Episode 5

## Video

This is the fifth episode of the Aincrad Arc, and the fifth episode of Sword Art Online Abridged overall.

## Plot

On March 6, 2024, the assault team are in the Floor 56 village of Pani, discussing the raid of Sheeptar the Sheep King, which BallsDeep69 says would be a really stupid Boss if it hadn't already killed seven of the players. Asuna comes up with a plan to get close enough to aggro the Boss and have their archers lead him to the nearest village, where he'll be too distracted killing the NPCs to notice their attack. Kirito disagrees with this plan, however, since some of his best friends have been NPCs, a fact that did not surprise Asuna. Before he can argue any further, Kirito hears the voice of Gary, the NPC that caused the deaths of his previous Guild. Seeking vengeance, Kirito brutally murders Gary as the other players watch in horror, except for Asuna. This results in the assault team changing the plan.

On April 11, 2024, near the Floor 59 village of Danac, Asuna finds Kirito having a nap on patch of grass under a tree. She yells at Kirito for not being at the Sheeptar raid like he was supposed to be, as five more people were killed in his absence. Despite Asuna's fury, Kirito doesn't take the matter seriously, prompting her to ask why he's so mellow. Kirito reveals that he had some time to kill before the raid and decided to eat some weird plants in order to raise his Alchemy Skill, which resulted in him getting high and completely forgetting about the raid. This angers Asuna, because she changed her entire plan just because Kirito insisted that they shouldn't use NPCs as bait, but he didn't even show up. Kirito tells Asuna that she's too stressed out, and invites her to "lie down, relax, and watch the stars" with him, despite the fact it was 2 in the afternoon. With her not getting anywhere in his current state, Asuna wishes that Kirito would sober up soon so she could kick his teeth in.

Later that day, Kirito, now sober, wakes up and sees Asuna sleeping beside him. As he stares at her in confusion, having forgotten his entire conversation with her had happened, three members of the Mafia walk by and make suggestive comments about the two, stating they better give them some privacy. Hearing this, with an above average girl beside him and no one around to interrupt, Kirito decides to create mischief. Eventually, Asuna wakes up with ink marker whiskers on her face and sees Kirito with a satisfied look on his face. Suspecting foul play, Asuna grabs her sword and asks what he did to her. Kirito, terrified of Asuna's wrath, honestly explains that he drew cat whiskers on her face. This Asuna confuses, thinking he did something else, but when Kirito gets confused and asks what else she could've done, she gets flustered and changes the subject by asking Kirito if he wants to get something to eat.

At the restaurant, in the Floor 57 town of Martin, Kirito complains through sarcastic remarks about how poor quality the joint is. Asuna reminds Kirito isn't one to judge, seeing how he recently got high after eating random plants off the ground. Kirito points out that Asuna was even stupider for sleeping next to some "crazed drug fiend", even though said drug fiend was him. Before they can continue, the two hear a scream. Kirito jokes that their debate has ran out of time and offers Asuna consolation prizes from the "Kirito is Always Right Foundation". Asuna calls Kirito insufferable, and she and Kirito go to investigate the noise.

They arrive at the town square and find a man hanging from a bell tower with a sword in his chest begging for help. Kirito isn't shocked or worried about the man, because the town acts as a Safe Zone, meaning he won't die, and calls the man a "human piñata". Asuna then goes into the tower to cut the man down while Kirito goes to catch him. However, as Kirito makes his way into position, the man shatters with the seemingly normal death animation. Kirito doesn't believe this was real, thinking the man was part of an event or players messing with an NPC, but a player named Yolko emerges from the crowd and identifies the man as her friend Kains. She explains that they came into town to get dinner, but Kains and her got separated. Yolko then bursts into tears and is unable to explain any further. Asuna makes a snide remark about Kirito's early comment about always being right, to which Kirito says his foundation is "going through a bit of a rough patch".

Kirito and Asuna escort Yolko back to her hotel, where Asuna asks Yolko if they can ask her questions tomorrow, which she accepts. Kirito then reassures Yolko that she'll be fine since they're in a Safe Zone, realizing what he just said halfway through his sentence, and awkwardly wishes her goodnight. With Yolko safely escorted, Kirito and Asuna begin to question whether they have a killer amongst them or not. Kirito deduces that, since death happened during the dinner rush, the killer wanted Kains' death to be public, meaning that the killer wanted someone in particular to witness it. This causes Asuna to ask why Kirito cares in the first place, since Kirito is the "Crown Prince of Douchebags", and his first reaction to human suffering is usually to sit back and watch. Kirito tries to make it seem like he genuinely cares about getting Yolko closure, but Asuna sees right through this and exposes him when he can't remember what Yolko's name is. Annoyed, Kirito admits the real reason he's investigating is to prove he's right that it's impossible to die in Safe Zones. Asuna chastises Kirito for his less than noble motive, but Kirito points out she's only investigating to prove he was wrong. Having been exposed herself, Asuna tries to justify herself by stating that at least she "pretends to be nice to people", a statement that catches Kirito off guard.

For information on the sword, Kirito and Asuna go to Tiffany's Shop in the Floor 50 city of Algade. At first, Tiffany is glad to see Kirito, teasingly calling him his "least favorite customer" for not buying his overpriced, poor-quality merchandise, but is shocked to see Asuna come through the door. He then pulls Kirito over the counter and starts yelling at him for bringing Asuna to his shop, questioning their friendship in the process. Kirito doesn't understand what the problem is at first, but things become clear when Asuna starts talking to Tiffany in gangster slang, which makes Kirito cry tears of joy. After some mildly racist banter, Tiffany appraises the murder weapon to look at its stats, overhyping his abilities in the process. He tells the two that the sword is called Guilty Thorn, a player-made weapon made by a man named Grimlock, but finds nothing special that would make players die in Safe Zones. To see if the power is real, Kirito tries to stab himself, but is stopped by Asuna, making Kirito see how stupid that idea was. Believing the sword to be too dangerous, Asuna gives it to Tiffany, who comments how giving the black man the murder weapon is a "tale as old as time".

The next day, back in Martin, Kirito and Asuna meet Yolko in the restaurant Kirito hates and ask her if she knows Grimlock, which causes Yolko to gasp upon hearing his name. After a brief argument between Kirito and Asuna about whether Kains is dead or not, Kirito asks Yolko if Kains would have any reason to fake his death. Yolko seems to panic upon hearing this theory but relaxes when Asuna shoots the idea down. After Asuna chastises Kirito for his hollow attempt to give Yolko hope, Kirito asks, quite bluntly, why Grimlock would want to kill Kains.

Although both she and Asuna are shocked by his gruesome choice of words, Yolko explains that she, Kains and Grimlock were once part of a Guild, and Grimlock's wife, Griselda, was their leader. However, six months ago, the Guild found a rare item. Rather than fight over it, they decided to sell it and split the profits. But when Griselda went out to sell it, she was killed. Since they were the only ones to know about the item, they knew the killer had to be one of them and the Guild disbanded. When Asuna asks why Grimlock would've suspected Kains to be the culprit, Yolko explains that he, Yolko and a lancer named Schmitt voted to keep the item, meaning they were the most likely suspects of Griselda's murder, and therefore targets of Grimlock's revenge. Asuna notices that Yolko mentioned Schmitt's name with more disdain than the others, but Yolko denies this, claiming they're still good friends. Kirito then remembers that he has met Schmitt before and is less than thrilled to meet him again.

Kirito and Asuna find Schmitt and bring him to Yolko, where Asuna finds out that Schmitt is a paranoid player, who is constantly stressed because he believes that the haters from his YouTube comments are coming to kill him, a fact that Asuna isn't thrilled to learn. Schmitt rants about his predicament, referencing the most prominent threat he received, which involved chopping off his limbs, disembowelling him and riding him like a "meat toboggan", a fear that Kirito exacerbates by detailing the aftermath. Yolko reassures Schmitt that his haters aren't coming to kill him, but warns him Grimlock may be after both of them to avenge Griselda's death, which makes Schmitt even more terrified. This makes Asuna realize that bringing Schmitt to Yolko probably wasn't a good idea. However, Yolko suddenly realizes something and rises from her seat, saying Grimlock couldn't have been the killer because the attack was in a Safe Zone. Kirito is relieved that Yolko seems to be making sense at first, but she suddenly starts screaming that Griselda's ghost has come back from the dead to take bloody vengeance on all three of her potential murderers, a statement that dumbfounds both Kirito and Asuna.

As Yolko sits on the window ledge and accepts her fate, Schmitt vows to keep living for his less murderous fans. Asuna tells the two friends to calm down, ruling out the notion that a ghost is the killer, as it's impossible for a dead player to still inhabit the game. Kirito agrees with this, but makes a sarcastic remark that it was obviously an assassination by the Mermaid Mafia paid in Leprechaun gold. Asuna tells Kirito to take things seriously, but Kirito refuses, still holding onto his belief that you can't die in a Safe Zone. However, as Kirito says this, Yolko is stabbed in the back and falls out the window. Kirito then runs toward the window and witnesses Yolko hitting the ground, seeming to die with the same death animation. Having only seen her fall out the window, Asuna asks Kirito if Yolko is alright, to which he states that he "doesn't like her chances".

## Cast

* **xbubblemunkyx:** Asuna
* **Dizzasta:** BallsDeep69
* **YamatoSFX:** Kirito
* **AtomicVoice:** Gary
* **Sonicring123Dubs:** The Three Bromigos
* **Hayabusa449:** Kains
* **Rachel Michelle Thompson:** Yolko
* **Octopimp:** Tiffany
* **ChaseFace:** Schmitt

## Music

* **Thirty Seconds to Mars:** "This Is War"
* **Sword Art Online Original Soundtrack vol.1:** "Quiet Strain", "Everyday Life", "Weird Place"
* **Bravely Default Flying Fairy Original Soundtrack:** "Strained Time"
* **Psychonauts (Original Cinematic Score):** "My Patron", "Was That A Dream?"
* **Grim Fandango (Original Soundtrack):** "Mr. Frustration Man"
* **Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Dual Destinies (Original Soundtrack):** "Courtroom Lobby ~ Prelude to the Future"
* **The Swapper Original Soundtrack:** "Cave"
* **Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth Original Soundtrack:** "Shadow In Wonderland"
* **The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Original Sound Tracks:** "Inside a House"

## Differences from the Original

The following is a list of differences *only* from this episode. To view any differences for the characters, view their pages, or if you want to see more click here.

* The Boss the assault team are discussing isn't called "Sheeptar the Sheep King"; it's actually never named in the anime. Although, in the light novels, it's called the GeoCrawler.
	+ The GeoCrawler doesn't take them over two months to beat.
	+ The GeoCrawler is never stated to have killed twelve players.
	+ The GeoCrawler was on Floor 56, whereas Sheeptar seems to be somewhere passed Floor 59, as Kirito is seen relaxing there when Asuna was fighting it.
* Klein doesn't talk during the strategy meeting.
* The plan to lure the Boss to the village is a lot more in depth in the abridged series and now involves archers.
* Kirito doesn't mention the fact that some of his friends have been NPCs while stating his argument.
* Asuna arguing that the NPCs are expendable is skipped.
	+ Asuna telling Kirito to obey her orders is skipped.
* Kirito doesn't kill an NPC at the strategy meeting.
* The scene where Kirito and Agil talk about Asuna is skipped.
* Kirito doesn't take a nap because he got high after eating some random plants to increase his Alchemy Skill. He did it because he thought it was a nice day.
* In the original, Asuna was mad at Kirito because he was slacking off while everyone else was raiding a Dungeon. In the abridged version, she's mad because Kirito's absence resulted in more casualties.
	+ Asuna is a lot madder than her original counterpart.
* Asuna no longer mentions how every day they waste in SAO in another day lost in the real world.
* Asuna admiring the scenery is skipped.
	+ In the original, Asuna was swayed by Kirito's words and decided to take the opportunity to relax, resulting in her falling asleep. In the abridged version, Asuna isn't swayed by Kirito's words, so it's not really clear why she decided to take a nap.
* We now hear Kirito's thoughts after he wakes up.
* In the original, the players who pass by Kirito and Asuna comment on how lazy the two are. In the abridged version, they comment on the fact that it looks like the two are about to get lucky.
* The part Kirito where voices his disbelief about Asuna falling asleep is skipped.
* Kirito doesn't draw a cat face on Asuna, he keeps watch to make sure nobody attacks her.
* Kirito basking in the sunset is skipped.
* Asuna sneezing herself awake is skipped.
* Asuna looking around drowsily is skipped.
* In the original, Kirito comments on how well Asuna slept. In the abridged version, he teasingly asks how her nap was.
* Asuna drawing her sword, only to sheath it again, is skipped.
* Asuna's hand doesn't shake anymore.
* Asuna doesn't think that Kirito felt her up in her sleep.
* Kirito never mocks the Restaurant's lazy name, nor does he mock its quality.
* The part of the scene where players recognise Asuna is skipped.
* Kirito and Asuna don't argue about the events leading up to their meal. Instead, Asuna thanks Kirito for looking out for her.
* A conversation Kirito and Asuna have about how some players have been manipulating sleeping players into accepting duels and killing them is skipped.
* Caynz doesn't beg for help while hanging from the tower.
* Kirito doesn't initially react so nonchalantly upon seeing Caynz, nor does he think it's an event or a prank. He initially thinks it was a duel but can't find a player with the "Winner" icon when he looks for it.
	+ Kirito telling Caynz to pull out the sword is skipped.
* Caynz screaming in pain is skipped.
* Asuna telling Kirito that the belltower is empty is skipped.
* The scene where Kirito and Asuna decide to team up in the belltower is skipped.
* In the original, Yolko emerges from the crowd because Kirito asked if anyone saw what happened. In the abridged version, she emerges on her own volition.
* Yolko no longer confirms that she was the one who screamed.
* Asuna asking Yolko if she saw anyone in the belltower, and Yolko confirming it, is skipped.
* Kirito asking Yolko if anyone wanted Caynz dead is skipped.
* Yolko's panicked expression is skipped.
* Kirito doesn't awkwardly reassure Yolko that she'll be fine inside the Safe Zone before realizing how factually dubious that statement is.
* Kirito doesn't recap Caynz's death after they drop Yolko off.
	+ Kirito doesn't theorize that the culprit deliberately chose the dinner rush to make sure the event was seen.
* In the original, Guilty Thorn is referred to as a spear. In the abridged version, it's a sword.
* Asuna suggesting that they appraise Guilty Thorn is skipped.
* Asuna telling Kirito to stop speaking to her so rudely and call her by her name is skipped.
* A reference to Lisbeth, stating that she couldn't appraise the weapon because she was too busy, is skipped.
* One of Agil's disappointed customers leaving the shop is skipped.
* Asuna never talks to Agil in gangster slang in a misguided attempt to not seem racist.
	+ The reason why Agil pulls Kirito over the counter isn't because he hates her, it's because he's shocked that Kirito is hanging out with Asuna, as he believed *they* hated each other.
* Agil doesn't overhype his Appraisal Skill.
* Agil mentioning that Grimlock isn't one of SAO's top blacksmiths is skipped.
* Kirito doesn't realize that stabbing himself with Guilty Thorn is a dumb idea.
* Agil doesn't point out the unintentional racist undertones of giving him the murder weapon.
* Yolko is now more startled by Asuna mentioning Grimlock.
* Kirito doesn't ask Yolko if Caynz had any reason to fake his death.
* Kirito isn't as blunt with his questioning of Yolko.
* Yolko mentioning the name of her Guild, Golden Apple, is skipped.
	+ Yolko stating why the item was so special is skipped.
* In the original, Yolko mentions the possibility that Griselda's killer was one of her former Guild mates when Kirito begins to speculate it. In the abridged version, she mentions it immediately after recounting how Griselda died.
* Asuna speculating that Griselda was killed before she could sell the ring is skipped.
* Yolko's explanation of Grimlock and Griselda is skipped.
* Yolko now mentions Schmitt with more disdain.
	+ Yolko now mentions that she and Schmitt are still friends.
* Kirito stating that he's met Schmitt at Boss raids is skipped.
	+ Kirito is now distraught over the idea of meeting Schmitt.
* Yolko begging to see Schmitt, in order to tell him what happened to Caynz, is skipped.
* Asuna mentioning that she knows someone in Schmitt's Guild who can tell him they're looking for him is skipped, so it's really not clear how they got in touch with him in the abridged version.
* In the original, Asuna says that she knew Schmitt, stating that he's an exceptional lancer. In the abridged version, even though they've been on raids together, Asuna doesn't seem to know a lot about Schmitt.
* A scene where Kirito speculates different methods behind Caynz's death is skipped.
* Schmitt is now a lot more terrified of Grimlock coming to kill him compared to his original counterpart.
	+ Schmitt speculating that Grimlock was the who killed Griselda, and he's coming after them because they refused to sell the item, is skipped.
	+ Asuna doesn't realize that bringing Schmitt to Yolko was a bad idea.
* Yolko mentioning the possibility that Grimlock made Guilty Thorn for someone else in their Guild is skipped.
* In the original, Yolko mentions the idea that a ghost is the culprit in passing, before going on a rant about how they should've listened to Griselda and that only Grimlock can avenge her now. In the abridged version, the ghost idea is the focal point her rant.
	+ Yolko mentioning that she hasn't been sleeping are skipped.
* The reactions to Yolko getting stabbed are skipped.
* In the original, Kirito was the one who called out Yolko's name when she fell out the window. In the abridged version, it was Asuna.
* In the original, there's a slight delay before Yolko seems to die. In the abridged version, she disappears as soon as she hits the ground.
* Asuna doesn't ask Kirito if Yolko's alright after she falls out the window, nor does Kirito make a comment about her chances.

## Trivia

* This is the first episode with Dizzasta as BallsDeep69 and xbubblemunkyx as Asuna, due to Cheesemanjoe and Misanda leaving due to creative differences.
* The Mermaid Mafia joke is a reference to series My Bride Is a Mermaid.