Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online. Reki Kawahara does!

Alicia stood up and dusted herself off before letting out a long tired sounding sigh "The Human? Is that all you wanted? You really didn't need to make such a…" with a slight pause she waved her hand as if shooing away gnats" …mess for something so simple." Cocking her hip out and planting a fist on it she leveled an arrogant stare worthy of the leader of an entire fairy race. "After all it's as simple as a snap of my fingers for something like that." To prove her point she raised her free hand and snapped her fingers. Above the Salamanders disappeared in a blur of silvery blue as a squad of Cat Sith Dragoons answered their leaders summon.

With an aura of calm authority Alicia began giving out orders to her various subordinates and in a surprisingly short time everyone erupted into an organized flurry of action. Kirito found himself a bit in awe at how quickly the Cat Sith leader had snapped into action and felt a bit guilty over some of his previous scathing thoughts. Immediate orders issues she gave an apologetic look to Kirito who blurted out "Weren't you drunk just a moment ago?"

With a coy smile Alicia stated "Don't worry, I'll be plenty drunk later. Right now it seems we have something a bit more pressing. I'll have to ask you and your party to evacuate with the others to a shelter until we can get everything under control."

From the hole in the ceiling came sounds of conflict but what Kirito heard instead was the salamanders demand "Give us the human." Their after me. I brought them here. Shaking his head he gave Alicia his best goofy grin. "I think I can be of better use out there than in some shelter."

Alicia's expression became serious as she weighted the options. Finally, with a shrug "I can't argue with that. Just don't get yourself killed, I'd hate to have to wait to continue where we left off."

Kirito suddenly felt like being amongst the realitve safty of the battle and just gave her a hasty nod before leaping up to fly, mostly, straight through the hole above. Once on the roof he was greeted by the sight of wide spread fighting. Cat Sith and Salamanders flitted through the skies in fierce areal battles while below the ground was littered with small battles and burning buildings. They said human, not Spriggan, not Cat Sith but human. This sounds like the first real lead yet.

[].

He began searching the skies and ground below for what would look like some sort of leader. A fierce battle cry brought his gaze to a heavily armored Salamander as he cut down four Cat Sith in a single sweep of his giant two handed sword. Recognizing him as the Salamander who had issued the demand for the human before being swept away by the Cat Sith Dragoons, Kirito crouched low spreading his wings and launching himself towards his target. To his surprise he flew like a whistling arrow directly towards the Salamander, his sheer speed keeping him straight in flight. Swinging both swords to strike the Salamander with the flats of his blades, afraid of killing him before he could get his answers, Kirito was shocked when his blades not only didn't strike the salamander but passed harmlessly through the spot his target had been a moment before. Instinct saved him as it had countless times before, rolling mid air to the side he managed to get both blades up to block the powerful downward chop of the Salamander above him. The shock of the blow traveled down both blades and into his arms as the wind screamed past his ear. The roar of the wind died down instantly as he crashed back first into the roof of a building sending bright flashes of light through his vision as his head bounced off the hard surface.

Kirito struggled to regain his senses knowing he needed to dodge or block the next attack he was certain would come. Vision slowly clearing but body still not recovered from the blow he found the Salamander still high above him a shocked look on his face. "A Spriggan? What ever, You brought this on yourself trash digger!" The Salamander pulled his wings in close to his body as he prepared to dive on the stunned Spriggan when a volley of arrows struck his side with the high pitched pinging sound of metal on metal.

From the direction the salamander was now glaring Kirito heard a familiar female voice "Quit laying there like a bum. If your gonna talk big in front of Alicia you should at least back it up." Though he couldn't hear it he was certain the blue haired Cat Sith archer was muttering "Spriggans" like a dirty word.

Pushing himself up to a crouch he glance at his reflection in his sword confirming his Cat Sith illusion was gone. Oh well I guess no point in holding back anymore then either. With another explosive take off he streaked once again towards his target, the sharp sound of his song blades as they cut through the wind signaling his newest assault. This time Kirito didn't slow down to make a strike nor was he surprised when the Salamander launched upwards expertly avoiding his attack at the last moment. Aerial combat is going to take some getting used to.

Instead he continued past him before spinning around his black wings beating fiercely to slow him as he finished muttering the last words of his spell engulfing himself in a giant cloud of darkness. Below the Salamander and Sinon watched the black cloud confused as to what the purpose could have been in such a move. Kiritos charged out of the darkness towards the Salamander, dozens of them all identical spread out into a wall of charging Spriggans.

If the veteran Salamander was phased at all by the sudden assault he didn't show it and instead focused on a just one of the Spriggans with a confident smirk. Just as his chosen target was about to reach him he dashed forward with an attack of his own while shouting "If your going to try something like that you shouldn't use such a noisy weapon." As his massive sword pierced the Spriggan with the whistling blades his smirk melted away much like the clone that dissolved into dark smoke. Two silent blades crashed down biting deeply into the thick metal shoulder guards on each side of the Salamanders head. The force of the blow sent him spiraling down pursued hotly by Kirito as the rest of his clones dissolved around them.

Before Kirito could close the distance a chain appeared out of thin air to snake around his left forearm and he came to a sudden jerking stop as it snapped taunt."Caught you, You filthy Spriggan." Sneered the salamander on the other end of the chain as he hovered above with at least a dozen others. His sneer was wiped away as his captive twined the chain around his arm up over his hand and yanked with impossible strength sending the salamander plummeting down to the waiting blade.

Even as the now impaled salamander burst into flames more and more of them gathered around the lone Spriggan. Damn it. Guess I'll try it here too. He once again held out his blades as he watched the Salamander's dive towards him in what seemed like slow motion. Although the blades remained motionless they began to….sing. As the first note flowed into the night air around him he recalled Selor's words from their training session "The most powerful use of the Song Blades is also the easiest. The Song of Souls, It is simply the wielder's fighting spirit given song. One needs only open their heart to the blades and let them do the rest. The stronger the warrior's soul the stronger the song, Legends of war's won and lost on the power of a single warriors song have been passed down through Puca history for as long as we fairies have lived. After all the song of a pure warriors soul is said to give strength to his allies and weaken his enemies." As the Salamanders closed in he exploded into action literally cutting straight through their ranks.

[]

Sinon looked up from her perch on top of the royal palace as Kirito's song washed over the battlefield. The haunting melody was filled with loneliness and pain but also unyielding resolve. She watched the Spriggan's wild careening path across the sky clashing with salamander after salamander. The tempo of his song changing slowly, becoming less lonely and more…. Happy. As she fired off arrow after arrow the twang of her bow seemed to blend with that of the swordsman's song. Her arrows seemed to fly straighter and faster and all around it seemed as though the tides of the war were turning just as the tone of the song had changed.

[]

Kirito spun around the thrusting spear of one salamander and lashed out decapitating him before parrying a sudden sword thrust. Slow. They all seem so slow now! We're going to win this! Grinning Kirito slipped past his oponnet's defenses and cut him down with sickening speed. All around it seemed as if the Salamander forces were suddenly being routed. His attention was drawn to a small patch of icy blue on a roof top. He waved his left hand over his head towards the archer making the chain still attached to it swing wildly while giving a goofy grin he was certain that her keen eyes picked him up even at this distance. Below the blue haired archer waved back wildly causing him to chuckle to himself.

[]

Sinon cursed her empty quiver and the foolish Spriggan as he obliviously miss understood her warnings and she was forced to watch the salamander captain crash into the waving Spriggan from above.

[]

Kirito gritted his teeth as he crashed into the ground below. He had managed to keep his head from bouncing off the ground on impact this time but the pain of his left arm made his head swim. The Salamander had hit him with a diving kick that would have caved in his skull had his left arm not been angled over his head during the impact. Instead his arm had snapped, bone poking through at an odd angle. Forcing down the wave of pain induced nausea he forced himself to his knees.

"Still alive I see. Stubborn one." Glancing up he found the Salamander commander hovering with at least two dozen of his men. Grinning at the confused and pained look on the Spriggan's face he continued. "Come now. Don't tell me you thought your little musical act was going to change the outcome of things?" Behind him the battle continued and the night sky was light up with a growing number of spirit flames. And as if to prove his point more and more of them were the bronze color signifying the death of a Cat Sith.

Kirito thrust his right sword into the ground trying to stand up but slumped back before he could make it half way. His head swam with pain and his body felt as if it was made of lead. He had suffered worse wounds in the past that much was true. But before he had always had the power of his cursed blood to fall back on. Sitting there bruised and broken he suddenly felt very old and tired, I did. I thought I alone could stop them here. After all, I was the savior of Aincrad. The one to defeat Kayaba. But in truth, it wasn't me. It was that power I once cursed and then came to rely so heavily on. Without it, What am I?

Looking up his body swayed and his vision blurred, but it didn't matter. He could still see the night sky transformed into a sea of flame as the gathered Salamander's chanted over head. Watching his fiery doom descend through the veil of pain he mentally sighed, I guess this is it. Asuna... I'm sorry.

[]

In that final moment as the wall of flame descended upon him Sinon screamed out here rage at her inability to get to him in time. The Salamander commander and his men shared at laugh at the filthy Spriggan. But for Kirito lost in his sea of pain he heard a voice, it was not the voice of his love comforting him in his last moments but another that seeped through the pain into his mind. "Such a fool. Stop sitting there mopping over a few bruises, you didn't let even death stop you before. If you die here I will never live down the shame of being defeated by you. Or trusting in you."

What do you want from me. I gave it my all. It's not my fault. I don't have the power I did before... You took it away. Kirito's thoughts were full of self pity and anger that this was how he would spend his last moments.

Kayaba's laugh was harsh "You really are so naive at times. You no longer need your ancestor's power. You have your own strength. Now. Stand up. Show them the one I entrusted the future to."

[]

The fire exploded outwards into the night as the shockwave of Kirito's sword swing passed through it. The sound emitted from his sword swing was a harsh and twisted one, as though the pure sound his blade had once sung was warped and off key. Wide eyed Salamander and Cat-Sith alike looked upon the once broken Spriggan. Standing up he stabbed his sill vibrating right sword into the ground before gripping his left wrist and yanked his arm roughly into place. Using the chain hanging free of his arm he bound the hilt of his left sword to his arm as if to use it as a crude splint. The truth of his actions was clear though a moment latter as he appeared before one of the Salamander's with such speed none watching saw him move. With a savage thrust he pierced his left sword through his targets chest.

His right blade blocked the fierce attack of the first Salamander to recover, their leader. For a moment they locked gazes and what the Salamander saw filled his gut with the cold sensation of fear. Rage beyond anything he had ever witnessed, a fury so deep it could twist a beings soul. A true soldier, a true warrior the Salamander had respected the fierce Spriggan even if his pride would never allow him to admit it. But what he saw was something beyond fairy, as if looking into the pits of the abyss itself.

Kirito's counter attack sent his opponent flying back on a wave of twisted sound. His ears bled, his armor cracked and his blade shattered but the proud Salamander warrior refused to be beaten so easily. I have a mission!

Rolling away he dived towards the royal palace no longer confident of their victory enough to settle for searching the palace after words.

Behind him came a cacophony of twisted sounds and a single word that rolled over him as he entered the Cat-Sith palace through its broken roof. "COWARD!"

[]

Sinon's gut twisted as Kirito's twisted song washed over her. Gone was the haunting yet beautiful melody. Instead in its place was a wild harsh sound as though someone was scrapping jagged steel across a chalk board. With speed beyond the wildest imaginations of the fairy he flitted around the sky filling it with crimson spirit flames and sending friend and foe alike fleeing. Suddenly without warning he made a seemingly impossibly sharp turn and dived straight towards the palace to crash through the roof.

[]

The Salamander commander wasn't overly surprised when the Spriggan appeared out of the dust in front of him. He had figured the black streak that had crashed through the roof over head was him. His sword shattered and his mission seeming to be impossible to complete he had just one last duty to fulfill. When the Spriggan erupted from the dust he stood his ground expecting to embrace the dark monster's killing blow. Instead he found himself pinned against the wall by the smaller yet impossibly strong fairy.

"Where is she!" The Spriggan's voice was raspy and though his right hand was now empty the blade chained to his left gave off a painful high pitched wail as if to emphasize his question.

"Who?" He was so shocked at the sudden question he answered with his own confused question without thinking.

The Spriggan's answer was to pull him back before slamming him hard into the wall, bouncing the Salamander's head off it and causing plaster to rain down around them.

Even through the dull pain of the blow the loyal Salamander knew what his final duty had to be and chuckled "Oh her? You must mean her right? I can see why you would be so upset. She is something else... She sure does scream well doesn't she?"

He had expected the Spriggan to cut him down in a moment of rage but what he got instead was slammed down to the ground and blow after stunning blow rained down on his face. Lips curled back in a savage snarl Kirito slammed his fist down into the Salamander's face over and over so far gone into his rage he couldn't even register the fact he was still armed. Every fear he had since the day he heard of Asuna's disappearance flowed before him and he sought to crush them with each shattering blow he delivered.

His arm suddenly caught back and with a savage snarl he turned to his right expecting to find another enemy. Instead he found Sinon both arms wrapped around his forearm struggling with all her weight to hold back his fist and Yui with both fist full of his hair flapping her wings wildly as if to pull him back. The sight was enough to give him pause as somewhere deep down he started to remember. A wet gurgling moan brought his eyes to the Salamander Commander, his face broken and bloodied.

"Stop. It's enough." Sinon whispered as she slowly loosened her grip on his arm.

Yui let go of his hair and gave him a sad worried look "It's ok Papa. It was a lie."

Before he could say anything Alicia's voice startled him from behind. "Good grief. Quick get a healer over here. Don't let that lizard die. We need him alive to question him." Kirito glanced over to look the Cat-Sith leader in the eyes. "We will have questions for you too Spri... Kirito." Without another word she turned away as others rushed up to follow her orders.

[]

Kirito leaned against the hallway wall where he had collapsed after they carried away the Salamander Commander. His legs were struck out straight forward and his left arm now free of the chain and sword laying across his lap as he stared at the broken and bloodied knuckles of his right hand. "Alicia said you turned away the healers?" Sinon stood over him hands on her hips and one eye brow cocked. "If you're looking for sympathy all beat up like that. I can tell you it won't work. She isn't nearly as dim as she pretends."

Kirito responded without changing his gaze "I was going to beat him to death."

Sinon gave him a look that blatantly said he was being a fool "And? He would have killed you. Besides you didn't seem to have a problem cutting down any of the other Salamanders."

"That was different." He replied finally looking up at her his voice raising a notch. "I killed them because I had to, Because we were enemies just as they would have me. But him... I didn't want to kill him. I wanted him to suffer. To... feel fear. I wanted only to hurt him." He let his voice trail off.

"Tch. So what? The Salamander wanted you to kill him, He was obviously egging you on. The last thing he wanted was to be captured alive. Dead he would give us no information and simply be reborn within their own lands. Safe and sound." With a sigh she continued "Besides the bastard probably deserved it."

Kirito didn't respond. He knew now what the Salamander was doing. But Sinon didn't, couldn't, understand his worries. His actions, that blind rage was something he had experienced before. Something he had blamed on the dark power within him. But what did he blame it on now... Now that it was just him. His question from earlier echoed through his thoughts. Without it, What am I?

"Still just a monster." He whispered.

So, Its been forever I know. And to be honest I don't know when I will get to update next. I picked up a second job and between Anime, Video Games, The Gun Range, and Pretending to have a Social Life I rarely have time to write anything. Still I'll try to update again some time. Hope you enjoy.