LOCK & KEY [C][Q]

For the past few hours Sparrow felt as if she was stuck in a dream. After the chaos had settled - if anything can be called ‘settled’ after something like that - Sparrow had somehow maneuvered herself through the crowd and found herself leaning against a stone wall. She had been staring at the sky this whole time, watching it change colors just like the sky back home. Though the town was full of people, their chatter was dull white noise in the back of her mind. She was numb to the wind on her face, blind to the silhouettes of strangers passing her by, and unresponsive to anyone who had come across her thus far. All she wanted was to watch the sky. To witness one last beautiful thing before she went.

However, she had made that ultimatum hours ago. Slowly, Sparrow tore her gaze from the sky and looked down at her hands. She opened and closed them, surprised to feel that she could still feel something. And even though her body felt heavy and each breath she took settled like stones in her lungs, she realized that she was still alive.

She was still alive.

When Kayaba made his announcement, Sparrow was positive she was going to die within the hour. And not because of dire wolves or bosses or any other dangers that this world possessed, but because she knew that the moment her mother came to check on her and saw the NERVEGEAR on her daughter’s head it would be ripped off her faster than she could say SWORD ART. Her parents abhorred video games and anything similar to it, and Suzume had known that purchasing the game in the first place would be considered a great betrayal. But too much time had passed and she was still here. Not that she wasn’t grateful, but she was surprised.

“Something happened,” she realized out loud. Something of a miracle. Perhaps her parents had seen the news before checking on her. Or maybe anyone who had purchased the game had been tracked and their families contacted to warn them of what could happen should the gear be taken off. Or, more likely, her parents just assumed she was asleep and her death was delayed for the next few hours. Either way, she had somehow gotten more time.

She just didn’t know how to spend it.

Sparrow slowly peeled herself away from the wall, every muscle protesting the change of position after having stayed in the same place for hours. Her legs felt a little numb as she moved forward, her eyes glancing through the Town Square as she tried to think of her next move. If she was going to live then she had to try and find her brother. She didn’t doubt he’d be aiming for the front lines, but she knew she couldn’t join him there. Not yet, at least. But until then, there had to be something she could do...

“Help!”

There we go.

Sparrow swivelled around, her eyes wide as she stared at the little girl who had approached her with tears streaking her face. She immediately crouched down to the girl’s level and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, her eyes crinkling in concern.

“Hey! Are you all ri--”

Before she could finish, the little girl began to plead with Sparrow for help in finding a locket. Sparrow listened intently, feeling bad for the poor girl whose trinket obviously meant a lot to her, and offered her a kind smile. That’s when she noticed the expression on the girl’s face go slack, frozen in an anxious plea. Her smile dropped quickly and she sighed, feeling stupid that she hadn’t realized sooner.

“Oh, right. NPC. Those are a thing.”

When the screen popped up in front of her asking if she would accept this quest Sparrow hesitated for a moment. Her finger lingered above the ‘accept’ button before she decided to press it. The moment she did another button below the ‘accept’ and ‘decline’ appeared: Summon Party.

Sparrow had forgotten that she needed at least one other person to quest with. With a sigh but with far less hesitation than before, she pressed the button and waited for someone, anyone, to come.