Welcome Committee

Kirito and Asuna both stared out their window to watch as the lights of New York City danced below them. As the plane began its decent they both felt a knot in their stomachs but neither could decide if it was just the change in cabin pressure, or a little bit of nervousness so they just squeezed each other's hand and took some deep breaths.

When they touched down there were four black cars waiting for them. Before exiting the plane Kirito stood at the door, holding Asuna's hand, and looked back at her. "Here we go. Let's take care of this mess so we can finally get married IRL."

At the bottom of the stars stood a young man with medium length dark brown hair and green eyes. Next to the you g man was a lady with a short black hair and blue eyes.

The young man extended his hand towards Kirito and spoke in perfect Japanese. "Welcome to America Mr. and Mrs. Kirigaya. I'm Kyle and this is Kacey. We will be your guides for your stay in America. It's an honor to meet you."

Kirito peered at Asuna who had bowed but he could see the shiver coming from her at the use of the improper names again.

Kirito shook the young man's hand and shook it and spoke to Kyle with a hushed tone. "Why does everyone keep calling us Mr. and Mrs. Kirigaya?"

His whisper failed to conceal anything from Asuna as she stood up looking embarrassed.

Kyle and Kacey blushed before Kacey spoke up. "Our records indicate that you both have been married for several years? Since your time in— SAO..."

Kirito and Asuna were now the ones blushing as Kirito rubbed the back of his neck. "Um— yeah— we've been married in game for awhile now but actually tomorrow—"

Asuna interrupted. "We aren't married IRL yet." She flared at her VR husband.

Kyle and Kacey both took deep breaths. With hands in front of his chest Kyle explained. "Well there is a simple explanation. In America we recognize virtual marriages. When our system learned how long you've been married in game and that you're also together IRL it must've concluded that you were married. We are so sorry for any embarrassment this may have caused." Kacey was furiously tapping on a tablet while Kyle spoke. She looked up shortly after he finished. "It shouldn't happened again. Is there something else you'd like people to call you?"

"Kazuto and Asuna is fine." Kirito said as he squeezed Asuna's hand.

They were brought to one of the black cars and while they drove to their hotel They stared out the window as they made their way into the jungle of y'all buildings.

Kyle waited until they passed the spot where they could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance to speak. "Once we get to your hotel we suggest you rest. I know the time difference is pretty severe, but truthfully it might be an advantage. Most players here log in around 4pm and the last wave of players log out around now."

Kirito glanced around the car's clock that read "2:03am."

"We still haven't been told that much about the game." Asuna pointed of.

"And with the rush to pack and leave I didn't have that much time to research either." Kirito confessed. There had been moments when he could have done more research, but before really arriving in the US he was trying to stay in the moment with Asuna.

"We are not that far away from our destination, so we should probably wait to be with the team at head quarters to answer any questions and go into the details. But for now I'll ask Kacey to go over a brief summary." He patted his coworkers shoulder as she turned her tablet around.

On the tablet was the cover of the game; a demon in all black and an angel in all white on either side reaching for the center reaching for the cross. "You guys have heard of Armageddon right?"

Kirito spoke, sounding haunted. "Yeah— a lot of our friends have been talking about it…"

Kacey continued. "That's probably because about three days ago it launch internationally." She sighed. "Which is why we reached out to you. Have any of your friends actually played it yet, that you know of?"

Asuna sounded worried as she answered. "A couple of them have logged in and got their characters set up but we've all been a little— distracted the last few days."

Kyle chimed in. "That's sort of surprising considering your past. We half expected that the two of you would have already started playing. Must be something important to distract the two of you."

Kacey glared at her coworker. "Anyway. That's none of our business." She returned her eyes to Kirito and Asuna. "The game opened to beta testing in America four months ago to one thousand players and when those players started blogging and reporting on the gameplay the buzz was— larger than we have ever seen. When the game launched three months ago in America in broke every record for downloads. Just over fifty million people downloaded the game. When it launched internally it went supernova. The number of total downloads is just under three hundred million."

Kirito and Asuna were shaking and it took him a moment to ask his question. "How many people have died?" the hand the held Asuna's tightened a little and his other gripped the side his pants.

"As of right now, six hundred and sixty six." Kacey said as she turned the tablet back to her and started swiping and pressing.

"What does that mean?" Asuna asked.

Kyle spoke as Kacey moved her fingers across the screen in a hurry. "A day after the international launch, there was a seven hour block of time when players weren't allowed to log in, they were told it was for system maintenance due to the amount of new players. When everyone returned to the game, those that chose to be angels noticed a permanent object in their storage, a shield, and those that chose to play as demons noticed a mark on their forearms that was labeled the mark of the beast. During peak hours of American player activity the FBI, CIA and several other government agencies were sent videos from the creator of Armageddon and every player was suddenly brought to a field in game…" Kacey turned the screen back to the couple.

On the screen was a video waiting to be played. Kacey's eyes were dark as she spoke before pressing play. "This is what the players saw."

The video started, a large group of players, both angels and demons stood in a field facing a stage. It looked like a concert stage and had several large screen not only on the sides but also in the sky that displayed six hundred sixty six people standing on choir steps. All the players on the stage are dressed in black with red lines all, their black feathers wings tucked behind them. Although there were no ropes or restraints, they seemed to be restricted from moving or talking.

Seven angels appeared, blowing seven horns. The sky opened and an even larger angel, with three sets of wings. "Hello players. The time has finally come for the real game to begin." Players in the field cheered. "Four months ago one thousand players entered the game. The players you see on the stage are the two thirds of the beta testers who chose to play as demons. A sign from the heavens that it is indeed time for Armageddon to begin!" Again, more cheering. "By now you all will have noticed the updates from the system update. Angels, you now have the shield of faith. Demon's you have received the mark of the beast. When these first six hundred and sixty six demons are executed both here and in the real world, the game begins for the rest of you." The cheers began to die down and people started to ask if they heard right. "Two thirds of the three hundred million players world wide that have logged in chose to play as demons, a sign of the state of this world. Demons, from this day forward you have thirty days to live." The crowd begins to grumble and yell, and someone even shouts "Is this like that SAO shit from a few years ago?" The large angel laughed. "After today's demonstration, you are welcome to log out and live your lives normally as long as you return to the game every seven days to complete a mission of any difficulty level." The crowd starts becoming enraged, cursing and saying things like "This is bullshit!"

The angel waved his arm over the crowd and silence fell across the crowd as the players on the stage began to collapse into a pile. The players in the field could no longer be heard, but they were still screaming, they were still yelling at the sky.

"This is God's will, passed down through me, his servant, Micheal. The lord is not without mercy, even for his children who have fallen so low as demons. If one of you who have fallen can put on the full armor of God you will achieve salvation for your kind. My fellow angels, before I leave, you should know, you are not exempt of God's laws. As long as you log in every seven days and you do not help a demon player you are spared from the final judgement of death. His kingdom come, his will be done."

The video ends as Micheal ascends back into the clouds and the players screaming and yelling becomes unmuted.

Kacey's voice was dark. "Those six hundred and sixty six beta testers were all found dead from what appears to be something exploding inside their brains."

Kirito and Asuna squeezed their hands again as flashes of the people they saw die in SAO filled their heads. It took them a moment to return to the conversation. By the time Kirito's mind returned to the conversation they had arrived at their destination.