Sword Art Online/ソードアート・オンライン 1. Intro

Swords of Destiny

By Black Devil

Prologue

For thousands of years, fairies and humans lived in harmony in Middle-Earth. Fairies lived to the east, in the kingdom of ALfheim, divided into nine different races, but united around the World Tree, and their majestic capital, the Floating City. Each race was gifted with the ability of flight, beauty, and magic, and each race followed their own pursuits, while being accepting of others. Humans were one race, living all over the west, united as the kingdom of Aincrad. Military guilds provided security, hunting monsters who escaped the desolate wastelands of the Underworld. Humans created great magnificent castles all over their land, each towwind region flourishing with culture.

For centuries, fairies and humans were united against the threats of the Underworld, until warlords organized the monsters that lurked in the wastelands into a army unlike any other. They became known as Death's Right Hand, or DRH. Fairies and humans barely managed to withstand the onslaught of beasts that emerged from the wastelands. For decades, the war raged on. Tensions grew between the fairies and humans as they blamed each other for their own blunders. In a reluctant, last ditch attempt to end the Great War, fairies and humans marched into the depths of the Underworld, and after a costly battle, emerged victorious.

But their troubles didn't end there. From then on, humans and fairies held spite against each other. Fairies were jealous that human could enchant their weapons and bodies and were able to craft magical items better then the fairies could, despite not being naturally gifted with magic. Human were jealous at the fairies for being blessed with the gift of flight and natural beauty. As a result, ALfheim and Aincrad cut off all relations with each other, even though as remnents of the DRH plot revenge against both kingdoms, and this time, the enemies will include not only monsters, but people from within.

Wheels are in motion, pieces are in place, and soon, the destiny of Middle-Earth and all people will be left hanging in the balance.

A/N: this is my first story and will feature many characters from the show and light novels, although they will be changed due to the environment. Characters where there are more then one version, I will only put one in, like SAO Kirito over ALO Kirito.

well, please review and tell me what I can do to improve it.


	2. Prologue

Prologue

Heathcliff let out a weary sigh as he stared at his surroundings from the balcony of the Aincrad watchtower. He knew he should have rejected the offer to provide protection for the yearly Aincrad-ALfheim talks. Not even a decade had past since he assumed command of the largest and most powerful military guild in Aincrad, Knights of the Blood and already the burdens of command had taken it's toll. He knew what his men would see when they looked up at him. They would see a tall, muscular man, clad in blood red armor and white cape, with flush cheeks and long combed back gray hair. It didn't matter he was barely thirty years of age. Already, both physically and mentally he was already fifty. He often felt tired and weary, despite not doing anything. He considered retiring, but the only suitable replacements was far too young, and there were too many incompetent members who wanted his position. He brushed the thought to the back of his mind and focused on what lied in front of him.

On the other side of the Town of Beginnings stood the ALfheim watchtower, a majestic building decorated with flawless marble columns, and mystic runes that made up the language of the fairies. The flag of ALfheim draped over the front of the tower as it loomed over everything in the countryside. It was buzzing with activity as fairies of every race made haste for the imminent arrival of King Oberon and Queen Titania and the lords of each fairy race.

Things on the Aincrad side were just as busy as fresh graduates from the Imperial Master Sword Academy from the north were struggling to master formation in time before the arrival of Aincrad's High Council. Red and white clad members of the KoB were stationed everywhere, keeping vigilant eyes out for any signs of danger.

"Lord Heathcliff, the delegations are about to arrive," announced a familiar voice. Heathcliff turned to find Kuradeel, his second-in-command's bodyguard. "Vice Commander Godfree says your presence is requested by the Guild Leaders."

"What are you doing here? You're assigned to be by Commander Yūki's side!" Heathcliff snapped at him.

"It's not like she needs me," sneered Kuradeel. "She's got that monster slayer kid in black with her."

"So you just abandoned your duties, just because two bodyguards are too many for one person? Half the nobles arriving today come with a dozen escorts at least. Now, what else to do you want?" asked Heathcliff as he turned his attention outside. Trumpets announced the arrival of the King and Queen as the familiar red bulky armor of Salamander fairy warriors descended around the delegation table in military formation.

Heathcliff hoped that the talks would go well this year. Tensions had reached an all-time high and a series of incidents along the border had sparked conflict between the two races. There was talks among the Guild Leaders of war on ALfheim. He knew it would be a disastrous campaign if it ever happened. Even if the strongest military guilds worked with the army, entering the fairies' forest would be suicide. Not only would fairies use their magic and flight against them, but home field advantage played into their hands. If anything, the two races needed o work together to stop the monsters escaping from the Underworld. Lately, the frequency of attacks on trade routes went up, and something was wrong with these monsters. They seemed smarter, more organized then before. If this threat wasn't dealt with, then the monsters would only get more daring, head deeper into human and fairy territory, and maybe even pose a a threat against settlements.

The petty arguing between the Royal Family and the High Council only made things worse, but what could he do about it?

Guilds only had two real purposes. Either they were bounty hunters, providing protection for whoever paid and hunting monsters for profit or they were military guilds, working with the army to protect trade routes from bandits and monsters.

The Guild Leaders, powerful as they may be, had little influence in politics. The only thing the Guild Leaders were sought for were in military matters. He couldn't make the High Council change their minds, no matter what he said. At least not by himself. He tried to rally the Guild Leaders to be let in on the talks this year, but all his requests were shot down.

"Looks like everyone's arrived," remarked Kuradeel, looking down at the plaza as hundreds converged for the opening statements on both sides before they went into a closed door meeting.

"Kuradeel, you need to respect the chain of command," Heathcliff told him promptly. That was one of the reasons Heathcliff didn't like Kuradeel. He was a gangly looking person, with long black hair and a snobbish expression. He always held himself in high regard which matched his personality.

"Lord Heathcliff, I need to inform you of something," admitted Kuradeel.

Rolling his eyes, Heathcliff turned to face him. "What is it now?"

"You've been relieved from duty," answered Kuradeel with a smug look.

Before Heathcliff could figure out the cryptic message, Kuradeel drew a curved dagger and linged. Pain exploded in Heathcliff's chest as Kuradeel drove the blade deeper and deeper. Kuradeel let out a ecstatic smile as he pulled the blade out and thrusted again, sending waves of agony throughout Heathcliff's body. His usually massive reserve of energy suddenly vanished and his knees buckled under the weight of his armor.

"Why?" Heathcliff spat out along with blood. He tried to move his hand to cover his mouth, but his arm was disobeying the commands he was giving.

Kuradeel gave Heathcliff a wry smile as he looked outside at the ceremony. "Let the games begin!" he announced mockingly, raising his arms in display at the crowd.

Moments later as if on cue, thunder boomed and a large dark smoke cloud rose from the plaza.

Shouts rang out throughout the plaza. Fairies rushed out of the watchtower and down into the square.

"Why...w-why are you d-doing this?" muttered Heathcliff. His throat burned as he struggled to pronounce each word.

"Stop trying to talk, my liege. That blade was coated in poison. Paralysis should kick any moment now."

Kuradeel stood still, savoring the sounds of combat radiating from the plaza. Heathcliff could hear it well. Blades clanging, battle cries, magical chants, bones breaking, cries of the wounded, the familiar sound o blades cutting through flesh. People were fighting and dying out there and Heathcliff was powerless to stop this madness.

"Isn't it great? Fairies and humans are finally fighting it out. The Royal Family's dead and so is the High Council. Nothing will stop this bloodshed. Nothing," he chuckled. Kuradeel glanced back at Heathcliff and slowly walked over to him, gloating. "Don't act so surprised. You knew this was coming just as much as I did. Before the poison reaches your brain, I'll spoil why I did this. Two reasons. One, I'm a half-blood, and two, this."

Kuradeel pulled up his sleeve and showed off his tattoo. It was a ink black coffin with a mouth and a pair of eyes on the coffin lid with the white bones of a skeletal arm reaching out. Heathcliff recognized it immediately.

It was the emblem of the infamous criminal guild Laughing Coffin. They were the biggest and most deadliest organized crime group in the entire land. The KoB personally lead a group of fifty crusaders against the guild and in the bloody battle, eleven crusaders and twenty-one Laughing Coffin members were killed. Laughing Coffin was mostly made up of half-bloods, people who had fairy and human parentage. Both races had severe hatred for them and Laughing Coffin was made up of half-bloods who wanted to take revenge on their human and fairy tormentors.

But to think Kuradeel, a high ranking officer within the KoB was a half-blood, and a member of Laughing Coffin but somehow managed to keep it a secret?

If he could, then how many men in within the hundreds of guilds or even the army did their reach extend to?

"With the Royal Family and High Council gone, ALfheim and Aincrad will burn to the ground, with no-one to stop it," proclaimed Kuradeel triumphantly. "No-one can stop us. And soon everything you know will burn."

Kuradeel let out a eerie crackling laugh as he slowly walked out of Heathcliff's vision.

In his dying moments, Heathcliff's life flashed before his eyes.

His childhood growing up reading books, day in, day out.

His isolated days at the Imperial Master Sword Academy where he spend studying military tactics and practicing his swordsmanship skill.

His fateful meeting with Koujiro Rinko.

Their brief but meaningful relationship.

Heathcliff's induction into the Knights of the Blood.

His rise up the ranks to the Leader of the KoB.

The years of dealing with incompetent politicians and fighting off power hungry rivals.

Heathcliff's strength gave out and his face rushed to meet the cold marble ground. As he laid on the ground, he used the last of his willpower to look up at the sunset. He savored it's warmth and beauty, determined to have the last thing he saw not be bloodshed, but instead peace. He closed his eyes, accepting defeat before welcoming Death's cold embrace.

His eyes never opened again.

A/N: If anyone has questions about Anything, review and ask and I will clarify for you later on.


	3. I: The Reaper

I

The Reaper

6 months later

Roslila couldn't help but to lick her lips as she saw the contents on the chest lying in front of her. At least half a million Col was stored in this one bulky chest. She let slip a soft laugh as she examined one of the Col.

Brand new, freshly minted, and came with the mint's seal.

"How much more did you find?" asked Roslila, her focus still on inspecting the chest.

"At least a wagon full with more of these chests, and another wagon equally filled along with raw metals and weapons," answered Coper, her right hand man. "Apparently, the army had hired the wrong guilds as an escort for this stuff."

Roslila turned her attention to the survivors of the ambush. According to information she obtained through bribes, she found the army needed to make a emergency supply run to the front lines, but were undermanned, so they hired some local military and monster slaying guilds to protect their precious cargo. So she decided to plan her ambush deep in the wandering forest, in the only plains travelers pass through on the Akita trade route, one of the longest but safest routes through the treacherous Wandering Forest. Her men had hidden within the tall grass, waiting for the convoy to come out into the open, where Coper and the rest of Roslila's archers unleashed their poison tipped arrows upon them before the rest of her men finished the job.

Pity.

If only the army did as much research into guilds as Roslila did. The guilds they hired were unknown guilds, established recently due to the sudden declaration of war. They had odd names like Silver Flags, Black Cats of the Full Moon, and Golden Apple. Those guilds were never any match for her own guild, the crime guild Titan's Hand, even with a small military escort. The only experienced guild was a small, moderately successful monster slaying guild called Sleeping Knights, but two of their leaders had perished during the Massacre at the Town of Beginnings, leaving them weak and disorganized.

Roslila let out a cruel laugh as she looked down at the kneeling five survivors of her masterful ambush. The pitiful survivors were a scraggly looking bunch. Roslila examined each one, to see which one would be worth selling to slavers.

Two of them were young, fresh guild recruits with little to no combat experience. One was a young man with orange hair and red eyes, with a childlike look upon him. His slender arms looked strong, which meant he might have been a farmer before this. The other was a petite blue haired, blue eyes girl who was on the verge of a breakdown. She looked cute and young, almost delicate.

Roslila puckered her lips at the thought of how much money she could get for these two. Slavers loved younger people and offered higher prices for them. Besides, the underground slave business was booming, ever since war between the two kingdoms was declared. Hell, ever since war was declared, Roslila became more powerful then she ever had before. Before she had only five incompetent idiots at her beck and call, but now, Titan's Hand numbered twenty four strong, herself included.

As soon as Roslila laid her eyes on the next, ecstasy courses through her veins. One of the survivors was a beautiful girl, with long light blue hair which is almost pure white. She also had calm deep blue eyes shining radiantly beneath her drooping eyelashes, a long nose, lustrous lips and was surprisingly slender. This girl had the features of a princess or a noble, and that meant Roslila would only get an even higher price for the likes of her. There were many lords who would pay a hefty sum for a girl like this.

Then there were the last two men. One was a young man with short brown hair and equally brown eyes, and he had the devolving body of a warrior. If she sold him to a labor slaver, he would fetch a high price for his age and strength. The last man was a older man, muscles and face worn with years of back breaking military service. She would fetch a modest price for him, since he wasn't young or handsome.

The only problem is that with him, while the others were kneeling and slouched over, accepting defeat at her brilliant hands, he sat with his back straight and head held defiantly high.

"And who do you think you are?" asked Roslila, grabbing his chin and turning it towards her, so she could examine his face. The closer she looked, the more she realized how ugly this man was. His face adorned a array of scars and a naturally sour expression, complemented by full black eyes.

"Army Lieutenant Colonel Cobert," he said before spitting in her face,"and I have nothing to say scum such as the likes of you."

Roslila immediately kicked him in his already broken ribs and the Lieutenant Colonel bent over and howled in agony. Humans were not meant to be able to scream that eerily. It even sent a shiver up Roslila's spine.

"What good is your precious rank now?" taunted Roslila, cleaning her face. It took all the willpower in her body not to torture this simpleminded, stubborn army grunt. Roslila, her blood and pride burning with anger, extended her hand towards Coper. Coper drew his short sword and placed it in her hands. She wrapped her fingers around the short sword's wooden hilt and examined the blade. She ran her finger up the blade to ensure its sharpness before thrusting it into Cobert's chest. She heard the familiar sound of metal ripping into flesh. Cobert let out a desperate raspy gasp, just like a fish out of water as he stared as Roslila's face for mercy. She would give him nor. She pushed the blade deeper and heard a satisfying crunch as metal shattered bone. Cobert let out one last gasp before his shoulders slouched and his body slumped forward. Roslila pulled the blade out, angrily kicking Cobert's body to the ground. She held out the bloody blade and held it out. Coper quickly retrieved the blade and sunk back into the background.

"Let this be a lesson to the rest of you," stared Roslila to the four survivors. "If you ever dare disrespect me in any way, be assured, you will suffer the consequences and I will show no mercy, no matter how much you beg or plead for your lives."

A hush went over her men and prisoners as they stared at her with fearful eyes.

"Good, you all got the message. Now get back to work you incompetent halfwits!"

And with that, Coper started barking orders and her men started loading the chests of riches into the wagons. They stripped everything useful, salvageable, or sellable from the bodies and left them in the plains. The convoy wasn't due for another day, so two days will have passed before a reconnaissance team was sent.

Within the hour her convoy were on the road and Roslila was relaxing in her lavish private wagon. She needed to rest. Her men were all morons, and rarely did anything of their own will. Only Coper had her smallest amount of trust in doing solo tasks and giving out tasks. The only reason she gave him a slightly longer leash was because Coper was the first person he recruited into her guild, and the only one willing to get his hands dirty, with it without instructions. Roslila tried to put it off to the back of her mind. She desperately needed to relax.

She sat down on the fur upholstery and all the tension in her back and shoulders instantly melted away. She reached out and grabbed a bottle of wine, opened it, and poured herself a glass of wine. Roslila took a long sip, savoring the texture and taste as it smoothly traveled down her throat. Roslila learned over the last few months to savor wine, to make it last as long as possible. She stretched out, flipping a gold Mega Col between her fingers. The combination of the wagon rocking, the rhythm of the coin flipping, the fur upholstery, and soothing effects of her wines made Roslila drowsy. Her eyes felt heavy and she struggled to stay awake. Perhaps it was best for her to get some rest. After all, she deserved-

The sound of horses neighing disturbed her peace and her wagon abruptly stopped and the wine glass slipped from her grip. She stared in horror as her expensive wine spilled all over her fur carpet, leaving a dark, sticky stain.

No! Her upholstery was ruined!

Roslila stormed out of the wagon, looking for the moron responsible. She was going to have whoever's driving her wagon's head for ruining her wagon. It would undoubtedly leave a stain, no matter how much she made her men clean it. This wagon was specially made in Salemburg and it would cost her a fortune to replace it. Oh, the moron driving will get what's coming to him, Roslila was going to make sure of it.

"What was that?" shouted Roslila at her wagon driver. "You better explain to me what happened or I will have your head!"

Her driver completely ignored her threat and just stared past her at something down the road.

She grabbed her driver's face and pulled it towards her. "What is so important that you needed to stop in the middle of the road? Tell me now before I cut out your heart!" she growled at him.

He simply looked back down the road and muttered,"The Black Swordsman."

Roslila turned her attention to the road and in the middle of it stood a lone figure. He was young, tall, and slim, with neat short black hair. He was adorned in all black and wore a rare Blackwrym leather coat. A sword was sheathed on his waist and he stared at Roslila's convoy with a blank, unreadable face.

It was then that Roslila realized this wasn't the legendary Black Swordsman Kirito. Kirito's eyes were pitch black, but his were dark grey and he didn't look slightly feminine like the real Kirito. Not to mention, the legendary Black Swordsman died during the Massacre at the Town of Beginnings.

By the time she fully realized this person was merely an imposter, most of her men had already disembarked from their wagons and had their blades drawn. Roslila smiled as she saw her men slowly take up positions around her.

"Kill him and take his stuff," ordered Roslila to the men closest to her. They all hesitated, looking at each other in fear.

"You idiots, he's an impostor! The real Black Swordsman died six months ago! He's just an impostor! Now get him or I'll have your heads!" shouted Roslila.

Reluctantly, two of her men raised their cutlasses and charged. They quickly filled the twenty meter gap and lunged at the kid.

In the blink of an eye, he reached behind his back with both hands and threw something at her men. Both of her henchmen stopped in their track and fell down to the ground, throwing picks protruding from their chests.

The kid then pointed at Roslila and declared,"To all the members of the crime guild Titan's Hand, stay down and be spared. If you chose to fight, I will show no mercy."

Pure anger and rage coursed through Roslila's veins. How dare he threaten her! She looked back and her men and growled,"What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

Five of her strongest men then rushed forward at the kid in black, in intending to swarm him. Instead of drawing his sword, he reached behind his back and retrieved a black rod. He held it in front of him and it instantly grew to his height and a wicked sharp blade materialized from the top of the staff. He gripped his scythe tightly and swung in a wide arc, the scythe blade slicing open all seven of her men with little effort. It was over in the matter of seconds.

Roslila and all of her men stood silent as they looked at the black clothed kid in front of them. He killed five of her strongest fighter in one swipe.

It was then her brain pieced everything together.

The black clothing.

The Blackwyrm coat.

The expanding scythe.

His unreadable expression.

His superhuman reflexes.

He was a loner, part of the group of monster slayers called Beaters due their tendency to work alone, known simply as The Reaper and that was his signature weapon, the Shinigami Scythe.

For once in a long time, fear coursed through Roslila's blood. Beaters were among the most powerful people in Aincrad. It was said any single Beater could take on any fairy warrior from any race and come out alive.

What was worse, Beaters were not subject to the same restrictions as guilds were.

They could accept any contract, go anywhere, go after any crime guild without any authorization.

The Reaper was one of many legendary Beaters, the most famous and prominent being the Black Swordsman. One famous story about the Reaper was about him killing the Geocrawler, a massive armored serpent like monster which escaped the Underworld and terrorized villages by himself, after three experienced monster slaying guilds had failed to do so.

And Roslila had just pissed him off.

"A million Col to one who brings me his head!" she order, her voice filled with desperation an anger, knowing none of her men would put two and two together. Most of her men charged with renewed vigor, each one wanting to lay claim to the bounty while her archers strung their bows. Roslila took some deep breaths to reassure herself. She smiled as Coper loaded his crossbow with poison tipped arrows. She smiled as she saw him aimed his sights at the Reaper. Coper was her best archer, hitting targets as far as a hundred meters away.

But when she looked back at the skirmish between her men and the Reaper, her hopes faded quickly as she saw her men losing the fight. The Reaper was a blur, striking down her men with his scythe with little to no effort. She could clearly hear the sounds of her men screaming in agony before being abruptly silenced.

She looked back at her archers, intending to give the order to fire when something whizzed past Roslila's head and made a loud thump. Roslila slowly turned to her side and saw a arrow shaft protruding from Coper's chest. Coper looked down at his chest in shock and muttered something inaudible as he reached for it, but another arrow buried itself in his chest and he fell down.

Before she knew it, more arrows buried themselves into the rest of her archers.

She looked back in the direction the arrows came from and found that she could clearly see the archer. Perched on a tree branch was a young girl with short pale blue hair and matching pale blue eyes wearing a green jacket with a sleeve missing, green trousers, and white chest armor with a quiver attached to her belt.

But that wasn't what got her attention. What got her attention wasn't the decorated bow in her hand or the arrow she was aiming at Roslila's head, but her blue cat ears and tail. The only fairy race she could have belonged to were the Cait Sith since they were known for their feline appendages. What bothered her was the lack of wings on the girl.

Then it dawned on Roslila. She was a half-blood. It all made sense now. It was no secret that many Beaters could not join guilds due to their relations or sympathies to half-bloods. Some were half-bloods, some were friends with half-bloods, some were related to half-bloods.

Roslila stood still, her legs locked, paralyzed by both fear and shock. Time seemed to slow down as everything sunk in. Her men had all fallen at the Reaper's hands or arrows of the half-blood. All her men, even loyal Coper, were dead. She had no one to command, no way to fight back. There was no way she could run. She was surrounded in the middle of the forest, but there was enough open space between each tree for the half-blood to hit her.

Fear overwhelmed Rosalia. She could feel each bead of sweat slowly slither down her flawless skin. She could feel a moist feeling coming from between her legs. She could feel her heartbeat elevate as she saw the Reaper approaching, swinging his bloody scythe and the half-blood aiming her arrow at her.

Roslila gripped the ivory dagger sheathed at her waist and drew it with shaking hands.

What could she do?

What could she do?!

Adrenaline started to fill her veins as her eyes drifted around, trying to find an escape route, but none were present.

Roslila let out a scream, one filled with fear, hate, sorrow, and scorn as she charged the Reaper.

All her life, everything went her way. She always got want when she wanted it. Whatever she didn't get, she stole or lied or cheated her way to get it. When she got old enough, she left her slow, boring hometown in order to get some spice in her life. When she found Coper and his small gang of thieves, it was her who envision greatness for her and her newly acquired guild.

Things were finally going her way and this two were destroyed everything she created! She want going to let this pass.

No, she was going to take one of them with her!

Mustering up her last reserves if willpower, she gripped her dagger and charged at the Reaper, her thoughts clouded by fury.

She was going to make him pay!

She was going to make them all-

Thump.

A/N: I apologize for any and all typos or grammatical errors. I have to type this on my phone and autocorrect is not always so reliable.


	4. II: The Survivors

II

The Survivors

The Reaper didn't even flinch as the arrow dug itself deep into the back of the leader of Titan's Hand. The redhead dropped to her knees, her trembling hands still clutching the dagger. She opened her mouth to say something but fell forward before any words left her lips, her blood staining the earth.

The Reaper didn't even feel remotely sorry for her, which troubled him greatly. He had seen too much death in his time as a Beater, so much that he was starting to casually dismiss death whenever he saw it.

He was worried that he was going down the same path as some of his fellow Beaters. He knew many fellow Beaters who, after only a month on the front lines, had their personality change from being friendly and outgoing to cold and distant. He hoped that they would get better, but he knew their scars ran too deep to heal properly.

"Hey Lorenzo, stop daydreaming and start being useful already," remarked Sinon in the distance, snapping him back to reality. Sinon strolled out from behind a thick tree, keeping a watchful eye out for any survivors of their little ambush as she nocked an arrow in her long bow.

Lorenzo let out weary sigh. He knew there were no survivors. The two of them had been Beaters for a little over two years and had plenty of time and practice to hone their skills and reflexes.

Sinon had Cait Sith parentage, indicated by her catlike tail and ears, which added to her skills. That meant her senses were heightened to a point beyond any human's. Her reflexes were marginally slower then Lorenzo's but her skill with a bow was superior to anyone he had ever met. Lorenzo was confident that even without her enhanced senses or her enchanted long bow Shekhinah, that she would still as deadly with any regular long bow. Plus, their time as Beaters had taught them to always aim for the vital points, so anyone who did survive would not last long without healing potions.

Lorenzo collapsed his scythe and stowed it away on his belt as he stepped over the redhead's body. He paused for a moment, looking down at the once beautiful woman, trying to muster up enough emotion to feel sorry for the redhead.

But he couldn't. She was the leader of the crime guild, Titan's Hand, and he knew in the back of his mind that she showed no mercy when she wiped out those rookie guilds. He strode past her lifeless body, instead focusing on figuring out which wagon was holding the survivors of the crime guild's earlier raid on the army convoy. Not surprisingly, the horses were wildly buckling around, trying to break free from their reins as the blood of their former masters pooled at their feet. Sinon hurried over to the nervous horses and started to sing something them in Runish, the language of the fairies. Only moments later, the horses stopped buckling and relaxed, feeding on some oats Sinon pulled out of her pouch. Lorenzo saw Sinon's lips twitch to form a rare smile as she comforted the horses. It was then he remembered that the Cait Sith were well known for their uncanny ability to tame any animal or beast.

Sinon was a contradiction in many ways. She was always so cold and distant to everyone she's ever met, opening up only to a select few, yet she loved animals with all her heart, so she never ate meat or took the life of any animal. She always carried herself seriously and spoke with obvious authority, but that was thrown off by her petite body. She was sixteen years of age, like Lorenzo himself, but was often mistaken for a much younger person.

Lorenzo decided to let Sinon bond with the horses, despite knowing she would probably sent a couple of them free.

The first wagon was a familiar sight, one of those luxury wagons from Salemburg that nobles used when traveling on the open road. It was made with rare Gigas Cedar wood, which durability exceeded even iron, and was adorned in amber engravings. He walked over to the back and opened the unlocked door. Inside was just as lavish as he had expected it: fur upholstery, private wine stock, shelves full of jewels and other small treasures. It was undoubtedly the private wagon of the redheaded leader.

The second wagon was a plain heavy duty wagon, the sides decorated with the symbol of the Aincrad Army. The inside of the wagon was occupied by four bulky chests, each one branded with Aincrad treasury seal. All of them had heavy padlocks, but each one was covered in numerous deep scratches. He opened the closest one to him and his eyes widened at the amount of Col inside. No wonder the military took to hiring guilds to protect this convoy. All this Col was probably going to the front lines. Despite only six months of fighting with only three of the fairy races, it was becoming quite clear this war was going to draw on for years.

He closed the chest and went over to the third wagon. This one also had the seal of the Aincrad Army. Inside of this one however, was chests of raw metal and piles of weapons and armor. It was all military supplies intended to supplement several squads of soldiers. Because of Titan's Hand, Lorenzo knew some soldiers weren't going to get brand new equipment and probably perish against the fairies' magical attacks.

He then headed for the last wagon, an all too familiar sight: a iron-bound jail wagon that was starting to rust . He had spent a lot of time in jail wagons over the course of his career as a Beater, courtesy of Sinon.

"Hey, what's going on out there?" asked a voice coming from the back from the wagon. "Somebody answer me!"

The hairs on Lorenzo's neck stood on end as he came to a revelation.

They were survivors of the ambush!

He rushed the scarred iron-clad door in the back and saw someone's face pressed against the barred window.

"Hey! What's going on? Tell me!" asked the orange haired kid.

"It's okay," reassured Lorenzo, pulling out his lock picking kit. He quickly went to work on the giant padlock he was familiar with. He had picked too many of these padlocks busting Sinon out of jail. "We're here to help you."

"What about the bandits?" The kid's red eyes darted back and forth, surveying the landscape for any possible signs of the bandits.

"You don't have to worry about them," replied Lorenzo, opening the lock with a satisfying click. Music to his ears. He promptly swung open the heavy door and the prisoners rushed out, but distanced themselves, cautious of Lorenzo.

He looked at the four survivors of Titan's Hand's ambush. Two of them were around his age and the other two of them were even younger then him.

"What are your names?" asked Lorenzo, curious to how they managed to survive.

"We're not telling you anything about us until we know who you are," explained a tall slender girl with calm deep blue eyes and long light blue hair which bordered on white. Her movements were graceful, but spoke with reserved authority. She seemed to be the oldest of them all, a year or two older the Lorenzo.

"My name is Lorenzo, but I'm also known as the Reaper," he introduced himself. Everyone's eyes widened as soon as he told them his moniker. He added,"Why do you ask question? I just rescued you."

"Yes, I see that, but why?" she inquired.

Lorenzo felt a knot in his stomach as he recounted,"I was heading back to town when I stumbled into a wounded man, lying in the middle of a road. He had an arrow in his shoulder and it was obviously poison coated. He told me he was part of a convoy that was ambushed and asked me to avenge his guild, Silver Flags, before he passed. So I went towards the direction he came from, found the ambush site, and followed the tracks. Then my partner and I ambushed the bandits after we got ahead of the . As you can see, we got them all," he concluded, gesturing to the fallen bodies of the bandits.

"Partner?"

"That would be me," answered Sinon, whose voice came from behind the survivors. "Name's Sinon."

Startled, they spun around in unison, only to find Sinon perched on top of the jail wagon, calmly eating an apple with a stoic expression. Lorenzo carefully observed their faces, measuring their reactions. They panicked for a brief moment before quickly regaining their posture. Good. They all received basic training and were obviously well trained, but he was surprised that two of them were barely 14 years of age and already fully fled guild members. If anything, this was a sign that things were not going well on the front lines.

They stared in silence until a petite blue haired girl spat out,"You're a half blood."

Sinon narrowed her ice blue eyes as her free hand gestured to the curved short sword pressed against her side. "Why? Does that bother you?"

"No, I've just never seen one before, that's all," admitted the blue haired girl as she avoided eye contact with Sinon.

Tension filled the air as everyone stared at Lorenzo and Sinon, desperately trying to get a grip on the situation.

Irritated and annoyed, Lorenzo broke the awkward silence by commenting,"Okay! We get it! You've never seen a half blood and are scared of her and blah blah blah whatever. I really don't care. Can we get on with the introductions? In case your memory's a bit dodgy, herds of Pups have been spotted in this area of the forest, so the faster we get this done, the faster we can get out of here. "

They all looked at him weirdly, unsure on how to respond. Lorenzo fidgeted as he waited for the ambush survivors to figure out their next move. He knew that within the hour, Pups would swarm this area. Pups were large wolf like creature, with glowing red eyes, twin tails, dark purple fur, and a row of spikes coming out of their spine. They were ferocious creatures, sporting a mouth of razor sharp teeth and they were generally large in size, but lately, they've been growing at a alarming rate and grouping into large herds, which has never happened before. Pups were solitary creatures, like Sinon, Lorenzo mused. But for them to be gathering was a bad omen, that he was sure of.

"Fine," said a brown haired, brown eyed kid about Lorenzo's age. "We'll tell you."

"Call me Jun," said the orange haired kid, his red eyes brimming with curiosity as he scrutinized Sinon. "I'm a guild member of Sleeping Knights."

"I'm Sachi," introduced the petite blue haired girl, struggling to make eye contact with Lorenzo. Tears rolled down her cheek as she told everyone,"I'm the only surviving member of the Black Cats of the Full Moon guild."

"I'm An Si-eun, but you can call me Sieunee," said the tall, slender girl. "I am the temporary guild leader of Sleeping Knights."

"And I'm Corvatz," said the brown haired, brown eyed kid. "I'm the only survivor of my guild, Golden Apple."

"Okay, now that we all know each other, let's load up these wagons and go," stated Lorenzo. Everyone looked confused at his order however. "Look, if we stay here, a herd of Pups will get us or worse. This forest is not safe at night, so we need to leave as quickly as possible. We can't take everything with us because we can't protect it and leave in the luxury wagon."

No one argued and after a minute of sparse conversation, Lorenzo and Sinon lead them to the luxury wagon, which they all boarded quietly. They looked nervous going inside, but Lorenzo managed to convince them. As soon as they got in and closed the wagon door, Sinon sprang a question at Lorenzo.

"What are we going to do with the rest of the wagons?"

His reply was simply,"Burn them."

"But why?" Sinon pouted. Sinon placed a hand on her hip, waiting for an good explanation. "There's no reason to let all of this go to waste. We can use those arms and Col. We don't need to leave all of it behind."

"I never said that, did I?" countered Lorenzo. He knew the benefits of taking everything, but he also knew it would be impossible to make it to a nearby village with all the extra luggage. "We can't take all of it, it'll only slow us down. You've heard the reports. Monster attacks are becoming more common everywhere in Aincrad. We won't be able to make it anywhere since we have passengers now."

"What about my Infinity Pouch?" asked Sinon. Sinon possessed enchanted pouch, dubbed an Infinity Pouch, which could theoretically store an infinite amount of objects and the pouch wouldn't gain any weight. It weighted as much as a regular pouch filled with coins. However, due to the make the pouch having an infinite amount of space inside, it would be hard to retrieve any specific item at a moment's notice, so Sinon only kept money in her pouch. She kept a rather hefty amount of Col inside, since she could not put her Col in Aincrad's banking system like Lorenzo due to her Cait Sith heritage.

"Take the all Col and some of the arms, so if we are attacked, they," Loreno pointed to the luxury wagon,"can help us."

"Remind me again why we're helping them."

Lorenzo let out a weary sigh. Sinon wasn't never very trusting of strangers or humans in general. Lorenzo knew it probably stemmed from bullying from humans when she was young. Many parents taught their kids to bully half bloods as they were not human nor fairy, so they didn't deserve to be treat as one or the other. He wasn't sure if that was the cause, but it was the most likely.

"We're helping them because they just lost their guild and all their friends. They were probably going to the the outskirts to be made into slaves. We prevented that and now, we need to drop them off at the nearest town. Or do you want to leave those four here, defenseless in the middle of the Wandering Forest? They wouldn't last an hour without us," he explained.

Sinon opened her mouth in protest, but no words came out. She snapped her mouth shut and stormed off, intending to take all the Col and put it in her Infinity Pouch.

In a hour, all the food and water was stored in the luxury wagon along with a small cache of arms. The Col from the Aincrad Treasury was safely stored away in Sinon's pouch. Sinon drew a arrow from her quiver and nocked it, aiming it between the three wagons they left behind. She said something in Runish and the tip of the arrow engulfed in blue flames. She fired and the arrow buried itself on the ground in between the wagons. Within moments, the blue flames starting licking the wooden wheels before slowly crawling up the sides. In less then a minute, all three wagons were on fire, along with the bodies of Titan's Hand. Once the wagons were done, the magical flames Sinon conjured would snuff themselves out.

Once Sinon sat down next to him, Lorenzo took the reins and started a slow pace as the horses started off on a slow trot, the ashes of Titan's Hand slowly sprinkling and settling in the desolate forest.

As soon as night fell a few hours later, they decided to set up camp, since it would be dangerous to travel through the night. They pulled off the main trail and made a small fire in a clearing surrounded by dense foliage. They used what meager supplies they had to cook some meat stew. Their dinner was eaten in an awkward silence however, with Sinon eating her own food away from prying eyes. Eventually, everyone dozed off, even Sinon, so Lorenzo decided to stand guard. He could afford to lose a few hours of sleep, unlike the rest of them. He leaned against the only tree on the edge of the clearing, his eyes trained on the crackling flames. After idly standing there for a couple hours, he pulled out a letter he received a week earlier.

On it was scribbled a cryptic message:

From Enigma to The Reaper:

_All is not what it seems_

_Those in power lie as agendas move forward_

_The lines of right and wrong have become blurred beyond imagination_

_The best people have now become the worst beings _

_Secrets surround the fair and the ingenious_

_Head to the resting place of the once Great King_

_The stars and giants will guide your journey_

_Time is running out _

_Free me_

_Hurry, before all is lost _

_The Guardians shall rise once more_

Lorenzo pondered what it could have meant. Enigma was a fellow Beater, called so because no one knew anything about him. Lorenzo had spent some time with him and all he learned that he was somebody you wanted on your side in a fight. He was one of the handful of humans able to wield magic proficiently. Most humans who wielded magic could only enchant weapons or heal minor injuries. Enigma however, could use strong offense and defensive magic that rivaled the average fairy. Lorenzo knew three other humans who were as skilled in magic as he was, but nobody knew the extents of his powers or his past. Lorenzo knew next to nothing about him, other then the fact he appeared four years ago during a monster attack at a small village.

But Lorenzo couldn't figure out what Enigma meant.

What happened to him that required Lorenzo to come help him?

What secrets was Enigma mentioning?

Who was lying?

Who had their own agendas?

Who were the fair and the ingenious?

Who and were was the Great King?

Where were the star and "giants" that was supposed to lead the way?

And what did he mean by the Guardians shall rise?

Lorenzo's head was spinning as he struggled to figure out this mess of riddles. Enigma was smart, but did he have to be so cryptic? Why couldn't he just say where he needed Lorenzo to go and why? Not even the Guardians bit made sense since the only thing it could have applied to was the Integrity Knights, known also as the Guardians of Aincrad. Their strength rivaled even the strongest fairy warriors. They were appointed Generals of the Aincrad Army when war broke out, so how could they rise again?

"Mind if I keep you company?" asked An Si-eun out of nowhere as she slowly walked towards him.

Lorenzo quickly stuffed the letter in his pocket before raising his head to face her. "An Si-eun, what are you doing up? It's better if you sleep now. We have to cover a lot of ground tomorrow. It will take us most of the day before we reach Algade."

"Call me Sieunee, and after what happened today, I'm not sure if I want to sleep," she explained, siting against the tree to Lorenzo's right. "Besides, I need to ask you something that I couldn't ask in front of the others."

Lorenzo looked down at her, trying to anticipate her question.

She paused for a moment before asking,"Why do you possess the Black Swordsman's blade?"

Lorenzo was stunned at the question. How she have known he carried Elucidator, even though he kept it sheathed and never drew it front of her?

"Why do you say it's the sword of the Black Swordsman? It could easily be a custom long sword I had specially made by any competent blacksmith."

Sieunee chuckled and told him,"I've met Kirito. He was friends with our former guild leaders, Ran and Yuki. He use to spar with them since they were among the few who could rival him in swordsmanship. I've seen his swords, Elucidator and Dark Repulser, many times. When news of his death and that of our guild leaders, I was...shocked to say the least. But when I saw you carrying it, something started bugging me."

"What is it?"

"If Kirito really died at that massacre, why do you have one of his swords?"

Lorenzo paused for a moment, out of shock. He didn't know why he took the sword. Something made him, some indistinct or intuition made him, but he never figured out why exactly did he take the sword. After a moment of internal indecisiveness, he finally gave in and said,"I was there. At the massacre. I wasn't at the center, with the Royal Family or Council, but rather, I was on the outskirts of the ceremony, enjoying myself and looking for some old friends. I saw Kirito at the ceremony with his sister. I only saw them for a second before everything burst into flames and blinded me. When I regained consciousness, I found a crater where they stood. At first, I was overwhelmed at the destructions. Where hundreds were a second before now laid a smoking crater. Bodies were strewn everywhere. It took most of my will to get me moving, despite my injuries. In the debris, I found Elucidator on the ground. I looked for the Black Swordsman, but only found her sister's body. It was..." he couldn't even finish the sentence. The thought of that badly burned body made his eyes water. "Anyway, once the smoke settled, fairies and humans started attacking each other. I managed to slip away as the watchtowers collapsed."

"So it is true," said Sieunee, her voice filled with sadness. "He's dead."

Lorenzo had his doubts lingering in his mind, but he decided it was eat not to tell her. If he really was dead, then it was no use getting her hopes up. He had no evidence, other then the lack of a body and the fact Dark Repulser was still missing, but many bodies were vaporized in the blast and many bodies were missing, like the young girl who was the 2nd in command of the Knights of the Blood.

"You should go to sleep," stated Lorenzo after a few minutes of silence. "If we keep talking like this, you won't be able to sleep for a week."

"Perphaps it's for the best," conceited Sieunee. She stood and walked back to the fireplace. She laid down and before she closed here eyes, she took a look at the Reaper, just to ensure herself he was still there.

"That was an interesting conversation," commented Sinon. Lorenzo looked up and spotted Sinon resting on a branch, her hood pulled over her head to hide her cat ears. "So? It's not like our conversations are any better."

"Oh really?" Sinon hooked her legs on the branch and swung down so her face was level with his, despite being upside down and the tied tufts of hair on each side of her forehead dangled distractingly. "So every conversation we have is as awkward as that?"

"More or less." Sinon pouted at his remark, but he just flashed her a grin. "When was the last time you talked to someone who wasn't giving you a contract or selling you something?"

Sinon hoisted herself back up without a single word.

Lorenzo let out a small laugh before training his senses back on his surroundings.

Oi, tomorrow was going to be a long day.


	5. III: Algade

III

Algade

Dawn crept up without trouble. Lorenzo woke up to a red sky, wincing as sunlight blinded him. He got up, finding only Sinon awake, tending to the horses. Lorenzo proceeded to wake up everyone else. Everyone complained as he woke them up so early. Jun and Corvatz muttered curses as him as he prepared for the had a long way to go before they reached their destination.

After a cold breakfast in silence, everyone got back into the wagon and they set off for Algade without delay.

Lorenzo hurried down the trail, the landscape changing from the desne forest into the wide open plains. By midday, Lorenzo and Sinon saw the familiar unstructured outline of Algade in the distance. Algade was one of the biggest cities in Aincrad and a major trading hub. A quarter of all trade in Aincrad passed through there at some point. Most of the town was made up of various stores, inns, and taverns. All of it to appeal to the traders and merchants that passed through town. Everything centered around the marketplace which engulfed the center of town. Traders and merchants from far and wide set up temporary stalls to sell their products before moving on to the next town. Even on a slow day, the marketplace would be packed with small time merchants and their stalls.

They cautiously approached the city, Sinkn donning her cloak to conceal her ears. If the city guard found her, she could be tried as a spy. Far too many half bloods had been executed as spies for ALfheim, despite the kingdom of ALfheim despising the half bloods just as much as the humans did.

As they approached the town, Lorenzo and Sinon noticed a large surge in the number of city guards posted everywhere. A dozen soldiers patrolled each street and archers were stationed at various roofs, their crossbows at the ready.

As soon as they were out of sight from the city guards and stopped, Corvatz and Jun ran off without a word. Sieunee on the other hand, wouldn't stop thanking them as she went to join her friend in a nearby guild, her pack loaded with jewels and Col.

Sachi was the only one who didn't leave however. Instead, she sat in the corner of the wagon, her arms wrapped around her legs as she silently sobbed. Sinon went back inside to try and comfort Sinon while Lorenzo pulled up to a nearby inn. He left the two of ten behind and went inside to the front desk. The innkeeper was a older man with a short gray beard, his face covered in wrinkles. He held a pint of mead in one hand while he carved an intricate shape into the table with his other other hand with a hunting knife. Lorenzo cautiously walked up to him and requested a room with three beds.

"Ya realize that we only got one left and it don't come cheap," replied the drunk old man. "Gonna cost ya a good couple hundred Col. A night"

"That's fine with me." Lorenzo pulled out a handful of five hundred Col coins and handed it to the innkeeper. The innkeeper then opened a book filled with names and shoved it in front of Lorenzo. He signed it and the innkeeper handed him a key without a word. Lorenzo thanked him and went upstairs. The number on the key was marked 13 and the room was located at the very end of the hall. He opened the door and examined the room. The room was spacious with three small beds and a nightstand by each bed. A small bathroom was on the left hand side and two windows were on three of the four walls, each one with their own drapes. Other then that though, the room was bare.

Perfect.

He went back downstairs and brought the girls back upstairs. As soon as they went inside, Sachi climbed into bed and went to sleep. Lorenzo and Sinon could still heard light sobbing coming from her. Sinon took off her cloak and walked to one on the windows, admiring a blue jay perched outside.

Lorenzo looked back at Sachi, unsure of what to do with her. Lorenzo and Sinon needed to get information on Enigma's last known whereabouts and once they acquired it, they would leave immediately to track him down. They didn't need extra luggage, but what could they do? They couldn't just leave her here in Algade. This girl was on the verge of a total breakdown. Leaving her here would mean certain death for her. Underground crime had flourished ever since war broke out. With everyone so focused on the war effort, the city guard were undermanned and low on resources, paving the way for organized crime and corruption.

So what was he going to do with her?

He thought for a moment, his mind debating over various options and possible solutions. He saw many solutions, but all of them involved leaving her there in Algade. The only person Lorenzo knew in Algade was Argo the Rat. She was an information broker, able to obtain almost any piece of information for a hefty price. He knew he couldn't dump Sachi on Argo, no matter what he said. Information brokers always worked alone since it was a high risk, high reward business, not unlike Lorenzo and Sinon's jobs as Beaters.

Finally, Lorenzo told Sinon to stay with Sachi while he sought out Argo. Sinon protested but he managed to convince her to stay after a lengthy argument.

Lorenzo's ears stung as Argo's shrill laughter filled the tavern. If the tavern had still been opened, the tavern owner would have kicked them out long ago. The only reason the tavern was empty was that Argo knew the tavern owner, Agil, and he was busy at the bar cleaning his mugs. Lorenzo knew he didn't mind; Agil was a well known person in Algade. He ran a successful tavern called Dicey Cafe and sold rare and exotic items to nearby guilds. Argo had helped Agil in the past by providing him some dirty information on a tax collector who was threatening to close Agil's tavern out of hatred for Agil's father, so he closed early and let them have their talk in private.

"So you're telling me you're stuck with this girl? Hah!" Lorenzo cringed as Argo let out another fit of laughter. "As if dealing with Sinon wasn't enough! Now you got this girl to take care of! You crack me up Rin!"

Lorenzo groaned at Argo's pet nickname for him. Argo was never able to pronounce his name correctly and always called him Lorinzo, so came the nickname Rin.

He couldn't blame her though. Argo had it pretty tough. She was orphaned at a young age and had to fend for herself. She always carried her claws and throwing picks on her belt wherever she went since she was an easy target. She was small like Sachi and around the same age, with hazel brown eyes and curly auburn hair. As a result, she was very distrusting. Between her distrusting nature and the makeup she wore earned her the nickname the Rat.

As far as Lorenzo knew, she had few people she could call friends since she was so distrusting. Many of them died during the Massacre and Lorenz could relate. Both of them had lost many friends that day.

That's why Lorenzo stayed friends with her after helping her establish her presence in the information market. She was loyal to her few friends and was always willing to help them out, for a discount. She had a business to run after all.

"Now where were we?" asked Argo, finishing off her glass of wine. Like everyone Lorenzo knew, Argon was a healthy consumer of alcoholic beverages.

"I need to know about Enigma's last known whereabouts. I was hoping you can tell me."

Argo's eyes widened and she choked on her wine. "You don't know?"

"Know what? I haven't been to any town for two weeks. I have no idea what's going on the front lines."

Argo took a deep breath, lolling uneasy. "I don't know how to say this, so I'll just say it." She paused and looked at Lorenzo with a serious expression. "Enigma's dead. So is Dante."

Lorenzo felt a knot in his stomach form as the news sunk in. "What do you mean dead?"

"Dead as dead could be. Dante and Enigma went out on the front lines and were swarmed by hundreds of Salamander, Imp, and Gnome warriors. A whole battalion saw the two go down. They used dark magic at the end of their lives and now a crater exists on the front lines where they once stood," Argo explained.

It took a minute for Lorenzo to process this information. Dante was another gifted human magic user, almost as strong as Dante. Whereas no one knew what magic Enigma specialized in as he was seen using every type at some point, Dante specialized in dark magic. Not a lot of magic users use dark magic as it was forbidden by both kingdoms, but was powerful enough to avoid capture by everyone.

But to think that he finally lost his life, and on the front lines no less?

Lorenzo had met both of them and he couldn't imagine the two of them volunteering to go to the front lines without some incentive.

Maybe they had a change of heart. After all, six months of fighting had already resulted in tens of thousands of soldiers. Many Beaters rushed to the from lines to stop the war, but none succeeded as of yet.

Lorenzo's mind went blank as it absorbed this revelation.

Part of him was sad. Even though Lorenzo worked with him for a short time and he acted eccentric throughout their time together, yet he felt like he owned him. Enigma saved his life and never mentioned it, but Lorenzo felt like he needed to repay him. Now he couldn't.

Yet for some reason, part of him also felt glad. Now he didn't have to worry about hunting down Enigma. Now he could focus on helping Sachi. He needed to figure out a way to help her, and now he had plenty of time to help, at the cost of two lives.

_What a screwed up world we live in._

A/N: I'm working on a new fanfic, if any of you are interested. It's a zombie fanfic that takes place in the SAO universe (offline of course) with original characters and canon characters. Called When the Dead Walk and will also feature Sinon. I liked her out of all the female characters, mostly because she has more problems and how she struggles with it.


End file.
