The final piece to the Puzzle

<Central City - Days after the invasion>

Since the last conversation Pseudo and Ren had, Pseudo had thought about what Ren said. After contemplating over everything and meditating for a few days, she felt ready enough to tell her what happened; the last gap in her memory. That afternoon, she found Ren in the city, talking to Shira. Taking a deep breath, she walked towards her friend.

Pseudo: Hey Ren. Got a minute? I wanna talk to ya for a second.

Ren turned around to Pseudo, then nodded with a soft smile, gently gesturing Shira to go do whatever she wanted to, to which she responded with a jovial wave to both women, followed by her jogging towards her friends.

Ren turned back to Pseudo, who gestured for them to get a drink while they talked. After sitting down and getting their refreshments, Ren finally broke their silence.

Ren: What's up? You finally feeling like you're up to talk? Her voice was so gentle and reassuring, something that was so soothing to Pseudo's ears. There were no signs of irritation or anger in her voice. Pseudo nodded, taking another deep breath.

Pseudo: I'll start with this first; you were right in assuming I had good reasons for keeping this from you. Like you said earlier, you recall the battle, right?

Ren: The general gist of what happened, but it's still a bit hazy for me. It gets worse the further the memory goes on.

Pseudo: I figured that was gonna happen. Let me explain all of it, starting from the clearest thing you remember: meeting up with Asuna in the Underworld.

FLASHBACK - 5 years ago… 

Ren and several of Asuna and Kirito's friends transferred their characters over to the Underworld after hearing about the situation there. She and many others were fighting off the red soldiers as best as they could with the gear they had. Ren, with Pseudo's assistance, had managed to clear a path towards Asuna so she could get a gauge of the situation.

Ren: Asuna! She stopped next to her friend, who looked at her with relief and joy in her eyes.

Asuna: Ren, it's so good to see you!

Ren: Likewise. she smiles warmly, then turns her expression to serious. What's the situation? How are Sinon and Leafa? I know they came in soon after you, and how's Kirito? Any changes?

Asuna: No, he's still out cold right now. We're protecting him as best as we can. Sinon went after Vecta, who still has Alice. I'm not sure where Leafa is, but I'm sure she's alright. We're doing alright here… Asuna's voice trails off as Ren senses something off. Pseudo starts talking to her, but even her voice is an incoherent blur. Her gaze falls as her expression slightly changes. She looks back to Asuna after blinking back to consciousness.

Ren: Something's wrong. I gotta go. You sure y'all can handle this? She summons her wings while Asuna nods.

Asuna: If you're sensing something, better listen to it. Don't worry about us. Asuna smiles and Ren responds with an affirming nod before launching herself off the ground to the air as she bolts in Sinon's direction.

Pseudo: So you sensed that too? Something familiar?

Ren: Yeah, but it seems wrong. I can't tell, they're probably too far away to decipher it. We gotta find Sinon, she probably ran into them first.

Pseudo: Then let's get to her. What had only been about 2 minutes, Ren had felt like it was 2 hours of her flying before seeing Sinon, but not in good condition. She forced herself to a near stop to turn herself down to Sinon before landing hard a few feet away. Sinon had both of her legs cut and she looked worse for wear. She knelt next to the blue-haired girl.

Ren: Sinon! What happened? You okay?

Sinon: Ren...you're here. Her voice came out very weak. She probably felt worse than she appeared. You have to...get to Alice. He's back.

Ren: her face turned more angered at the last part. Who's back, Sinon?

Sinon: Subtilizer...Ren, Subtilizer is back, and he...Sinon coughed a little before continuing… he's after Alice now.

Ren rested a reassuring hand on Sinon's head for a moment before getting up and stretching her wings out and launching herself into the sky again, only stronger and faster than she did before. She was now pissed off. Knowing that he was back, and knowing how obsessed he can get, Ren was ready to send his ass to hell personally.

Pseudo: Ren…? Are you-

Ren: I'm gonna fucking kill him. She accidentally cut off Pseudo, who was in the same boat as her.

Pseudo: Glad you and I are on the same page. About a minute of flying had passed when Ren felt strong shockwaves of movement. She looked ahead of her and saw a large formation appear near the destination point she heard about a bit before transferring over. Once she got close enough to see that the formation was a large set of stairs, with Asuna and Alice at the bottom, slowly making their way up, she also found Kirito floating near them.

Ren: They must've flown past me while I was talking to Sinon. She snickered lightly at the thought before seeing Subtilizer standing on his manta ray-like mount, her expression turning back to serious. When she turned her gaze back up again, Kirito was staring him down, and Ren knew what that meant. Before either could do anything, Ren flew and stopped in front of Kirito, who jumped back in surprise.

Kirito: R-Ren? What are you…?

Ren: Listen, Black Swordsman. This son of a bitch is my problem. Your priority is protecting those ladies. She points to Asuna and Alice with her blade that was now drawn. Kirito looked at them, then back at Ren. Before he could even protest, she gave him a look of, 'You are not convincing me otherwise,' which reminded him of Asuna's look in some regards.

Kirito: Be careful. Whoever he is, he's not someone to underestimate. And one last thing: We only have about 5 minutes before we're all logged out of here. Try to be quick. Ren nodded in affirmation and Kirito flew down to the girls to help them towards their destination point faster. Ren turned her attention towards Subtilizer, whose expression had turned from one of confusion to one of interest, recognizing the woman hovering in front of him.

Subtilizer: I see you've returned for me. I still remember the small taste I got of your soul the last time we crossed paths. If you're going to stand in my way of getting to Alice, then I'll enjoy claiming your soul instead. He smiled evilly at Ren, who glared at him.

Ren: I'm not going to be so easy to fall this time, Gabriel. As she said this, she twirls her sword in front of her before pointing it to the sky.

She summoned a great amount of light magic, forming the energy into blades and orbs around her. Gabriel scoffed lightly, drawing his sword with dark magic ebbing on its blade, and charged at Ren, launching himself off his mount. As he did so, she fired all the orbs and blades at him, which overwhelmed the bastard, who had to use his dark magic to blow them all away with a magic shield, barely landing on his creature.

Ren flew over and around Gabriel, firing orbs of light at the man as she did so. He blocked most of them and absorbed the others before ricochetting them back at her. Being faster than him, she dodged his shots, diving under his last one before readying a sword skill.

Ren: Azure Tempest! She spun in front of him, slashing at him, then slammed her blade into his mount hard, cutting through its head. The creature cried in pain, but it was cut short as Ren fired a massive beam of light magic at Gabriel, sending him flying back.

Pseudo: Ooh, nice one Red!

Ren: Kirito said that he seemed off, and he's never warned me about a boss like this. Not since the death trap, at least. Why is he this easy to take down?

Her question was answered when she got slammed by a large blast of dark magic, which threw her back hard. She managed to catch herself with a couple hard flaps of her wings. Firing herself with a healing bullet, Ren looked up to see what had caused it, only to find Gabriel now flying again, but this time, without his mount. A pair of dark, bat-like wings had appeared on his back. He smiled at her as she flew back up to eye-level with Gabriel.

Gabriel: Thank you for the idea, Ren Pherali. He said this in such a way that was disturbing for her to hear, but she wasn't able to react to that as she was hit by a fast blade, which she barely blocked with her blade. Gabriel was moving much faster than before, much to Ren's irritation. They eventually got into a blade lock, with Ren flapping her wings hard to try to match his strength, but given his much greater size than her, this was a challenge.

Gabriel: You struggle, fight back, and try so helplessly, knowing I am going to claim your soul. Why not just give in, and finally the struggle can end?

Ren: Now more pissed off. Like hell, I will! I'm going to… Suddenly everything turned grey around her, as her thoughts began to derail.

Ren: Wait, why am I still fighting? What am I doing? Was I supposed to do something? While her thoughts wandered like this, Gabriel watched her body be surrounded by his dark vine-like magic, her eyes losing their lights. Smiling evilly and muttering incoherently to himself, he pulled Ren closer to him. Even though Ren was no longer aware of her surroundings, Pseudo was and saw this happening. It was when Gabriel pulled Ren's face close to his own that she got enough strength back into Ren's arms and wings to react.

Pseudo: Let her go! Gabriel's hands were forced off of Ren by Pseudo, who was momentarily controlling her body while Ren recollected herself.

Gabriel: What is this? Another voice? He looked at Ren, expecting her blue eyes, but only saw red orbs glaring back at him. Pseudo was emanating a more vicious energy than Ren, causing Gabriel to chuckle to himself.

G: I see now. You must be the reason Ren's soul tastes so different to me.

Pseudo: You touch her like that again and you're a fucking dead man, you fuckwad! Pseudo's voice let out a venom that anyone could feel. Gabriel smirked at her.

Gabriel: Two souls in one body. I will enjoy this so much more than I thought! Now seeing red, Pseudo launched herself at Gabriel with a war cry, slashing at him with more ferocity and power than Ren. Her assault was harder for Gabriel to keep up with due to those differences. They eventually clashed blades, but Pseudo laid her feet against his chest and kicked him back into a rock pillar. As Gabriel shook his head, she was already flying at him again, crashing into him with a massive orb of magic. Gabriel flew a small distance away as Pseudo flew back up, ready to summon more magic-

Ren: Pseudo, hold on a second.

Pseudo: Ren! Holy fuck...she took a breath to calm herself...Are you ok?

Ren: Shaken, but alright. I have an idea. But I need to be in the driver's seat for this. Pseudo nodded, allowing Ren to take control once more. As her blue eyes now watched Gabriel, who was now trying to get to Alice again, she told Pseudo her plan. As the bastard got close to them, she smirked and flew after him, summon a rope of light magic to catch Gabriel. He jolted as he was stopped suddenly, and as he turned around, he saw what caused his pause. He cut the rope with his magic, turning his attention back to Ren.

He flew to her eye level and watched her quizzically. Noting the time, Ren noticed she only had about 2 minutes before the auto-logout Kirito warned her about. The two girls had to be fast for this to work. Gabriel began summoning a massive amount of dark magic, which Ren had predicted.

Gabriel: I think it's time for our fun to come to an end.

Ren: For once, we can agree on something. Answering his magic with her own, Ren activated her (beta) Guardian form, and Pseudo transformed into the armor Ren had designed a little bit before transferring over, along with a sword that matched her new gear. While she did this, she summoned her own mass of light magic, which formed into three blades, each one appearing slightly different. Ren and Gabriel watched one another, then at the same time, flew at each other, clashing blow for blow with their magic and swords. From an outside view, it would appear like a light show of blue and purple, one light and one dark.

As Gabriel tried charging at her, Ren flew over him, firing a beam of light at his back, which he then answered with whips of dark magic. Ren's light blades broke them and shielded her, as she charged at him, throwing waves of magic at Gabriel. Eventually, the two were both beginning to be worn out, with neither showing it to the other. Gabriel glared at her once more, something Ren was growing tired of. She checked the time again, she had 1 minute. 

Gabriel: I grow tired of this. I'm ending you now. He summoned his whips of dark again to try his stunt from before. She watched them fly towards her as she narrowed her eyes.

59…

58…

57…

56…

Ren: No, you're done. She summons ropes of light magic again, entangling him in them, while using her blades to break the whips once more, shattering her own at the same time with a war cry of his own. He was frustrated and flustered, and that was the opening she needed.

39…

38…

Ren charged at Gabriel, slashing at him, flying in multiple directions, using skill after skill in a major combination. She had managed to knock his sword out of his hand, which led to him breaking out of the ropes and summoning a sword of dark magic to combat Ren.

27…

26…

25…

They clashed swords once more, which is what Ren wanted him to do.

Ren: Pseudo, now! Suddenly, Gabriel was thrown back by a wave of magic caused by Pseudo, as Ren pulled herself back a little with her wings. Adjusting to the right angle with her blade, she whispered under her breath...Please let this work.

15…

14…

13…

Ren: whispering, while keeping her eyes on Gabriel...Moonlit Death. With Pseudo giving Ren a power and defensive boost, thanks to the armor and sword she turned into, on top of them charging up all the magic they are able to, the two charged at Gabriel hitting him with Ren's most powerful blade attack, followed by a large blast of magic. Gabriel screamed out in pain from her assault, while Ren pulled herself back a little to hit him with one more beam of light magic for good measure, however…

3…

2…

1…

Before she was able to, Gabriel's body disappeared. Ren blinked a couple times and then sighed with relief. She then flew towards the island Kirito and the girls were heading to and landed, albeit shakily. Ren stumbled pretty badly as she tried to stand.

Pseudo: Easy Red. We used a lot of power to kick his ass. You okay? Ren's breaths came out shaky and heavy, her body trembling the longer she remained standing.

P: Ren? Hey, talk to me! Are you alright? Ren! Ren turned around to face where her friends were, her mind able to acknowledge them all leaving safely, given that Kirito, Asuna, and Alice were nowhere to be seen. As Pseudo continued trying to talk to Ren, her voice slowly faded out of Ren's ears. She looked down to see her body, but her vision was fuzzy and blurred, almost as if she was crying. A soft blue aura slowly ebbed, and given her lack of clear sight, she didn't realize why it was present. As Ren tried to process the new developments, she felt her body collapse and her mind fell blank soon after.

END OF FLASHBACK - Present Day

Ren finishes the last of her drink, along with Pseudo, who sighs after finishing hers.

Pseudo: We had expelled so much energy and magic trying to desperately defeat this shithead that we didn't even realize his strikes had gotten us worse than we realize. It wasn't just a "power-up" aura we were seeing. Pseudo's brows furrow as she continues...That was our magic leaving your body. When you passed out, that magic caused you to be transferred to a world where you weren't gonna be trapped and left for dead...I think. That's why what remnant of magic you had left was so-

Ren: Weak. That also explains why I didn't remember leaving the Underworld. I never logged out. So...okay, I get why my magic was acting up, but why was my connection to you fucked over as well? Ren was now more frustrated, wondering how she never realized any of this sooner.

Pseudo: I would guess for self-preservation. As much as I protected you, your body's main functions take priority, and at the time, it took magic to summon me. Where here, it didn't. But you still had to build up your strength again. Right now, you're near to where you were then. It would be nice to try that damned team attack again. It was fucking badass. I just wish it was what did Gabriel in.

Ren: chuckled lightly Yeah, you and me both. But I saw the shape he's in now. We fucked him over hard. I bet Crawford probably got him some repairs so he could stand a chance against me. But hey, when he drags his ass out again, I won't let him go easy on me. I get the feeling he was gauging my power and holding back. That's the only reason I can think of him being beaten so easily. Pseudo quirked her brows at Ren, smirking in agreeance. Ren sighed lightly as she gestured to get a new drink.

Ren: Hey, thanks for telling me all that. I get it was alot. That does answer my other questions, and also gives me a good idea of what I was, and still am, capable of doing. I'm no god, not that I claim to be, but I get the sense I was no slouch either. I had never really lost that much power before, so...it makes sense why it was such a bad setback for me.

Pseudo: You're my best friend. You have a right to remember your past. If you ever need anything else from me...she pauses to gesture for a new drink herself and catch it as it was slid to her, then points the bottle at Ren with a smirk...You fucking tell me, got it?

Ren gave Pseudo a shit-eating grin in return, tapping Pseudo's bottle with her own. They stayed there for a couple hours, simply talking, both women feeling more put together.

Written 10/03/2021