A/N: AND I'M BACK! Man, it is such a relief to be able to write again! As a few of you know, my computer completely crashed a couple of weeks ago, whic means... I lost all of my writing. ALL of it. Including half of my second novel, and much of the fanfictions I had started on. Unfortunately, this means that the release of Star Sword II is being delayed, whish I know is very disappointing... I'm very sorry, but Ipromise I'm doing my very best to restore what was lost. I thank you all for being patient and waiting for my return.

And now that I have... Link, start!

As I Always Have

"Mataras, you don't understand!" Erza said, trying to dissuade the hotheaded Dragon Slayer. "The power Acnologia possesses is unlike anything in any world. Nothing can beat him!"

"Shut up," he growled sharply. He turned to look at the others as Acnologia shed his cloak and straightened himself. "If you don't want to risk yourselves, fine. I can understand that. But don't ever try to dissuade me from my goals. I won't give in to doubt and disillusion simply because someone else says it's impossible."

"If nothing else…" Kirito said as he activated his Shadow Drive, "We'll just fight to make sure we prove everyone wrong. We're the Moonlit Black Cats, and we don't leave things half-done! Rrrah!" He shot forward at the speed of darkness, aiming to smash Acnologia's face in with his magic.

Acnologia regarded him with something like boredom before slapping him across the face and sending him flying into the wall on his left. The sheer impact rattled the chamber, and Fairy Tail began to retreat at its master's behest.

"Run, my children!" he shouted. "We need to get out of here, all of us!"

"Go!" Mataras added. "We'll finish this ourselves!"

"Don't you mean you'll hold him off?!" Gray shouted.

"No, I mean we'll end him," Mataras seethed, flames coming to life. "And when we're done, you all owe drinks for proving you wrong." Despite his rage he flashed a cocky grin at Makarov, who could only look at him, dumbfounded, as he went to what would surely be his virtual death.

"Now then…" Mataras growled as he faced Acnologia. "Fire Dragon WING ATTACK!" He leaped up high and sent down twin tendrils of fire to lash at Acnologia, setting off explosions with the impact. When he touched back down on the earth, he was slightly surprised to see that the boss was not even scathed. "Well, this is an unfortunate turn of events," he muttered sourly.

"Shadow Dragon ROAR!" Darkness shot forth from where Kirito had landed to strike Acnologia in the back, who simply shrugged it off and kept walking towards Mataras at an unhurried pace. While it did nothing to the boss, Mataras was glad to know that his friend was still in the fight.

"Waking up, are we?" he chuckled as Kirito came out of his own shadow.

"Less talking, more fighting," he grunted.

Fairy Tail's elite wizards could only stare in shock as the two brothers charged back into the fight with no regard for their own safety. Jellal/Litrosh quickly joined them by unleashing lightning spells at the boss, but with no effect. Yui helped her father by flying him around with great speed and a strength that belied her petite frame.

"Why are they so gung-ho about this?" Gray asked Leafa. "You'd swear that this was real for them or something."

"Well, it'll sound like they're crazy, but it is real for them," she grimaced. "This is something they have to overcome, or else they'll never forgive themselves."

"But it's just a game!" Erza shouted. "And the death penalty isn't worth risking over something that's impossible!"

"The world around you," Mataras growled as he back flipped to dodge one of Acnologia's fists, "possesses only as much meaning as you give it. This is where our hearts lie, and the hearts of others that depend on us!"

"Defeat here means death to the souls of those that are countin' on us!" Kirito roared. "And we won't let 'em down!" Fairy Tail was at a loss for words. They couldn't tell if they were just crazy, or if there was more to this battle than met the eye.

"We're not giving up!" Litrosh cried as he began moving even faster, casting several magic circles without releasing their power. "We're going to rescue our family!" He cast one last circle and roared "Grand Chariot!" Meteors of light sprang from each seal in the air and proceeded to pummel Acnologia with brutal force that would destroy most players. But amazingly, Acnologia shrugged off the attack like a spring rain, pausing only to look up at Litrosh with bored eyes. Then he resumed attacking Mataras and Kirito, who were forced to use every trick they knew just to dodge his attacks.

"What do we have to use to get this guy down on health?" Kirito wondered aloud.

"Dragon Slayer Secret Art," Mataras snarled as his flames grew even hotter. "Crimson Lotus FIST!" He leaped forth at Acnologia, whose eyes actually widened with interest at the attack name. Then Mataras delivered a series of punches so fast that they might have been on par with Jellal's Meteor-enhanced blows. Only, this time, they seemed to have an effect, for Acnologia growled slightly and gave Mataras a proper return punch that sent him flying.

"That's it!" Yui cried. "Secret Arts must be the only way to hurt him!"

"Only those spells?" Kirito grimaced. "How are we supposed to use enough of those to kill this guy? They just take up too much magic power!"

"We can help with that!" Erza shouted from the side, drawing Kirito's attention for a moment. "If you start to run low on magic power, let us know so we can replenish you!"

"Okay," he nodded at her. Facing his enemy again, he prepared to use his attack, only to have the Dragon Slayer Boss punch him into the wall again, the bored expression back on his face. "Ow…" he groaned as he got up.

"Hey, I can't be the only one doing the work!" Mataras shouted, half-annoyed, half trying to get Kirito riled up. "Get on your feet, Brother!"

"On it," he grunted as he stood all the way up. "Yui, get back. I don't want you to get hurt on accident."

"Nu-uh," she shook her furry little head immediately and definitely. "I'm staying with you no matter what, Daddy." And what else could he do but smile at his daughter's courage?

"Okay then," he said as the darkness began to emanate from him. "Here goes: Dragon Slayer Secret Art!" Shadows of a moonless midnight gathered in his right hand as he added, "Demon Impact!" He leaped high in the air and unleashed pure darkness at Acnologia, even as Mataras shot out of the rubble, his Secret Art still burning in hand.

Kirito's blast pummeled the boss, and actually caused him to stumble a pace backwards, just as Mataras' final blow caught him square in the back, sending him to the floor. Makarov and his wizards were stunned beyond belief.

"Did… Did they just…?" Erza couldn't finish the sentence.

"Deck Acnologia?" Gray added.

"How do you like that?!" Mataras snarled at Acnologia. "Now if you can, pick yourself up, so-called King of the dragons!" In response, the NPC shot to his feet with incredible swiftness to glare at Mataras with burning yellow eyes.

He took in a deep breath, and Kirito had a sinking feeling in his gut. "Mataras, I don't like this!" he shouted.

"Ether Dragon…" Acnologia growled.

"Ether Dragon?!" Leafa squawked.

"ROAR!" the boss bellowed, bluish-white energy spewing forth from his mouth and heading right for Mataras, who simply bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl. When the magic was about to strike him, he dove to the side just in time and unleashed his own roar that bathed Acnologia in flames.

"This is going nowhere fast," Gray said tightly as he watched the two brothers battle against the powerful Dragon Slayer boss. "They'll never beat him at this rate- they're barely staying alive."

"So what do we do?" Erza wondered aloud. "If we jump in directly, we'll just get killed in an instant by Acnologia."

"There's gotta be something we can do," Leafa said, worried about her brother and boyfriend. "We can't just stand here!"

"If somehow we could give them an overdose of magic power…" Makarov mused. "I have an item made of dark magic from the book of Zeref that might help Kirito, but will we have enough power to help out Mataras?"

"I have my Flame Empress Armor," Erza suggested.

"I also have some fire magic," Makarov nodded. "But I still get the feeling that in order to boost their power, we'll need to give them more than just our magic."

"Maybe Litrosh will have some fire magic we can use," Leafa suggested.

"He can't have much left," Gray pointed out.

"It'll have to be enough," Erza said as she requipped into her fire armor. "Gray, if you haven anything fire or shadow related, now is the time to use it." He grunted and opened his menu to pull out a black crystal.

"I got this," he said. "A shadow lachryma. Not like what Gramps has, but it's still got some power in it."

"That'll do," Leafa said hurriedly as Mataras and Kirito were blasted back by an energy burst from Acnologia. "Let's give it to 'em!"

"Mataras!" Erza shouted, drawing his attention. "Catch!" She unleashed a barrage of fire at him, which he turned to embrace fully. Seeing this, Kirito looked over at Gray and Makarov, who threw their items at him. Yui flew him to intercept both items perfectly, and he immediately chomped down on the lachryma that Gray had selected.

Both boys felt their powers returning quickly, but not quite back up to full strength. Litrosh saw the ploy, but he also saw Acnologia targeting Mataras. Thus he ran his only option, charging right into the path of a new ether blast while shouting Mataras' name even as he unleashed a bright golden flame at his former master.

Mataras' eyes widened as he saw the white-blue energy pierce the body of his close friend. Then he was consumed by the golden flame magic, and he began to consume it without hesitation, knowing his friends' intentions. The fire warmed him from within, sparking a new fire in his heart. He felt it spreading throughout his entire being, and he bared his teeth in a primal, burning expression of rage while Kirito finished consuming the shadowy object that Makarov had tossed him.

As he watched Litrosh shatter in to pieces, Mataras' eyes glowed red and his skin began to change on his cheeks and forearms, becoming hard and scaly, like the armor of a dragon. Kirito's shadow energy seemed to stain his skin as it began to leak out from his body almost of its own will. Roars of tremendous power welled up from the depths of their souls, and the boss seemed to hesitate for the first time since the fight had begun.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Gray asked. "What's this, Gramps?"

"I've only heard rumors, but…" the old man mused as he backed out of the room's entrance a bit. "That must be the true form of the Dragon Slayers. I believe it's called the Dragon Force. And if the rumors are true, those boys are now the strongest players in the game, bar none." The room's shadows seemed to grow even darker as Kirito drew his sword and held it in his right hand while fashioning a second blade out of darkness to hold in his left. The air was noticeably hotter as Mataras unleashed a Brilliant Flame attack at the boss, causing the Fairy Tail wizards to shrink back from its destructive power.

"Okay, now we really should go," Gray said nervously. "An all-out battle between those three is gonna wreck whoever gets too close."

"I agree," Erza nodded. "We should get to safety- there's nothing more we can do here."

"Hmm," Makarov nodded, pulling on Leafa's arm, who seemed undecided. "Let's go, Leafa. Erza is right, we've done all we can here."

The girl looked back once at her brother and his best friend before nodding and running out the room with her guild mates. You can do this, she told them both silently. If no one else believes in you, I do. I believe in the twin dragons, Michael and Kazuto… The Slayers of Aincrad.

Mataras felt as though the power within him would cause him to explode unless he did something with it, so he used his flames to shoot forward with lightning speed to kick Acnologia in the face. Kirito followed up with no wasted movement to slash at the boss with his dual swords, biting deep into Acnologia's body. The boss roared angrily and unleashed a wing attack that forced them to retreat for a moment, but they would not stay down.

"So the dragons within have awoken," Acnologia muttered as he countered blows from both of them. "This does not sit well with me…"

"Shut up!" Mataras roared, spewing fire forth from his maw.

Acnologia regarded him with those burning yellow eyes of his for a moment before using a talon technique to bat away the flames threatening to roast him. "All dragons in my presence shall be slain," he stated flatly.

"Not this time!" Kirito shouted as he unleashed his signature combo, the Starburst Stream. It wasn't a proper technique in this game, but the movements were burned into his muscle memory, and he used it well to his advantage. "We've come too far!" he grunted as Acnoligia tried to pulverize him with another talon attack.

"We've lost too much!" Mataras added as he floored Acnologia with a Flame Elbow, giving Kirito room to stab him through with both of his swords. "And no one and no thing is going to stand between us and our family! Fire Dragon ROAR!"

"Shadow Dragon ROAR!" The twin bellows struck the floored boss with brutal force, and dark flames billowed all around them. But they both knew it wasn't over, so they leapt away before Acnologia could strike back with his Ether Dragon Slayer magic.

"Ah…" the boss' voice echoed throughout the chamber. "It's been many years since I've felt the thrill of a challenge…" He emerged from the flames, burnt and bruised a bit, but still mostly healthy.

"He's still got a lot of fight left in him!" Yui cried.

"Let's fix that," Mataras snarled. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus PHOENIX SWORD!" His body erupted into golden flames that took the form of a massive bird as he rushed at the boss.

Acnologia's eyes went wide and the ghost of a smile touched his lips as he said, "Yes, truly, this is what I have sought. A worthy challenger." Impact.

A deafening explosion rocked the tower, but Kirito was not to be deterred from his course, either. "My turn," he said as he prepared his strongest attack. "Dragon Slayer Secret Art: DEMON VOID!" The black sphere of eternal darkness shot froth from his grasp, even faster and stronger than from when he had used it against the boss Hades. It disappeared into the flames just as Mataras shot out from the results of his magic.

The fires drew into the sphere, like light being drained into a black hole, allowing the two brothers to see just when the attack struck Acnologia, who actually responded with proper force to the new attack.

"Ether Dragon ETERNAL BREATH!" he roared at the black sphere of doom. Not only did the attack shred Kirito's most powerful move, the energy smashed into both brothers, instantly and immediately putting them down on the ground, where the boss thought they belonged. Looking down at them with contempt, he snorted at their unmoving forms, satisfied that his work was done. "And so falls the last child of the dragons," he said as he walked away.

"Not so fast," a rough voice said from the ground. The boss turned around, surprised to see Mataras struggling to his feet. It was almost as though the system couldn't fathom how in the world he was getting up after taking such a beating. As if to add insult to injury, Kirito began to get to his feet as well.

"Stay down," Acnologia said flatly, pointing his fist at both of them and unleashing a nimbus of energy blasts that would spear them an innumerable amount of times, intent on making sure they stayed down this time. "You may be formidable opponents, but your defeat is inevitable." There was no threat implied in his voice, for there was no need. He was Acnologia- he was a threat to all who lived.

"The day I allow myself to be defeated when so many depend on me," Mataras snarled as he forced himself to dodge the attacks, "is the day I go back on my word. And I may be many things: a murderer, a warrior, a brother, a friend, a swordsman, a dragon slayer… But a liar is not one of them." His flames grew so hot, the floor beneath him began to soften and melt.

"We've got too much riding on this to just give up!" Kirito shouted. "We're the Moonlit Black Cats, and we never give in!" Mataras added his voice to Kirito's cry as he shouted, "Advanced Dragon Slayer Secret Art!"

"That again?" Acnologia snorted as he took a deep breath. "Let me remind why that's a stupid plan."

Both boys ignored him and shouted, as one, "Crimson Void BLACK PHOENIX BLADE!" Mataras shot forward again, preceded by Kirito's Demon Void attack. The black sphere drew in his flames as the shot forth until he collided with it, causing his golden flames to become as dark as a moonless night.

"Ether Dragon ROAR!" Acnologia shouted, spewing forth the raw energy from his open mouth. Mataras collided with the power, forcing him to come to a standstill as he strove to break through the immense magic power coming from the boss.

Asuna, he thought, pushing himself a bit further forward. Sachi… The Cats… Everyone, all of them… Victoria… He gritted his teeth and went for it, throwing all of his willpower into one final blow, determined to see this through. Keep fighting for everyone! Just as I always have! Just… a little more! "I will… not… lose!" A final impact.

"Why did you pick a name that's so dark?" Sachi asked with a slightly cocked head as she looked over at Mataras, who was looking at his fishing line intently. They were on floor three of Sword Art Online on the riverside, where Mataras was attempting to catch some lunch. "I don't think you ever really explained that to me."

"I don't recall you asking before," he replied with wry smile. "But to answer your question, I wasn't exactly in a stable frame of mind when I came to this world. I didn't choose the name with the intention of making friends."

"You picked the name to scare people off?" she asked.

"I suppose you could say that," he shrugged as he started to yank on the line. "More like I chose the name to keep myself from making any friends, I think."

"Then…?" she made a gesture that seemed to say, 'How did we manage?'

"I'm not the same person I was when I first logged in here," he chuckled as he reeled in a healthy-sized bass. "My name may not change, but that doesn't mean I can't. Some core aspects of my personality will never change of course, but things like my attitude towards others…" He gave her a soft smile. "I told Asuna, and I'll tell you- not everything about this game is evil, unless you want it to be. If all you ever see in the world around you is darkness, that's all that you will find. But if you look for the light…" he gave her a one-armed hug that got her to smile. "It's hard to miss. And that's what I fight for now. This is why Mataras will always fight."

Acnoligia was dead at the feet of the Fire Dragon Slayer. Mataras spat at the body once before walking past it to come up to the massive doors on the other side of the room, joined quickly by Yui and an exhausted-looking Kirito. "Are you all right?" Mataras asked with a frown.

"Yeah," he gasped. "Just a little worn out."

"Hmm…" Mataras shrugged. "Oei, Yui," he said after a brief moment of hesitation. "What happened to Litrosh? Please tell me he's not dead."

"Unlikely," Yui shook her head. "I imagine that just like all the other exceed programs in the game, he will return when you log back on."

"But he's not an exceed anymore," Kirito frowned. "Won't that affect him somehow?"

"I'm not sure…" Yui said with a slight frown. "The worst it might do is that he won't be able to revert back to his original form in this game, but I'm certain that his core programming is safe- after all, it's stored in Uncle's NerveGear, not the IMO server."

"Good point," Kirito nodded, and Mataras felt a marked sense of relief.

"Very well," he said as he turned back to the door. "Let's get this over with." He shoved on the doors, but they refused to budge. "Erm…? Yui? I may need a hand with this."

"What's wrong?" Kirito asked as Yui put her paws on the door.

"The door won't open," Mataras growled, his flames springing to life in his hands. His Dragon Force had receded, but his fire was still hot.

"Daddy…" Yui gasped. "The door is locked by the system itself- nothing a player can do will open it!"

"Eh?!" Mataras and Kirito gasped. The Fire Dragon slayer immediately let loose a string of curses that caused Kirito to cover Yui's ears in a panic.

"Is there nothing we can do?" Kirito asked once Mataras stopped yelling.

"I can try to open the door by pulling a leaf out of Litrosh's book," Yui said. "If I can integrate my code into the door, maybe I can get it to open."

"Or we could look at this," Mataras said, his voice suddenly very calm.

"Huh?" Yui and Kirito said. Mataras bent over and scooped up an item that looked like a credit card, silver in color.

"Yui, scan this, if you please," he said. "I have a feeling that it may help us." Yui took the card from her uncle and closed her eyes in concentration. While she did, Kirito punched Mataras in the arm hard enough to make the other Dragon Slayer yelp in surprise.

"Oei!" he snapped.

"That's for cursing in front of Yui," he said sharply.

"All right, fine, I deserved that," he grumbled.

"Daddy! Uncle!" Yui exclaimed. "This is a system administrator's card!"

"Can it open the door?!" Kirito asked, hoping beyond hope.

"Yes!" she said as she concentrated again, this time drawing the card's codes into her own program. "I can open it in a moment!" Kirito and Mataras exchanged a serious look, then fierce grins.

The time had come.

"Let's bring 'em home."

Asuna: NO! NO HE DID NOT!

Sachi: Of course he did.

Asuna: WHY?!

Sachi: He's Mataras, what did you expect? Of course he'll return in his usual style- by torturing everyone that waited so patiently with a cliffhanger.

Asuna: WHYYYYYYYY?!

Sachi: I just explained this.

Asuna: AAAAAAAAAUGH!

Sachi: Well, this is going nowhere fast... Looks like it's up to me to wrap it up.

Asuna: I'LL FRIGGIN KILL HIM!

Sachi: As Mataras mentioned earlier, several of his projects have been delayed, but he wants everyone to know that he is working triple time (he literally only slept three hours last night so that he could keep writing) to recover his work so that you may continue to enjoy his stories. Until next time, may you all be blessed, and we look forward to seeing you when Asuna and I are rescued from the Tower of Heaven.

Asuna: THAT SON OF A-