up at all. I'll show it! With a quick dash from my knelt position, the copy wasn't prepared for my sudden attack.

The photon blade seers deeply into the ArFA-sys, causing damage to the internal mainframe of the copy. It falls down to a knee. Glancing over, I spy that Kureha and Hikaru had Asuna's copy taken care of as well. Kureha glances over at me. Her eyes ask if I'm okay. I give her a smile and wink, to which she flushes up and shakes her head. She looks back down at the defeated ArFA-sys units in shock, the feeling sinking in that we managed to beat Kirito and Asuna's ArFA-sys copycats.

"We... We won! We really won, (Y/N)! They might not be the real deal, but we still beat Kirito and Asuna!" Kureha exclaims, to which Hikaru gets excited about as well, pumping his fist in the air out of excitement. Kureha shakes her head frantically.

"Anyway, we can't stand around celebrating! We've got to hurry and find Lievre before it's too late!" The copies stand up, however seem unstable in their movements. Kirito's copy stares directly into my eyes. It laughs, as if they know something we don't.

"Hate to break it to you, but it's already too late." It claims. Asuna's nods to this apparent fact.

"Our plan's in motion, and Lievre's begun activating the other ArFA-sys units." Hikaru laughs, obviously not taking them seriously.

"We just beat Kirito and Asuna's sorry butts! Like we're going to be scared of anything you guys have to say!" Kirito's copy smirks.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." Then, they both shatter- breaking into many pieces and fading away. Hikaru looks over to Kureha and I, Kirito's copy obviously getting to him.

"What was that about?" He asks. I frowned, as I'm not sure just yet either. We know Lievre wants to destroy the Glocken, but just how is she going to destroy those mechanisms?

"It's possible Lievre could have something else planned. I seriously doubt this copy is just being a sore loser here." Kureha states. I hum, thinking for a moment.

"We should regroup with the rest. We'll let Kirito and Asuna know that their copies have been dealt with and what we know about Lievre's plans." Kureha nods in agreement with my suggestion. Hikaru frowns.

"Shouldn't we go after Lievre though?" He asks. Kureha frowns, shaking her head.

"I would like to, but we don't have the slightest clue as to where she could have gone. We don't have the time to just search blindly at the moment. Our best course of action would be to regroup like (Y/N) suggested." Hikaru looks off to the side, obviously unhappy about the current situation. His eyes suddenly widened, as if he'd realized something.

"Wait, Lievre's master must be connected in some shape or form! After all, we ArFA-sys units can only get our names from one person, and that's the person we recognize as our master." So I was right earlier, Lievre could only be named if she had a master.

"So Lievre definitely was telling the truth when she said that her master was interested in my data for some reason. Regardless, Lievre's master has to be pulling the strings in some way or form behind all of this." Hikaru nods.

"We always act in our master's interests, no matter what!" So, who would be Lievre's master? Who is twisted enough to go through all of this just to destroy the safe-zone within the Glocken? Yui's voice cuts through the tense silence that had settled around us.

"Everyone, I have bad news!" Yui exclaims. Kureha's lips turn down in a concerned frown.

"Yui? What is it?" She asks.

"Enemy ArFA-sys units are appearing in huge numbers in the fields, and they're much stronger than before. Not only that, but they're blocking some players from exiting into the fields!" Yui informs us. This isn't good. If players can't get out, then we can't fight back against the threat! Hikaru grimaces.

"Lievre's behind this, isn't she Master?" I sigh, giving him a grim nod.

"Most likely. But, we'll stop her Hikaru. We'll stop Lievre before it's too late and save the Glocken!" I exclaim, giving Hikaru a determined expression.

"That's right. We have to protect the Glocken and stop Lievre!" Kureha agrees. She looks between the two of us, her eyes mirroring the way I feel right now. Determined to do what's right.

"(Y/N), Hikaru, let's hurry back to the Glocken. I'm sure the rest are probably waiting for us." Right. As we head out, I can't help the feeling of being watched. Looking around tells me that there's no one around. Yet, there's just something in my mind screaming that there's someone dangerous nearby. I sigh, shaking my head.

"It's nothing. Perhaps what that copy said is just affecting me more than I first thought." Kureha looks back at me, seeing as I've fallen behind her and Hikaru.

"(Y/N)? Is everything alright?" She asks. I give her a small smile and a nod.

"Everything's fine. I just thought I saw something, but it was nothing." She nods and with that, we head back to the Glocken.

ps. I'm not dead