AN: Here is a little side project I have been thinking of while I have been working on Reapers Redemption. I am still working on that primarily, but the ideas keep flooding into my head, and I really wanted to get them down and see what you all think.

The first seed of this story was a potential scene at the end of the Aincrad arc, before the duel between Kirito and Heathcliff. The scene would have played out in a storyline similar to the premise of Reapers Redemption, where Soundwave had secretly aided Kayaba in creating SAO as a side project (XD) In this timeline however, after the death game reveal, Soundwave secretly added himself as a Human player and began working to hunt down Kayaba, while attempting to end the death game, through both boss clearing and his covert computer work.

The idea latched on, and as I brainstormed ideas for Reapers Redemption, I had more and more ideas asking: 'What if Soundwave was in SAO?' These ideas have been piling up, and so I figured that maybe I should tell those ideas as well before they are gone.

So, I have decided to post a series of oneshots based on that prompt, 'What if Soundwave was in SAO?,' based on ideas I have floating around. Keep in mind, this is going to take a backseat to my other stories, Reapers Redemption and To the Brink and Back, so there will not be a lot of updates for these oneshots, but I hope some might find these interesting too.

So here is a prologue that will hopefully set up the oneshots:

The Face of Silence

It is almost like he was always there, silently watching from the shadows.

A mysterious masked player who barely spoke. SongofSteel was his avatar's name, but little other than that was known about him. He was distant, and he was silent, and he creeped people out.

Standing tall and slender with no flesh showing anywhere, SongofSteel was decked out in a dark blue hooded trench coat, always with its hood up, and its coattails even more pronounced than any other trench coat seen in Aincrad. His legs where adorned by simple black pants, his feet adorned with what appeared to be stirruped leather shoes, his hands adorned with dark blue gloves that made his hands resemble claws. Topping this eerie look off was a mask, dutifully hiding his face, pitch-black with the image of what looked like the face of a large purple raptor.

He wielded a black and silver glaive as his weapon, never wasting a movement when he engaged any enemy, moving swiftly and silently. He was powerful, high level, and had never been seen to lose. It had been a dream of many to see him fight the strongest players, such as Heathcliff, commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath, or Kirito, The Black Swordsman. No one was ever able to see if he was as strong as them, though. He finished his battles in as few movements possible and had never been known to utter a word to his opponents. But this was hardly surprising.

He had not been seen to utter a word, standing silently off to the side during raid planning's, arms crossed, never socializing, never even eating or drinking anything. He would just stand silently, never moving, never even twitching and never even swaying. Some players had theorized that he may have been mute, but others claimed that he had spoken, very rarely and never too many words. Those who claimed to have heard him speak claimed he had a very deep voice, a very raspy voice, a voice that was deep and powerful, no matter how loudly it projected. Which was, of course, not very loudly at all. The voice was harsh and cold, and it cut like cold steel, and seemed to silence anyone else whenever he spoke. But this was just according to the players that claimed to have heard him speak, players who were few and far between.

SongofSteel obviously kept to himself, joining only boss raids frequently. Sometimes he was nowhere to be seen, probably going on quests and grinding on his own. But he was often to be seen around the towns, leaning on a wall, silently walking down a street, or sitting on a bench doing nothing, saying nothing. Even this appeared to be sinister, as he gave off a feeling when he was around. The feeling that he was listening.

Many had suspected that was the reason he was so silent. That he was listening and gathering information, some even theorizing he was spying on them.

But there were one or two noticed some things about him.

Very rarely, some could say that they saw his masked head turning to watch a group of players when one would pass by him, generally when the group was in high spirits, or out for a celebration.

Very rarely, some could say that when there was music playing, he would stop and listen, not moving, standing still with his arms still crossed over his chest.

Very rarely, some could say that he would silently listen to an upset player about their problems, although the player was not usually talking to him.

And very rarely, some could say that they had seen him in a dark alley, or out in a secluded part of the environment, his masked head bowed in sad remembrance.

…

…

…

Yes, this was the mysterious player known as SongofSteel, a player that no one approached, a player that never spoke, who silently lean on a wall, listening to anything and everything.

He had attracted quite a few nicknames.

Some called him the Ghost.

Some called him the Faceless Reaper.

There was even a name that was applied to both him and his mask, the black mask with the etching of a purple raptor.

The Face of Silence.

A/N: So this essentially sets up the premise for the oneshots, with this being a general part of the backstory of the series. Let me know what you think: I'm open to ideas, suggestions, and constructive criticism.

Of course, this will not be my focus, as I am working on the main story right now, but please, let me know what you think!