Talking

Thinking

People on the alert/fav might want to go a chapter back. Chapter V never got sent out. To the one anon that reviewed, thank you for your kind words. Finally, thanks to the people that faved/alerted. Oh and sorry if this chapter is a tad short.

I don't own SAO. I dunno if I've put this in the last few chapter or not. I don't really know why it's needed.

Chapter VI: Sorrowful Goodbye

Laughing Coffin proved just as elusive as ever, it would have been nice if they were as easy to find as I was to their leader. Lately the killings had gotten more and more bold. I was almost surprised that Kayaba let them do it within the system. Then again, SAO's system was starting to seem really broken to me. People always seemed to figure out some way to exist outside the system. Heck I did at first until Kayaba found me out.

Knowing all that, it was hard to believe the message Argo sent me was true. Apparently she had found the home base of Laughing Coffin and wanted to meet up with me on the 50th floor to discuss some stuff. I hadn't expected there to be an entire group of people waiting for me. Some familiar and some not. I was glad to see some familiar faces like Klein, Kirito, and Asuna

Klein greeted me with a grin, "I should have figured you'd be here!"

"H-hi." I looked desperately in the milling crowd for Argo, and finally found her, "H-hey ARGO!"

"What is it Au-bou!?" I saw Argo's head pop up in the middle of the crowd, a mischievous grin plastered on her face, "Are you confused about there being so many people here? Did I forget to send the second message?"

"S-second message!?" I worked my way through the crowd, and eventually popped out in front of the girl, "Somehow I d-don't think there was a second message to begin with."

"Aw you know me so well," Argo's grin only grew wider.

"W-why do you insist on putting me in large crowds all the time," I whined, feeling more uncomfortable by the second.

"You'll thank me later," Argo patted me on the cheek before hopping on top of one of the tavern's tables, "HEYYYYY Everybody listen up!"

The crowd's roar slowly quieted down as people who had actually heard Argo yell spread the news to their neighbors. Soon everyone was paying full attention to the odd, small girl that I was still not sure qualified as a friend or a nuisance to my sanity. Probably a friend, even though I felt like my shyness was some sort of challenge to her. It seemed like she wouldn't rest until I was running around mooning people with no shame. Argo explained the situation to everyone as it was already presented in her message. Apparently we were going to head out later that day to strike at Laughing Coffin at the source. A good thing too, since as I already mentioned they were getting really daring lately with both the successful PKs and the failed ones lately. I worried daily that the cloaked man was going to come after Lisbeth or one of my other friends.

Argo's information led us into a really drab part of the 63rd floor covered in brown dirt and dead trees. In the end, only ten people ended up coming along, as over half left after hearing Argo out. To quote a cliche' regarding the place, it was quiet. Too damn quiet. The entire part of the labyrinth we were searching seemed to be completely deserted. I was on edge and my hands were shaking. I was surprised my dark-red hair hadn't started falling out, but maybe that was because of the rain matting it down.

"Well this place is creepy," Klein finally broke the silence. I was glad he decided to come along. It was nice to have someone I knew would watch my back. Not to say the rest of the crew was untrustworthy. Kirito had decided to come along as well as Asuna. I didn't really know the rest of them, but they seemed to be decent enough people. We searched for hours with no success. Maybe Argo's information was wrong?

Schwing! The feeling of dread I had felt since we entered the canyon suddenly returned full force. Of course. Argo's information is rarely wrong.

"It's an ambush!" one of the guys I didn't know screamed out.

Suddenly there were red players in cloaks everywhere, and everything turned to pure chaos

Blades and people were flying everywhere. I parried blades left and right, confused at who was friend or foe at that point. In the confusion, someone grabbed me from behind and slung me away from the main fight.

"I didn't expect you to come seeking me out after our last meeting." an all too familiar voice let out a maniacal laugh, "Seems I underestimated you again. You brought an entire crew of your friends with you too!"

"Y-you've got to be stopped," I was nervous despite my false bravado, as I turned to face the man with the giant cleaver "And someone's got to do it."

The man simply laughed and summoned his cleaver into his left hand, "Well since you want to die so badly I guess I can grace you with my name. I'm simply called PoH."

"P-PoH?" I wondered about the oddness of the name

"Well enough introductions!," the man cracked his neck, "Its show time!"

"Well no choice but to use my normal blade," I held my longsword out in front of me, "I can't let anyone see my claws. Hopefully all my extra leveling will let me keep up without them."

"Oh ho?" the man asked as I blocked his cleaver, "You aren't going to use your special weapon today?"

"I...shouldn't need it!" I grunted and threw off the cleaver before shifting into a Howling Octave sword skill. I stabbed him five times in the chest, before slicing him down, up, before pulling back into a powerful two-handed upward cut that sent him flying backwards, "Unlike you I don't spend my days murdering people!"

"Heh heh heh." the man stood back to his feet, seemingly unfazed. What!? I had hit with a Howling Octave. It was one of the most powerful sword skills someone could obtain to the players' knowledge.

"YES!" the man swung his cleaver with a new vigor forcing me to back pedal, "You! You make my blood burn with a passion! Why someone like you?"

"I don't know you wacko-bird!" I scrambled out-of-the-way of a Sonic Leap, "I w-wish I didn't make your blood burn"

The battle continued in a similar fashion. The man was basically on a blood frenzy of some kind at this point and was relentless. Dimly I heard the sounds of the rest of the group struggling with the ambushers, but what I was really focused on was the cleaver trying to take my head off. I wished over and over that I could use my claws to end it quickly. At this point I didn't even have the time even if I wanted to. PoH wasn't giving me a break. All I could do like last fight was block now that the element of surprise was gone.

"Aurain!?"

Oh what were the odds!?

"Run Lisbeth!" I parried the cleaver and jumped back from PoH, "This place is definitely not saf- AGHH!"

PoH slashed me across the middle sending me sliding across the muddy ground to the edge of a cliff, which my sword fell off, "Don't get distracted now!"

The man ran up to me and stamped down on my chest several times, knocking the breath out of me. Funny how Sword Art Online simulated that but not pain. After getting his violent entertainment. (I knew that much because he was laughing gleefully the entire time), the man raised up his massive cleaver, and cackled gleefully one last time

"Its show time~"

My eyes closed shut as I prepared to get stabbed through the chest. I heard the sound of it piercing a player, but the minor pain that came with being hurt in SAO never came. I opened my eyes.

Lisbeth was standing over me, PoH's cleaver in her chest. My entire vision went red in an instant. I screamed angrily and punched a surprised PoH straight in the face, sending him flying backwards over the cliff. Lisbeth! Was Lisbeth okay! Those were the very next thoughts that ran through my mind. She wasn't. I yanked out the cleaver and chucked it off the cliff after its owner. She still wasn't fine. Her health bar was practically depleted and still going due to the bleed damage. I frantically searched through my inventory for a healing crystal, since a potion wouldn't counteract the bleed damage well enough to prevent her from dying. Finally I found one and pulled it out. I frantically activated it. Nothing. Right. This labyrinth's gimmick was that it was a no crystal zone. I began to cry.

"A-Aurain," Lisbeth's voice, "It's all right."

"The hell it is!" my voice was unusually fierce through the tears, "KLEIN can you hear me! I need you over here now!"

"No it's fine." Lisbeth sighed with a pained look on her face, "I shouldn't have been out on the 63rd floor by myself. Especially with how dangerous it is compared to other floors. Please don't blame yourself for my own actions."

"But!" I tried to start, but Lisbeth placed a finger on my lips to silence me.

"Could you..." her health bar was almost empty, "Kiss me one more time before I'm gone?"

"I...yes." I gathered the pink-haired girl in my arms, my tears dripping onto the front of her clothes with the rain.

"Please stop crying." she brushed the tears from my eyes before gently brushing her lips up against mine, "I don't want my last kiss to be a salty wet one."

We kissed for a few moments, before the last portion of her health bar depleted and Lisbeth dissolved into crystal fragments, a happy small smile etched onto her face.

"She's gone Klein." I sobbed to the man that had just come up behind me, "She's gone."

I really teared up during that scene while writing it =(

-Forscythe