Johnny dropped silently next to Kirito. "Ah, don't worry Kirito, Morte didn't kill Asuna or anything."

Johnny's sudden entrance completely killed the tense mood of the scene. It had been a serious encounter until Johnny had popped in.

Kirito spun around to face Johnny, clutching his chest. "God, JB, don't fucking do that!"

Johnny grinned. "Can't help myself, you know? But anyways, I've been following Morte for a few days now. She picked Asuna's rapier off of a mob. One of those [Shrewmen] or something."

Morte frowned, her mail coif still not replaced, leaving her face exposed. "You've been following me? Seriously? Since when?"

"Ever since you put an axe through my leg. When it comes to going undetected, I'm damn good at it in and out of the game. And trust me, that's a feat and a half," Johnny explained.

Apparently Kirito had latched onto the first part of Johnny's statement, his hand drawing his sword slightly. "Wait, you chopped off JB's leg?"

Morte rolled her eyes. "To be fair, he deserved it."

In spite of Johnny's offended protests, Kirito frowned, resheathing his blade. "Okay, probably."

At this moment, Asuna stepped out from the hollow she had hidden in. "Careful, Kirito. These two… they're planning on getting a bunch of ALS forces killed by raiding the Floor Boss on New Year's Eve."

Kirito's [Anneal Blade] was drawn fully, while Asuna pulled out an [Iron Rapier]. With her main weapon in Morte's hands, she had to make do with a spare. Morte scoffed at their threatening stance. "Oh, why should you care? If they die, it's their own fault for being so greedy."

Johnny nodded in agreement. "Yeah, really. Bunch'a assholes, the ALS."

A harsh slap across his head had him stumbling forwards. Johnny spun around and looked at Kirito with a betrayed look. "No, JB. You don't agree with the murderous PKer, right?" Asuna nodded in agreement, glaring at Johnny.

"It's just a little murder," Johnny grumbled. Still he drew his [Mummy's Finger]. "Fine. I wanted to get Morte back for ruining my fun anyways."

Drawing her [Anneal Blade] and [Iron Shield], Morte also glared at Johnny. "Torturing NPCs is not what I would consider fun, Black. Especially friendly ones."

Before Johnny could respond, he found Kirito and Asuna's hands on his shoulders. "JB…" Kirito muttered.

"Do we have to have another chat about what is and what is not allowed?" Asuna finished.

Johnny flinched. "H-hey. It… it wasn't a person?"

Both Asuna and Kirito sighed. Kirito glanced at Asuna. "You want to take it this time?"

Asuna frowned. "He's your friend, Kirito," she pointed out.

Johnny swallowed worriedly. "Umm. L-look, Morte's getting away!"

The two older teens stopped glaring at Johnny and glanced over at Morte. The girl had turned to leave, though it could hardly be called getting away. Morte paused and looked back at them. "What? I'm not dealing with your internal problems," Morte muttered. "If you want to stop the ALS from killing itself, feel free. It's not like I want them dead or anything in particular, I just push them in that direction. If they die, that's their own stupidity."

"It would be a few less morons in the world," Johnny commented, shrinking away beneath the annoyed glares of Asuna and Kirito. "O-okay, shutting up now."

Kirito looked at Morte, before sighing. "Fine, leave. But hand over Asuna's rapier first."

"And your pant-" Johnny gagged mid-sentence as Kirito stuffed a bar of soap into his mouth. Morte tossed Asuna's [Chivalric Rapier] at the teens with a roll of her eyes. Pulling her [Cloak] on, Morte faded into the catacombs along with her partner.

Asuna glanced at Kirito as she picked up her [Chivalric Rapier]. "Any reason we let them go?"

Kirito sighed, kicking Johnny's legs out so he faceplanted on the ground. "In a fight Morte can beat me, and you're not good at PvP. JB… moderately helpful, but only as a distraction. We could probably beat them, but at least one of us would have died. Probably JB, with his no [Health] and by the way, what the fuck is that build, JB?"

Pawing at his mouth and spitting bitter soap out, Johnny still had time to grin up at Kirito from where he lay on the ground. "I'm Sonic!"

"You don't even like Sega!" Kirito shot back. "Seriously, your favourite Sonic game is Unleashed!"

Johnny smirked impishly. "Well, you know. I can still run like h-uk!"

Kirito stomped down on the boy's back, sending Johnny back to the ground as the boy attempted to raise himself to his feet. The smirk disappeared from Johnny's face as Kirito and Asuna glared at him, distinctly unamused. "You know, JB, when we said no more killing, NPCs may not have been included in that. A mistake on my part," Kirito admitted. "So, no more killing allied NPCs. If they are your enemy then fine. But the rest are to be left alone, do you understand?" For emphasis, Kirito stomped Johnny into the dirt again, the younger boy coughing as the air was forced from his lungs. "Understand?"

"C-crystal, Kirito-kun!" Johnny stuttered, face down in the dirt, having given up any hope of escaping. Kirito's [Strength] far outpaced his, though admittedly almost anyone's did.

Kirito's foot was removed from Johnny's back, and though Johnny had his face buried in the ground, he heard them walk away. Once he was sure they were gone, he raised himself from the ground into a sitting position, quickly grabbing a [Mirror] from his [Inventory]. A pale skinned, almost girlish looking young boy with short brown hair and matching eyes stared back at him, cheeks dusted with red. Johnny winced, thankful that he'd been face down. But really, his body felt all tingly, even though Kirito hadn't been that forceful. It wasn't pain or anything; Kirito spanking him had been much more painful. Ah, there was that tingling again. What the Hell was wrong with him?

Shaking his head and rising to his feet, Johnny began to trace Morte's trail. Maybe stripping her would help to clear his head. Couldn't beat Morte his ass. Kirito was totally underestimating him! And for some reason he couldn't bear the thought of that. Okay, sure, Morte was better than him at fighting. But with his new skill, all he needed was a single chance.

Morte paused and motioned for her compatriot to go on ahead. The hooded man disappeared without a word and Morte turned to confront her pursuer. "Black. I thought you would have run off with your boyfriend."

"I don't run!" Johnny denied, feigning offense.

"That is literally your build," Morte shot back. "All you do is run!"

The next second she recoiled, her axe swinging futility as Johnny's knife traced a crimson trail across her cloak. Johnny smirked as the cloak she wore shattered into pixels.

"Sometimes I attac too," Johnny quipped.

Morte lashed out, both physically, her axe barely missing Johnny's neck, and verbally. "Dead fucking meme, Black! Just like you're about to be!"

"And yet your name is the one that means death. Makes your words a bit ironic, don't you think?" Johnny spun past a savage overhead blow that splintered the earth and rent Morte's pants to shreds with a blade of crimson light.

A kick sent him flying backwards, while also giving him a great view of Morte's panties. Something he, of course, commented on. "Black with red A's? A bit edgy, isn't it?" Coughing as he stumbled to his feet, he adopted a classic thinking pose. "But then again, your name is also a bit edgy too. Are you sure you're older than me?"

Morte yanked her shirt down to cover her lower body, face as red as the letters on her panties. "Shut it, Black!"

Johnny raised his dagger. "Are you trying to imply that Black's an edgy name? I mean, sure, it is as far as colours or whatnot goes. Look at Kirito!" Both fighters rolled their eyes. Kirito might be great, Johnny mused, but his fashion sense… wait, why was he thinking about what Kirito looked like? Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Johnny continued. "But Black is a perfectly common English last name."

Morte stared at him, then groaned. "English. Of course. I knew there was a reason I didn't like you. Beyond the whole pervert thing."

"Says the Frenchie." The two clashed again and Morte was forced to give up concealing her panties as Johnny's knife almost sliced her throat open, her shirt fluttering as she leapt backwards to make distance. It was a split second opportunity, one that Johnny seized. Like lightning, his knife illuminated the darkened tunnel with light. Morte rolled her eyes and her axe swept forwards to intercept his reckless charge. The smirk on her face evaporated when Johnny made no attempt to evade or even to attack her directly. Instead, his knife sliced through her weapon.

Cursing, Morte swung the handle of her axe like a club and forced Johnny back. She winced as the head of her axe clattered to the ground, cut away from the handle by Johnny's knife.

[Shatterpoint], a [Corruption] skill that destroyed weak points in an object. Quite the useful new skill, Johnny decided. Spinning around, he faced Morte, dagger glinting ominously.

"You've no weapon, and almost no armour left, Morte. How 'bout surrendering?" Johnny offered.

Morte sighed. "And what would surrendering entail, Black?"

Johnny considered that for a moment. "Probably a long, humiliating, naked walk back to Asuna and Kirito to apologize for bothering them?"

"Thought so." Morte raised the axe handle. "Shame I don't surrender then."

She lunged forwards, swinging the long handle like a bat. Johnny's knife swung forwards to intercept it. It wasn't even a [Skill] that Morte was using, so it should be weak enough for even him to overpower.

Abruptly, the swing shifted directions, lashing past Johnny's guard and slamming him in the jaw. If it had been an actual weapon, he'd probably have lost a tooth or two. As was, he was just sent flying in an arc. Activating [Acrobatics] in the air, he twisted his body. [Throwing Weapons] activated, and he hurled the knife into Morte's chest where it buried itself, shredding the durability of both the chainmail she wore over her chest and the shirt below. Morte stumbled back with a grunt, as her shirt and armour burst into a shower of polygons, leaving her plain black sports bra exposed.

Johnny landed lightly on the ground, pulling another dagger from his belt. "Okay, so you know how to use a club, but do you know how to endure the pain?" Johnny smirked as Morte grimaced as she tugged on the knife. "Yeah, that won't work. I made sure to modify that knife with [Barbed]. It's not coming out easy," Johnny explained. "So, as is, it'll hurt to even move. Plus, fighting in your underwear seems a bit embarrassing, doesn't it?"

Morte sucked in a deep breath, before straightening herself. She gazed up at Johnny and sneered. "Hurt? Hell, a knife wound doesn't hurt that much. Gas burns, rubber bullets and beanbag rounds bruise, water cannons and batons break bones. That hurts. A knife wound? Give me a break, Black." She swung the axe handle she carried a few times, experimentally. "And sure, it's embarrassing to fight in my underwear, but when you deal with gas you've gotta strip the clothes off, you know? And that's my real body, not this digital manifestation, so it's even more embarrassing. But if I can deal with that, I can deal with this!"

She launched herself at him and Johnny was forced to slip away, relying on his superior movement speed to survive the strike. Johnny danced past her blows, barely staying ahead of her violent strikes.

"Oh, my dear sweet anarkiddie." Johnny slipped past Morte's guard and rammed another knife into her chest. "Bunch of edgy, depressed, middle-class teens, yelling about shit they don't understand. Watch V for Vendetta once, you know everything there is to know about the world."

Morte grunted and slugged Johnny in the face, before slamming her club into his hand, knocking the knife he had just drawn away. "Middle-class my ass. Fuck. You!" Morte brought her club down repeatedly on Johnny's legs. If it was real life, every bone would probably be broken. As was, it only simulated such. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Morte clobbered Johnny in the face, sending him sliding across the ground. "I grew up on the fuckin' streets, Black, you don't know shit about me!"

Johnny lay there, motionless, staring at his legs. On his HUD, the [Crippled] Debuff flashed, the legs of the 3D render of his body flashing red. His body began to shake. Morte stalked forwards. "You know, I would have let you live, Black. But you just had to push your luck, didn't you?"

"What, you think you've won?" Johnny looked up, his body shaking with laughter, face set in a mirthful grin. "No legs? No problem." With a light push, Johnny began balancing himself on his hands, staring at Morte upside down.

The girl growled angrily. "Woop de doo, you can balance on your hands. But it's not like you can actually fight like th-"

The next second found Morte swinging her club desperately as Johnny slipped past her guard, having launched himself at her with a handspring. Wrapping his arms around her like a monkey, he tackled her to the ground. With the two in grappling range, Johnny began to overwhelm Morte, his daggers much more suited for such a close range engagement. Beyond that, Morte's axe handle wasn't actually a weapon, only able to deal damage to Johnny by virtue of his incredible lack of [Health] and [Defense], and even then the damage was pathetically low.

Morte's [Health] plummeted as Johnny tore into her with a tyrannical chain of stabs. 50%. 25%. It wasn't like she wasn't fighting back, but despite her best efforts, Johnny easily kept her suppressed. Even though his legs were [Crippled], it wasn't as if he needed them to keep her pinned. As her [Health] dipped into [Red Blood], she raised her hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay! I give!" Johnny kept stabbing her, though he did decrease the rate of strikes. Morte gulped as her [Health] continued to decrease. "I said I surrender! I'll strip, I'll apologize naked, I'll beg, whatever!"

"And I thought you didn't surrender? Oh wait, you're French, of course you do." Still, Johnny stopped his blade an inch from her throat. 1/3198 [Health] remaining flashed on Morte's [HUD].

Though a milimeter away from death, she still glared at him. "Can you cut the surrender jokes, Black?"

"I could cut you instead." Johnny waved his dagger threateningly.

Defeated, Morte could do nothing but grit her teeth. "Fine, whatever. I've surrendered, so what do I have to do?"

A [Healing Potion: Grade 3] was pushed into her hands. "Drink this first." Morte did so, not wanting to be on 1 [Health] for any longer than she had to. Her [Health] rocketed up, before sharply plummeting, Morte falling to her knees as pain shot through her body.

"Dammit Black! Tell me before you do that!" Morte clutched her chest where Johnny had pulled the [Barbed] dagger free. Still, the pain faded quickly leaving her able to move freely. She rose to her feet, but kept glaring at the ground, covering her underwear with her arms as she did so. "So, am I going to have to strip?"

Though she wasn't looking at him, she could practically feel the grin on Johnny's face. "Terms of your surrender are that you strip naked, thank me for sparing your life in dogeza, hunt down Kirito and Asuna naked and apologize for bothering them, and from now on wear only plain white underwear."

"Oh come on! White's not my colour," Morte grumbled.

Johnny smirked. "As a cheese-eating surrender monkey, white's the perfect colour for you. But if you'd rather, you can always go commando. Speaking of which, strip naked already."

"Fine! White it is, so shut the fuck up about the whole surrender thing! France was a foremost military world power for the last millenium!" Morte shouted angrily, even as she unequipped her bra and panties, exposing her milky chocolate body in its entirety. Face red with anger and embarrassment, her pretty yellow eyes tried to burn a hole through the [Recording Crystal] Johnny had pulled out of his inventory.

"Surprisingly nationalistic for an anarkiddie," Johnny commented. "Hey, here's something I'm sure you've heard a lot. Hands on your head."

Morte obeyed, sighing as she was forced to expose her body, her sizable breasts jiggling a bit as she did so. "I wasn't caught that much, alright? Usually I managed to escape the police."

"Or beat their teeth in I'm sure. Hey, I guess it's true what they say about the French and shaving." Morte flushed as Johnny stared at her lower body.

Standing firm, she faced Johnny directly, though the red that dusted her brown cheeks made her much less intimidating. "What is it with you and the stereotypes, Black? It's a game, and I haven't seen the need to bother yet, alright?"

"Mostly I'm just trying to piss you off," Johnny admitted. "Get on your knees and thank me for sparing your life."

Cursing under her breath, Morte lowered herself to her knees and then to the ground in a deep dogeza, grimacing as her breasts were pressed against the uncomfortable ground. Pressing her forehead to the ground, she managed to spit out the words. "Merci pour votre gentillesse, Johnny Black. Un jour, je te tuerai."

"Je comprends le français, tu sais?" Johnny replied. Morte gulped. "And just for that, from now on you wear skirts. And no hoods or whatnot." Morte simply nodded in acceptance, sighing. Why on earth did he know French?

"But why no hoods?" she asked, glancing up at him from her kneeling position.

Johnny grinned at her. "Well, it'd be a shame if you kept covering that cute face of yours."

"W-w-wha…" Morte trailed off, stammering at his words. Quickly she hopped to her feet, turning her head away from him. "I'm done here right? I can go?"

Johnny waved her off and Morte quickly disappeared into the tunnels, to hunt down Kirito and Asuna. Johnny shrugged as he gathered up her clothes, discarded and forgotten in her haste to run away. Opening his [Friend's List] he sent a message to Kirito and Asuna.

Asuna responded for the both of them, something that irritated Johnny for some reason, asking what he wanted. Johnny shot her a quick message explaining what happened, along with the recorded video of Morte's naked body and apology. He also attached a request that they teleport to opposite sides of the Floor, to make Morte have to humiliate herself even more. He received an eye-roll in response.

He supposed it was too much to ask that Miss Goody-Two-Shoes Asuna would go to such lengths to humiliate someone she didn't really have a problem with. Whatever. Whistling to himself, Johnny wandered off into the darkness himself. At the end of the day, there was still grinding to do. Seriously, Morte was quite strong. If he hadn't managed to surprise her, if he hadn't been well-accustomed to fighting without legs, if, if, if. So, he had to get stronger. To protect Kirito… wait, that wasn't right. To tease, to tease! Why would he want to protect Kirito? Ah, geez, finding Morte was supposed to get rid of these thoughts.

In other news, wow, shit's fucked. In better news, I finished my first year of college. And this chapter. Quite a long wait. Oops. This has actually been about 95% finished for like, half a year. But I just didn't feel up to working on it. Who knows why. Cheers anyways. I think the French is correct. Who knows. 2 years of high school French and one year of College French aren't actually helpful if you don't pay that much attention.