A/N: I'm sorry to everyone. I know it has been a long time since I updated this story, and in the past three months, some things happened to me that affected my motivation to write. I could really use the support if anyone out there is kind enough to drop a review or a message. Rest assured I still plan on doing my work in the stories.

The 50th chapter for Warlords Wrath Online. It has come this far. Halfway point of Aincrad and Lightning is still finding herself trapped in the Bloodbath of the 50th floor, with only a few players remaining. But she finds herself in a hard place once she meets Rosy, a little girl who remains her much of Serah. There can be only one survivor of the Battleground.

It'll be a tough choice Lightning Claire Farron will have to make.

AUGUST 29TH, 2023. FLOOR 25, BATTLEGROUND.

Day three of the 25th floor. Rosy and I are still together. Overnight I kept wondering what I should do at the end of this match. If it comes down to Rosy and I, I can't kill her. And I want to continue on this Death Game to protect my friends. Protect Hope. I don't know what'll happen beyond this time. My HP is only slightly around 90%. I take a look at Rosy's, she's on a low level of the yellow zone. One critical hit could finish her off.

I try not to think about it. I will protect her.

2 more deaths were counted overnight. That just leaves Rosy and me, Xaxa who's most likely to be alive, and 3 more. I can predict at least 1 or 2 of his minions are still alive.

"So what's the plan?" Rosy asks.

"We keep wondering, but stay on guard," I say. "If we see any battle going on, we stay hidden."

Rosy and I wander through the battlefield. So far, there are no conflicts and no additional deaths. After walking for hours, we decided to take a break. Rosy is exhausted from all the walking, I offer her some of my water.

"We'll rest here for a minute, then keep moving," I say. While we rest I keep my instincts sharp. We might be in a safe zone but there's no telling someone might sneak on us, especially Laughing Coffin of all. "You doing all right?" I ask Rosy.

Rosy slowly nods. "I'll be fine."

I smile a little. "You'll make it out alive...I'm sure your parents are worried about you." Rosy looks right at me with a surprised look. I wondered what was wrong. At first, I thought she could have heard or seen something. Then I realize what it could be. "You have parents...don't you?"

Rosy shook her head. "I don't have parents...or a family." Rosy looks down, hugging her legs to her chest. "I've been an Orphan for as long as I can remember. I've always been too shy and scared to talk to anyone...I've made a friend or two in the Orphanage, so I wouldn't say we're close."

"How did you manage to get the game?" I asked her.

"My friend was adopted to a wealthy family. They manage to get him two consoles and games. When he wanted to invite someone over, I was the only one available. At first, I wasn't sure. I'm not much of a gamer and I barely started playing games." I don't say anything as Rosy turns silent. She must have had a hard time in real life. And now she's trapped in this Death Game. She's probably terrified. "I don't know what's become of him now, but I do think he's still alive at least...Hey, Lightning...We did all of this have to happen? ...Why are our lifes at sake even it's just a game?"

Because Kayada is a monster, that's what I want to say. "Honestly, I'm not even sure myself. That's just part of life I guess. Dark events happen." I pat my hand onto Rosy's head. "But even in the darkness, there will always be light."

Rosy smiles hearing that. In our moment, I then hear a twig snap. On the alert, I stand with my Gunblade at hand. Draw out my weapon eyes focused on the direction of the sound trying to get a vision of the threat. Another Swordsman, not a Laughing Coffin Group.

He leaps onto us, he appears to be heading for Rosy. During his rush, I push Rosy out of the way and took the blow. He only pierced me on my thigh. I only suffered about 7% of my remaining HP. I do get a focus on the enemy's health, it's striking at 40%. He's pretty brave to go up against the two of us, I'll give him that.

With a single slash, I strike at the enemy warrior, knocking down roughly half of his health. He gets serious as he draws back his sword and prepares another strike. His attacks are swift and powerful as I block them. He only manages about two other strikes and they don't deal much damage to me as the first did.

I deal another blow to him, and it drains him down to his last HP. The man still stands against us, panting in exhaustion. He still holds his sword against us.

"Hey! You're down to your last HP. Surrender." I warn him. He still doesn't back down. "Stop! If you take one more hit, you'll die."

"There can...be only...one victor..." He glares at me with a serious look. "If I'm going down...I'm going down fighting!" He charges right towards goes for the final blow, only I dodged it at the last minute, and strike him.

The warrior lost the last of his HP and dies. And the cannon goes off.

Now only 5 of us remain.

I sheathe my weapon and turn to Rosy. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm okay," Rosy says. "Thanks for saving me."

"Don't thank me just yet," I say. "We're not out of this match." And if I know Xaxa, he'll come for us next. "Let's get moving."

Rosy and I spared no second moving. After a fight like that, it's bound to attract unwanted attention. Once we're out of the area, I heard something. And come to a stop. Rosy asked was is wrong, but I silence her. I have my weapon at hand, ready to strike.

The sound grows stronger. Sounds like something...rushing. The only thing it doesn't sound like players. And as the sound grows stronger, nothing beastly...Like...Like...

My eyes wide open and I turn. A Tsunami bursts right through the trees in this forest heading towards us. I can tell Rosy's just as shocked as I am when she clings onto me. I spare no hesitation when I grab rosy, carry her over my shoulder and make a run for it. I don't know how fast she can run, but given her age and her fatigue, I'm not taking the risk to let her fend for herself.

I run with all my might. The mass wave of water comes at us with incredible speed and force. I don't bother to look over my shoulder, but Rosy does tell me the water is getting close. Not fast enough to be very soon, but it will catch up to us eventually.

Now that there are only very few of us, they are forcing us players to encounter each other. Given Rosy and I are together, it's highly likely it's like this cause the other group is Xaxa and his team.

I keep running and running. I reached a wide river. I don't hesitate, I just kept running until I'm right on the edge, and I leap with all of my strength. Once I reached the other side, I look back. The giant wave of water draws closer and closer towards us.

I brace for the impact of the crushing tides, only much to my surprise, the water comes to a stop just right at the edge of the river. It's like there's an invisible wall that blocked it.

Once the water calms, I collapse on my knees, sighing in relief from exhaustion. I almost forgot that I still have Rosy over my shoulder as I let her down. "That was close," I say.

"And scary." Rosy adds.

Even so, I know that we are not safe here. Rosy and I only take the moment to recover, then we'll head out. Once our energy is restored, we are ready to leave.

Then I sensed something.

I turn with my weapon drawn. Rosy's startled at my action. Nothing happens for the moment, but I know something's wrong. "I know you're there! Show yourself!"

At that moment, our assassins come out of hiding. One of the players comes out, and then another one. Both males and their HP's are roughly in the high yellow zone. I don't worry about them, but I do worry about the third one who speaks with his voice.

"Well, look at what we have caught on the net." The third player comes out. A Red Player from the murder Guild Laughing Coffin: Xaxa. "A helpless little girl and the traitor."

Rosy hides behind me. I put my free on her, both to calm and protect her. "I had a feeling we would meet again on this floor, Xaxa."

Xana laughs. "When I heard that you were summoned to this battle, I was so full of excitement...It's certainly no surprise you have made it this far." Xana looks directly at me, I can only guess he's checking on my status. "Oh, and with several HP remaining...there's less than I thought there would. I expected more from you."

"I'm still alive, aren't I? I still count that as a win." I say.

Xana smiles. "So you are...tell me, are you having fun slaughtering 'innocent lives'." Hearing this tightens my grip on my weapon. "If the old you can see you new, she would be so disappointed. You have always been one of us, but your own pride and stubbornness blinded you from the truth!"

I see what he's trying to do. He's trying to get inside my head. So I could make a mistake and he'll use it to his advantage. "I am NOTHING like you murderers."

Xaxa frowns at my comment. "Oh, I know...And you will regret betraying Laughing Coffin." Xaxa draws out his sword, slams it to the ground, and reaches his hand out as he shouts with excitement. "It's Showtime!"

The other two draw out their swords as well. This is gonna be a bloodbath of a fight. "Rosy. Run and hide." Rosy does what I say and she runs and hides. With her gone, the two Swordsman charges right at me. I stand still, holding my ground as they come.

Once they are in range, I dodge the first swing and then block the second one with my sword. After I dodged, the first strike strikes me from my side. I felt the sting of his sword's impalement. I repel the Swordsman I block and turn to face the other one. With a swing of my sword, he ducks to avoid the hit, but in doing so I jab my knee onto his face. He lost a few of his HP from the blow even though he got a hard hit from it.

The two of them swing their swords at me, trying with all their effort to do my harm. I dodge and block each hit, rarely getting an opening to strike back. What I do notice is the whole time Xaxa just stands behind, watching the fight with that stupid smile on his face.

The fight goes on until my HP is reduced to 60%. I put in all of my agility to move and strike fast. I manage to disarm one of the warriors and unleash a knockback move. While knocked back I noticed my attack took out most of his HP. With him out of the way, I focus on the other swordsman. He comes at me while I was distracted by the unarmed enemy but I blocked his attack just in time.

I deliver several strikes against my opponent, he evades some of my attacks, but my blows still deliver and his HP slowly drains. Even as his HP enters the red zone, he still attacks. He chooses to fight from the finish. I was given no other choice but to finish him.

The cannon fires to mark the swordsman's death. I turn my attention to Xaxa, he's still just standing there watching in amusement. That's when I heard the other swordsman, the one I disarmed, coming at me from my blind side. He swings his sword at me, but I dodged it just in time and deliver a counterstrike as he leaps past me. My strike only leaves his HP at 30%. Even with his HP low he still attacks me.

Not only that but the other warrior reequips his weapon and resumes attacking me. I take a few hits that lower my HP down to 40%. I focus my attacks on one of them, our blades clash on hold. He tries to push me back. He's strong, so I summon all of mine to push him back. While we're at a stalemate, I felt the presence of the other warrior. Right behind me. I have a bad feeling about what he's about to do.

I repel his sword to the ground and leap over him. Just in time too for the time I was over him, the other warrior strikes with a powerful swing that cuts the other warrior in half. While he stands there shocked in surprise I quickly shift my weapon into a gun and fire bullets at him.

Both the Swordsman falls then their bodies glow and are shattered. To mark their deaths, two cannons fired.

With them gone it's just down to me and Xaxa. I hear a slow clapping as I turn to face him. "My, my. That is quite the performance you've made. I expect nothing less from Lightning the Flash."

I have my gun pointed at Xaxa. "You and your team are finished. Surrender."

Xaxa just laughs at my demand. "Have you forgotten the #1 rule of this floor? This battle isn't over until only one player remains alive." Xaxa draws out his sword. "It's Showtime!"

Xaxa comes at me at full speed. His movement is so fast I didn't see him coming. By the time I was ready to block, he pierced an impale on me on my right thigh. My Health is reduced down to 37%. I look at him, my expression must be still speechless cause he laughed.

"You so surprised by my speed? I've been focusing the past several months on building my Agility. Nothing can match against my Godspeed! Hahahahaha!" Xaxa comes at me again, delivering swift strikes with his blade.

I begin to understand the pace of his strikes. I start deflecting his attacks, only I can't match his. Not only I can't find an opening to strike back, but about a fourth of his attacks are hitting me. My HP is depleting, slowly but if this keeps up I'll be dead before I even know it.

The battle lasts for what felt like hours. My HP is slowly depleting, all the way to the low yellow zone. I have no been able to land a hit on Xana. He's too fast.

In the end, Xaxa unleashes a swift uppercut that sends my Gunblade flying right off of my hand. Disarmed and defenseless, I can only stare at my opponent as he raises his blade, charging for a strike.

"Farewell, Traitor." Then Xaxa unleashes his strike.

This was it. This is the end for me. All the hard work I have been doing the past year, trapped within this game of death, has come to an end. I won't be able to protect Hope. I'll never see Serah again. I'm able to knock on Death's Door.

That is until something shadowed right between me and the blade. Someone small really.

I couldn't help but shot my eyes wide open as I watched Rosy take the strike for me.

In my haste, I grab Rosy as she falls. She lays dead in my arms, as I watch the last of her HP reach all the way to zero. I try to speak, my throat tightens making it hard to form words. Only one word escapes my lips.

"Why?"

Rosy looks up at me weakly. start starts to glow. Her death is coming. "I had to..." Rosy says. She raises a hand to touch my cheek. "You have to win." I have to win. Could she be talking about winning the fight? No. She means more than that. She wants me to beat the game. "You have to win...You have to free everyone. Good-Bye."

She closes her eyes and rests her head against my chest, just before her whole body shatters.

I could do nothing but feel myself falling into despair. In her final moments, it wasn't Rosy's face I saw. It was Serah's. The same face she had made when our parents died. When Hope fell into a coma. And right before I risked my life coming to this game of death. I can hear her final words. 'Promise me you'll be careful.' 'I love you too Claire. Say hi to Hope for us.'

In this game of death, I only cared about my own survival. Keeping Hope safe. I'm nothing like Laughing Coffin, but I had little care for all the other players in this world. And Rosy. She was like a little sister to me. She became the Serah of this world. Even in her dying breath, she wasn't afraid. She asked me to beat the game. Free everyone trapped in here.

And I will.

"Hahahaha! That was unexpected! A little girl risking her life to save yours." Xaxa says. "Guess the Traitor is pretty popular among our prey."

I can feel my body shaking. Not out of sadness. Not Fear...But Rage.

"You just made a big mistake," I say with an aggressive tone and a growl.

"Oh? Is that because you have nobody left to die for you?" Xaxa says with his mocking laughter.

"No!" I glare right at him. "Because I now have nothing left to fear!" I draw out my Gunblade. Before I stand up, I look down and notice Rosy's weapon lays still on the ground. I reach down to grab for it, but when I did a powerful shock hit my left hand and recoiled.

I feel pain surging through my arm, then a warning message appears within my vision.

'Class Rule Violation: Holding Non-Assigned Weapon.'

Xaxa laughs. "Fool. You cannot equip a second sword! You don't have Dual-Wielding as a Swordsman."

He's right. I can't wield two weapons. Only Assassins have that kind of skill. But I don't care. With all of my will, I resume attempting to pick up the weapon. Fighting to ignore the burning pain from the shock and the warning message. Xana just stands and watches me in my 'feeble' attempt, and said something about putting me out of my misery.

Finally, I get a grip on the weapon. The shock and warning still happens even after I stand. Xana looks at me surprised, then offers that wicked smile. "Oh ho ho! This is now getting interesting." He draws his blade back, charging an attack. "It's Showtime!"

Xana charges with at me. I rush towards him and our weapons clash.

Our fight is pretty much the same, only with my Dual-Wielding I was able to block most of his attacks and manage to land a hit on him. I cannot use Sword Skills on Rosy's blade. Every second I spend wielding it the pain intensifies. But I don't back down. I get the edge over Xaxa. His HP slowly depletes. I strike faster and faster, each swing on my left arm causing more and more pain, my vision blinded against the Violation Warning.

My instincts against the murdering player before me. The one who killed Rosy. Killed Serah.

Xana and I are face-to-face as our weapons clash. Xana laughs in my face. "You are truly the most powerful player I have ever faced. I will take the pleasure of hacking the life out of you!"

"Fat chance! I will not let another player fall in the hands of you monsters!" I repel Xana's weapon. In a swift action, I used both weapons to cut Xana in half. His legs severed then shattered. I pull the swords back. "TAKE THIS XAXA!" I slam the blades right into his chest.

I stare down at Xaxa while panting, releasing all the adrenaline within my veins. Even my left arm finally gave in and let go of the sword. As Xaxa's HP drops to zero, he smiles and weakly chuckles.

"Incredible...So incredible." I'm confused as he starts to glow. "You really do have...murder instincts." Xaxa lays his head back as his final death comes. "It's...Showtime." Then he dies.

It's done. One of Laughing Coffin's crucial members is defeated. My anger fades away and is replaced with sadness. I fall on my knees, not even bothering to take in Kayaba's booming voice.

"Players of Aincrad. The Battlegrounds has come to an end, with Swordswoman Lightning as its victor."

I began to teleport out of this floor, feeling a tear escape my eye and slide down my cheek just before disappearing.

24TH FLOOR, HAILIN.

I have only returned to the town on the 24th floor. Not full of glory or happiness. Only sadness. I am overwhelmed by the greetings of other players, even my own team and friends. But none of them can break the despair I feel. Some of them take notice of it.

"Hey, Lightning? ...You feeling okay?" Kirito asks.

I summon what strength I have left to look at my friends. They all look at me with concern. "I'm fine. I'm just..." I can't find the right words to express how I feel.

"I'm sure it must be hard. Being trapped in that floor only to kill other players." Hope says.

He is right. But it's...more than that." I start walking away. "I need some air."

Nobody seems to have followed me as I leave town. I wander out of town until I arrive at the lake several yards away. Luckily there are no enemies nearby. I sit on the edge of the lake, looking down at my reflection. Rosy's Final Words echos inside of my head.

"You have to win. You have to free everyone."

I pull my knees up and rest my arms and my head on them. "I swear, Rosy. I will end this nightmare."

"Are you Her?"

I gasp in shock. I quickly get back on my feet, leaping back away from my unexpected guest. When I get a look at him, I'm suspicious and confused. It's a large man, his body and face hidden in a hooded cloak and a mask. He has a sword at hand but doesn't appear to be in any position to attack.

How did he sneak up on me? I didn't even hear him approach.

I focus my vision on him. I see his HP Bar and his cursor. He's not a yellow or red player, but he's still shady. I can feel it, like a chill running down my spine. After taking a deep breath I finally speak, out of the sorrow and into seriousness. "Who are you? ...And what do you mean by "her"?"

The mysterious figure looks right at me. He once again approaches before me. I have my weapon at hand, still sheathed. He stands before him, closing his masked-face into mine. "I saw your fight. It was shown all over Aincrad Towns."

"I suppose. There is nothing wrong with that, is there?" I ask.

He closes in on my face, I even back up a little feeling nervous. "I'll ask you again. Are you Her?" The chill on my spine feels colder. I get this terrible feeling I'm supposed to know him. He's onto me like he does know me. But who is he? Where have I met him? "Your character appearance. Your Gunblade Weapon. That Warrior's Rage...Are you Lightning Clair Farron?"

Hearing my name has shocked me. Nobody in this game even knows my real name. There's only one way this person to have known. He's someone I knew in real life. But who is he? He doesn't seem friendly. He must be an enemy. But I can't think of any enemy that knows my real name.

Unless...

I focus my eyes on his actions. He moves his right arm to his left side, sheathing his sword. When he does, the whole world feels like it's slowing down as I focus my vision to something unusual. Right on his right wrist, I notice there's a marking on it. I only see a part of it, but it looks familiar the more of it I see. The moment his sword is fully sheathed, I get a full vision of the mark.

And I feel my whole body shut down in shocked horror.

The mark is an X, formed with four X's, and all the ends have Arrow's and there's an Eye right in its center. I had prayed that I would never have to see that mark ever again as long as I lived. The mark that brings up one of my most painful pasts. The mark of one of the most dangerous and criminal Organzations in the world.

The Brand of the Abduction Agency.