A/N: WOW, an update! *giggles* That certainly took a long time. Thank you all for being patient with me. I wanted to thank everyone who reviewed. I was really happy when I received the first one and my inspiration soared again when I read the last one. I had been meaning to write this chapter shortly after the first was published but some things got in the way. We all know what that is like… Anyway, time for some answers!

To Kurai's Calisto: I hope you've been able to watch SAO by now :P I must disappoint. I will not write anything about the outside world until Harry leaves SAO and we will switch to Suguha. This is mainly to keep into the spirit of the story. I hope you will forgive me by the next chapter ;)

To Senyor Fier Mensheir: I hope you won't be disappointed with this chapter ;) Though I truly love Kirito and Harry certainly developed a weakness for the kid in the story, he does have a shop to run. You will see a lot more different characters in this chapter.

To Mad Bobert: Unfortunately I must disappoint. Since Harry is part of the system he won't be able to give that kind of information to anyone. While players believe he is a NPC with his own will acting like a regular player, no-one has yet figured out that he works for Kayaba. Though Harry suspects that Kirito and Asuna have their suspicions about his purpose.

To LunaArcelEolia: Don't worry about the length or the bad grammar. I'm glad you reviewed and are willing to share your troubles about the story. While Harry is 24 and Suguha will be 15 when she meets him, I'm a firm believer in love is everything '–less'. This includes ageless. Most likely that this is because I used to have a boyfriend (and ex-fiancé) who was eight years older than me and my sister has a fiancé who is eleven years older than her and we aren't the only ones. I hope you will like what I have in mind for them.

To everyone else, thanks for reviewing, following and placing me in your favourite list. And so, ON WITH THE STORY! :D

Chapter warning! Please read! Harry has reached a very drastic point in this chapter so I'm warning for depressing thoughts and bordering suicide.

Chapter 2
Not the ending I wanted

The end of the first SAO year was greeted by a large number of suicides. Most were from people who had lost hope or had seen too many of their friends die. The rise of the Player Killers didn't help matters either. The first time Harry heard of them was when Klein walked in looking dead on his feet. His bar was so low that one pinch would have killed him. "What happened to you?" Harry asked, rushing to the red headed player and gesturing for him to sit down as he placed a healing item in front of the man.

"Bastards nearly killed me," he muttered, accepting the item and slugging it down. His health bar only filled up a fourth but it was enough for the player to access his own items. "The game is driving them mad so they start to challenge other players instead of fighting monsters. In other games these types of groups not uncommon, but I never suspected they would form such a group here."

Harry frowned and took a seat opposite Klein, offering the red head a steaming cup of coffee before pouring himself some tea. "When did they start?"

"Agil heard the first rumour about a week ago," Klein said after a quiet 'thank you' and sipped the hot coffee. "Some of my guild members have been saying that the first group appeared two weeks ago. "Dale said he noticed them yesterday. They were on the twelfth floor and he swore he saw orange."

Green eyes narrowed. Everyone knew what the colour orange on a player meant. "At least they're not red yet," he muttered softly.

"Red disappears in a day or so though," Klein said placing his cup on the table a little harder then he probably meant. "You can only be green or orange until the day you die…"

An alarm suddenly lit up and Harry glanced at it. "It seems I have another costumer," he muttered and waved for Klein to stay. "I won't be long. There is some more coffee if you want and there are still some cookies left."

The grin on the red head's face could have lit up the entire room. "Thank you Harry," and the Guild Founder continued to drink his coffee. Harry shook his head in fond amusement and walked to the front of his shop. "Welcome," the raven head said smiling and his eyes narrowed slightly at the sight of a man he hadn't seen in a while. "It seems it is a day for Guild Founders. What can I do for you Heathcliff?"

"Cold as always Harry," the older man said sounding slightly disappointed. "And here I thought I had finally gained your approval."

The raven head rolled his eyes at his employer disguised as a player. "Maybe they should be calling you a Beater instead of Kirito-kun," he muttered, remembering the name the other players had given Kirito when it had become known that he had been a Beta-tester.

Kayaba tsk'ed. "That's not very nice either. Have I come at a bad time?"

"Now is as good a time as any," Harry said, keeping his distance between him and his employer. "What is it you wished to speak with me about Heathcliff?"

The creator of SAO sighed and placed himself on the seat next to the counter. "I heard that you sold a certain item to a player who, I am quite sure, wasn't me. Hadn't I asked you that if you ever acquired one you were to alert me?"

The raven head crossed his arms across his chest. "I did, didn't I? Otherwise you wouldn't be here at all." With a wave of his hand Harry accessed the system and scanned his private stock. He selected the rare item called Ring of Angel's Whisper. "You do realise that the moment the 50th Floor is cleared this item will be freely available to players who pass the challenge? Why do you want it now?"

With another sweeping motion Harry send the item towards Kayaba who accepted it with a frown. "I need it for the boss on this level," the scientist muttered, inspected the item before storing it away.

"Bullshit," Harry muttered. "We both know that's not true." Kayaba was an Immortal Object after all, much like Harry and every other gaming piece was. Being the creator of the game did give you certain privileges.

Kayaba shot him a glare, his lips pressed into a thin line and for a moment they just stared at each other. The Guild Founder stood suddenly and turned to leave. "Oh did you know? It seems that your young friend isn't entirely insensitive to invitations from Guilds."

"What?" Harry whispered relaxing his stance in shock.

"It seems he joined a guild last April called Black Cats of the Full Moon. Heard of it?"

The raven head stumbled slightly and had to lean against the counter to hold himself upright. "It can't be," he muttered, his eyes wide. "They were all killed a few months ago." He remembered it very well, the moment the names of Sachi and the others disappearing from the Monument of Life. He checked it every day to make sure that those closest to him remained alive and well, while keeping track of the ones that died. Kirito's name hadn't disappeared yet.

"Don't worry," Kayaba said, sounding strangely proud somehow. "The kid is still alive, though one might wonder for how long at the rate he is going. Well, see you later Harry." And with a wave the scientist disappeared.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief and tried to steady his racing heart. Maybe he should have given that Ring to Kirito instead so he could send messages to the boy. Instead he had sold it to Argo as a means for her to communicate faster with him should he have information on a certain Floor. It had been a good investment of course.

"Harry?" Klein asked, peaking around the corner of the adjourning room. "Are you alright?"

For a moment Harry wondered if the red head had heard everything of his conversation with Heathcliff but the older guy didn't show that he had. The raven head nodded to his friend and gestured for them to re-enter his living space behind the shop. "Just some news our dear Heathcliff decided to share," he said with a sigh and Klein's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That man can be such a pain in the arse sometimes."

"I'm not sure if I should be so surprised to find out that you know someone as influential as the Living Legend," Klein said, his voice a little sharp in his surprise.

Unknown to Harry, his green eyes darkened slightly and the two men fell into a tense silence. "You could say that," the raven head whispered and with a sigh he raised his head to look the red head dead in the eye. "Klein, could you do me a favour?"

…SAO…

It turned out Klein spilled his secret to Kirito around Christmas time. The young Beta-tester had not been amused and had entered his shop, his eyes blazing and his sword half drawn. His eyes were red and he looked tired, but the Black Swordsman seemed relaxed. "What gives you the right to check up on me?" he hissed, his voice strangely strangled with a mixture of different emotions. "I can look after myself you know!"

Harry blinked in surprise before he burst out laughing. "And Merry Christmas to you too, Kirito-kun. So Klein spilled the beans huh? I didn't expect him to last this long." Kirito growled and remained in an attack stance. The once wizard pouted slightly. "Don't be so rude kiddo. You know we only wish for you to remain alive and well. How are we going to do that when you go out on suicide missions?"

The Black Swordsman finally relaxed his stance and a sad expression crossed his features momentarily before he appeared relaxed again. "I'm thankful for your concern Harry," he said softly, remaining where he was in the entrance. "But you no longer need to worry."

Harry sighed and stepped forward. To the other boy's surprise the older man hugged him close. "You silly boy," Harry whispered. "Of course I'm worried about you. I will continue to worry about you and everyone else trapped in this wretched Death Game until it is over."

Kirito tensed a little, as if unsure what to do about the older man hugging him, but finally relaxed a little. Harry broke the hug since he knew that the younger boy would never hug him back fully. Dark eyes stared at him inquisitively. "You are one odd AI, you know that," the Beta-tester finally said, placing his sword on the counter of the shop.

It was like a stab to the heart that the young player called him an AI, but Harry recovered quickly and smiled brightly. "I'm guessing your sword needs updating again? I have heard of a few good sword smiths who have settled on the higher levels. They would be able to upgrade your sword and live their lives a little easier if you went there."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" the younger boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

Harry chuckled. "Not at all," the wizard said, quickly scrolling through his list of items and setting to work on the sword. "I'm just saying, what would it benefit me if you spend all your money here rather than on an actual people who need it?"

The raven head worked silently and efficiently after that, working with a practiced ease. The sword had long since become too heavy for him to handle, but as long as Kirito was happy with it Harry continued to upgrade it. When he was finally finished with it the raven head handed it back silently and he wondered how long the sword would last this time. "When you find the right sword for yourself after the fiftieth floor you should find a second one to wield. This one won't last much longer."

"What do you mean?" Kirito asked but Harry just smiled mysteriously at him and waved the player away. "Go fight some more bad guys and do try to stay alive. Oh and tell Agil to come by the shop. I have something he might be interested in."

When the Black Swordsman left Harry closed off the shops and collapsed into his favourite chair in front of the ever blazing fire. His body trembled as emotions coursed through him like a wild storm, but no tears escaped him. He had long since forgotten how to cry. Long since forgotten how to feel the warmth of the sun or the breeze which would caress his face. No longer could he remember how the outside world looked like and he silently wondered if anyone else felt the same way. He had been longer here than anyone else though.

Four long years. He was quite sure that it was going to be his fourth year since he had entered the Cardinal system as a part of the maintenance team. It strangely reminded the wizard of his fourth year at Hogwarts, before everything had gone to hell. Before that tournament had ripped his life apart and caused the jealousy inside his best friend to overflow. How he had wanted nothing more but to run away from that cursed school right there and then. But he had a duty to uphold and if anything Harry was a man of his word, even back then. Besides, where would he have been able to run to at the time? Sure, Sirius had been alive, but the man had been stubborn enough not to go to Grimmauld at the time. Not that Harry could blame him really. Half mad as the old Marauder had been he would have gone completely bonkers. It was probably what made him tip over the edge the moment Sirius realised his Godson had been in trouble.

Harry sighed and poured himself some scotch. Leaning back into his armchair, the wizard pondered on his life before all this happened. When he still felt alive. The raven head chuckled and sipped his drink. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened had he stayed in Britain. Would he have become an Auror? Forced into some position where people could leach out his fame and fortune while gaining more political power than they could handle?

Only a handful of people had cared and watched him go with the promise of keeping him posted. They never had and now that Harry had been stuck inside this retched system the raven head wondered if they would care the moment they heard about this. If they heard about it at all? They didn't know which company he worked for and it was most likely that they news of thousands of players trapped in a simulation game would stay within the borders of Japan. Bad publicity and all.

Massaging his forehead where his old scar used to be, Harry wondered if he should just stop everything. It was clear that no-one understood the position he was in, what he was capable of or who he worked for. Most inexperienced gamers who came by once a month to see about quests or weapons thought him a clever NPC with different quest options. The fact that no quest window ever appeared didn't even seem to registrar with them. Some of them never came back.

Most Beta-players had been killed during the first few months which meant that the ones who had found him were already dead. Now, at the end of the first year, only Kirito remained as part of the Beta-tester team. Not that it had helped the kid much apart from becoming one of the favourites to end the game. Regulars often talked about the Knights of Blood Guild and its members, especially the Lightning Flash Asuna. They only whispered about the Black Swordsman. Some didn't even know Kirito's name.

The select group of strong fighters, the front liners, had their own suspicions about Harry. Still, being called an AI right to his face was like getting slapped in the face by reality. Had he still had his temper Harry would have screamed and cried out to the world that he was just like them? That he too had been trapped inside this system to work for Kayaba, the man he had first admired for his ingenuity before hating him. Now Harry found himself not caring at all.

He had failed and was failing daily, feeling terribly lonesome and horrified that he sends out people to their deaths. Because no matter how well you armed yourself against the creatures of this game, people still had to clear the Boss rooms and they didn't always come back. Harry wondered if Dumbledore had felt the same relief he felt now, every time Hermione, Ron and him had entered themselves in some wild adventure only to return alive. He wondered if Ron and Hermione had ever forgiven him for the fact that he had dragged them along only to leave them behind once the war was over.

The raven head sighed sadly and stared at his right hand where once five words had been carved into. The message seemed almost ironic now. He was telling lies every day without wanting to. He couldn't help it though, because fighting this system was useless. Nothing he had tried had gotten him out of here and not even Kayaba had been able to before the game started. It was his entire fault that the gamers had been trapped inside. Had they been able to release Harry from his virtual prison, the scientist would probably never have…

Harry couldn't finish that thought. Could he really say that Kayaba would never have used the NerveGear and the SAO game to test humanity like this? The guilt for not being able to free himself from Cardinal and the NerveGear didn't leave Harry for the next month though and the day he got trapped inside the system began with some interesting news.

"Laughing Coffin?" Harry asked softly, not really in the mood to discuss anything today. "Hmm, sounds a bit uncaring don't it? Do you know anything about the members?"

Agil shook his head as he watched the raven head test out his new sword against some battle simulation creatures. "They hide their faces beneath hoods. The only way to identify them is from the mark placed on their hands or arms. They've been spreading wide panic throughout the whole of Aincrad."

The raven head danced out of the way when a wolf launched itself at him and with one graceful swing he cleaved it in half. The satisfaction of the kill remained out and Harry tried to remember the first time he had held a virtual sword to kill creatures. He sliced through two more wolves before it went eerily quiet inside the battle grounds. "They sound like real heroes," Harry said with a wry smile, glancing at the taller man. "Tell me Agil, what would possess a group of men and women alike to form a Murderers Guild in a Death Game?"

The older man frowned at him, but suddenly his eyes widened and he went for his Axe. "Watch out Harry!"

"Don't come any closer," Harry barked, making the bald man freeze in his tracks. "This is a battle simulation area. You could still die if you set foot inside the arena." And with that he shot a set of silver knives towards the creature's head which was towering over him. Its large lions head shook them off and swept its snake's tail, catching Harry of guard and sending him flying to the other side of the arena. With a growl Harry stood and ferociously attacked the chimera, clipping the beast's ear before cutting off its sweeping tail. He dived to the side before catching its head in a headlock. The creature shook and tried to get rid of Harry by rushing around the arena, but Harry just clung onto its mane.

Making his way to the chimera's back, the raven head remembered years of Quidditch. Riding a creature this large was different from riding a broom though and his feet felt unsteady of the back of the chimera. Leaping up, Harry used the drop to cleave the creature in two with his sword. It took some effort to get through such a large creature but with a strangled battle cry and a small energy boost to his arms and the chimera soon exploded into tens of thousands tiny shards.

Agil wouldn't notice how much the fight had taken out of Harry, but the raven head felt every muscle shake and every bone rattle as he stumbled out of the arena. He presented the blacksmith with the sword. "What do you think? It's called the Cleaver."

Brown eyes blinked before a stern expression crossed his face. "Aren't there safer ways to test a sword? You could have killed yourself."

Harry's expression fell. "Are you forgetting who you're talking too Agil-kun? Aren't I a…"

"I don't believe that," Agil interrupted him harshly. "You may not have a curser, a health bar or a status window, but I can't believe that you are a simple NPC or even an AI! You act more human than some of the Players who joined this game." Brown eyes softened slightly and the gentle giant placed a hand on Harry shoulder. "No matter whom you are or what brought you here, you are fighting just as hard to get out of here as the others are."

Harry stared at the taller man for some time and wondered when the man had decided to fool himself into thinking that Harry was still human. He had been too long in this world to be still counted as such. "Take the sword Agil and sell it for little profit to someone who will put it to good use. I will keep an eye on things regarding the murderer's guild and keep the people updated. Don't be afraid to come to me if any of you have any questions. Now you had best return to your level or people will get worried and wonder where you are."

The clear dismissal seemed to hurt the taller man, but it was better this way. Who knows what would happen if Agil found out he worked for Kayaba.

…SAO…

"How's he doing?"

"He's too stubborn for his own good. He's accepted an outside mission from a fellow player who asked for his help. Apparently a group of player killers murdered his entire guild safe him."

"Hmm, I heard about that. Silver Flags right?"

"How did you…? Never mind, yes it was. Kirito decided to help lock away the killers."

"Which guild?"

"Titan's Hand if my sources are correct. Apparently Rosalia is quite pretty."

Harry snorted and rolled his eyes. Argo grinned cheekily at him. They were sitting in the small village on the fifth floor. The little girl noticed that Harry had been quite depressed lately, closing his shops and ignoring people when they came for an update on their swords. So she had dragged the raven head out of his castle and to the fifth floor where they could enjoy their time together eating and simply relaxing. Never before had Harry shown himself outside of his shops or houses before so some people were sending them questioning looks, but the two friends just ignored them.

"What about Asuna?"

Argo snorted. "Getting a little ahead of herself. Someone needs to bring her down a few notches before she slips up and dies. Problem is that only her guild leaders and a certain black swordsman will be able to knock some sense into her."

"I've heard the rumours. I believe they call her the Lightning Flash Asuna."

"Don't forget the suffix –sama." The two chuckled before falling silent again. "She's good friends with Liz. You know the blacksmith from the 48th Floor. She's quite good, but not widely known because she's so far up."

"Hmm I don't know about that," Harry mused, shifting his position slightly to get more comfortable. "Didn't Agil open is shop of the 50th?"

Argo nodded. "True, but he's already widely known because he started his shop already on the 25th but because Aincrad had 50 floors he figured it would be best to stay in the middle."

Harry frowned a little before sighing. The front line fighters were halfway which had caused quite a disturbance a few weeks ago. "Anyway, the Knights of Blood are doing really well and are growing fast," Argo continued, sipping her drink. "One would think that they were growing a little too fast. People get cocky when they enter well known places or guilds. It makes you wonder how long it will be until it gets destroyed from within."

"You shouldn't say such things Argo," the raven head muttered. "They will need their unity in the end."

The two friends remained silent for a moment, simply enjoying the late winter sun and their food. Something heavy had fallen between them though, a depressing realization which Harry found too painful to speak about. For he knew who was at the head of that Guild and what the man was capable of.

"I don't want it to end that way Harry," Argo muttered suddenly. When Harry looked at his friend he was her true nature reflected in her posture. The true insecurities she held even if she often waved away concerns and never showed her pain of losing friends. She reminded Harry of himself when he had been younger still. "I want us all to be able to be free of this world. I want to feel real sunshine, to feel real cold, to be able to eat and drink real food. My brain may believe that this is all real and like in the real world you can die here as well, but I just want to be able to smile with someone and feel truly alive again. Is that so wrong? To wish for an ending to all this?"

Harry looked at the people around them who were enjoying virtual life, getting used to the days spend in this game. They didn't know how else to behave and had probably already given up hope in getting out of here. So people got married and lived together in the same house, got jobs and looked after each other by cooking and working. Harry believed that the Army had already formed plans of asking for taxes.

"It is deceiving to live in this world," he said softly, looking at a happy couple who were shopping on the other side of the street. "After a certain amount of time you get used to it, thinking that you've lived here for much longer than just a year. A small part of their brain remembers that they are in a virtual world and that people are fighting for them to get out of here. But those who wish to live their lives find themselves doing so with the people they met here. They form guilds, bonds, families so they don't feel so alone in this cold world."

Harry looked at the little girl who was sitting next to him as she stared up at him from beneath her hood. "You are not wrong to wish for this world to end," he said reassuringly, feeling a little better after talking to the girl who he had begun to see as his little sister. "All we can do is believe and support those who are doing everything they can clear this wretched world."

A/N: I actually wanted to end SAO after this chapter but I kept getting more inspired while watching the series (again) so I decided to end the SAO world in the next chapter and do a small interlude for the real world and switching to Suguha. Depending on how I plan the next chapter this may change though :P Anyway, hope you liked it!