A/N: Okay, so I had originally planned on making this into a dual-part chapter, but I decided to extend it to a trio. If I had just gone to make it two pieces, this chapter would have been way too long for me to edit properly. Nontheless, I hope you enjoy it, and that you look forward to part three, coming soon! Please leave a review, whether you're a seasoned reader or this is the first time you've read this!

Tears of the Soul, Part the Second

Kirito was doing his best to defeat XaXa, but the man seemed to move just a little faster and hit just a little harder than the Black Swordsman remembered. Damned hex, he thought sourly. He tried using Starburst Stream, but XaXa managed to evade most of the blows, all while laughing at Kirito's helplessness.

He knew that there had to be something in the dream that would let him defeat his enemy. There was always a way, he knew. Living in SAO and going on to figure out different ways for his family to become whole again had taught him an important lesson: when it all seemed hopeless, it never was. Sometimes, he just had to look back at the beginning.

Okay, he thought even as he traded blows with XaXa's phantom again. Think: what do I know about this curse? It's meant to drain my life energy. How does it do that? Henry couldn't figure it out, so I'm on my own there. He countered with the Dark Repulser and retaliated with the Elucidator. This dream has caused me to relive my worst nightmares and forced me to confront my failures. Normally, experiences like that would make a person stronger. So what's the point?

He leapt backwards to give himself room, and waited for his enemy's next attack. When it came, he crossed his blades in an 'X' formation and shoved downwards, forcing XaXa to drop his blade. Then the swords came up, and XaXa was slashed badly.

But it still wasn't enough to bring him down. He growled and then whipped out a handgun, much to Kirito's surprise. XaXa had effectively transformed into Death Gun all of a sudden. It's almost like the harder I fight back, the more the dream fights back. Wait, not quite. More like… it's feeding off of my resistance. The more I fight it, the more it attacks. Great.

He weighed his options as best he could while slashing at the bullets that flew his way. I could try and stop fighting and see if that stops the curse, but chances are that'll just kill me at this point. Or I can try and fight it off until it runs out of energy. But if it really is feeding off of me, that won't work either… Think, Kazuto! What are you missing?!

The answer hit him like the bullet that slammed into his leg. Of course. The moment reminded him of how Sinon once tried to shoot out his leg, though he had foiled her attempt. What was it that XaXa said earlier? 'Unless you remember a way to defeat me' or something like that. Remember…

Focusing as hard as he could, he tried to focus on those that had helped him through the hell that had been his life for nearly two years. But it wasn't fast enough. XaXa shot out his other leg, forcing him to collapse. The phantom laughed as he stepped on Kirito's chest and took aim with his handgun.

The battle at the Demon's Ingle was a complete standoff from Robin's perspective. Only Yen'fay's personal guard had dared to approach the Shepherds, which was what he had hoped for. Without their leader, the rest of the army would likely leave the Ylissean and Feroxi forces alone as the passed by on the other side of the volcano.

However, the thought brought him little comfort at the moment. "We need something to tip the scales!" he growled as Lissa used her staff to heal a nasty burn on his foot, where he had inadvertently stepped on a puddle of lava. According to Lissa, he was lucky to even have the foot at this point.

"Well, you're not going back out there, that's for sure," she muttered as she focused on bandaging the wound. It was mostly healed, and all things considered, he would be fine. However, even the staff had its limits- Robin would be limping for some time.

"If I don't fight alongside our men, we could well lose," Robin countered. "Look, just get me into a sniping position. I can at least use my magic to hit some of them."

"And when they return fire?" Lissa shot back. "You'll be a sitting duck! No way am I doing that!"

"Don't make me pull rank, Lissa," Robin tried.

"I'm the crown princess, so I actually outrank you," Lissa grinned. "And I say you're staying here."

"According to the law concerning the military, section thirteen, article five, the Grandmaster Tactician is answerable only to the ruling sovereign, not to any of those beneath him or her in rank, including other royals," Robin smirked. "Now do as I say."

"No," Lissa said as she stuck out her tongue. "Besides, I think we're about to get that tip in the scales you were hoping for."

"Huh?" Robin asked as he looked downfield. "What-?!"

Kirito looked into the skull mask, knowing that he was about to die. Sorry, Asuna. At least I can take this thing down with me…

"Kirito?" a familiar voice echoed out of the darkness, time seeming to slow down. He thought that the voice sounded familiar, anyways. If it was, it was voice that he hadn't heard for some time. "Kirito, what happened? How did you let this beat you? You're stronger than this."

No… He thought wearily. I'm not as strong as people think I am. I can't even beat off a boss without somebody else's help.

"Whoever said that you needed to do things alone?" the voice replied kindly. "Doing things on your own doesn't make you strong. You once told me that together, we could be strong. Don't you remember?"

Wait… You're…?

"Get up, Kirito! Fight him! Fight him with the people who love you!"

His eyes snapped open as an arrow suddenly appeared in XaXa's chest, surprising them both. Another figure wielding an axe smashed into XaXa, ridding Kirito of his weight. He was assaulted by two girls after that, one armed with a mace, and the other with a combat knife. Another pair of figures slashed at the phantom with katanas, keeping him at bay while another person helped Kirito to his feet. This person was dressed in white and red, and armed with a rapier.

"Asuna?" Kirito wondered aloud. "How did you get in here?"

"We're always with you, Daddy," said Yui as she appeared beside her mother. "We'll never, ever leave you." With a start, he realized that his memories had manifested themselves from within the curse.

"See, Kirito?" the voice from before said as its owner appeared in front of him. "Your memories and experiences with others is the source of your strength- not the time spent in solitude."

"Sa…" Kirito tried to speak, but his voice was choked up. "Sa…" he tried again. When he tried a third time, he managed to croak out, "Sachi…?"

"Come on," she said as she equipped herself with a spear. "Let's get him."

"I…"

"I know," she said with a sad smile. "It's okay." Then she joined the fray as XaXa fought back with unnatural might, another sword back in his hands instead of a gun. Kirito cried out in fear he saw her charge into battle, and he unleashed his two swords, not wanting to see her killed once again.

As if connected by some sort of mental link, the memories of his friends all made way for him, but stayed close in case he needed them. His moves came even faster than before, spurred on by the voices of his friends.

"You got this, man!" Klein shouted.

"You can do it!" Silica cried.

"Cut that bastard up!" Agil boomed.

"Stay alive, you hear me?!" Lisbeth added.

"You can't go down that easy!" Sinon growled.

"I believe in you, Kirito!" Asuna said.

"You have to win, Daddy!" Yui begged.

"Fight to protect them," Sachi murmured quietly.

His swords glowed blue, and his eyes burned gold as he unleashed his strongest attack from Aincrad: the twenty-six hit combo, Eclipse. XaXa fought back, but Kirito was relentless. "I don't care what you are, or who sent you," he growled. "But nobody threatens my family and gets away with it!" Then he let out a wordless bellow that echoed all throughout the nightmare.

In response, XaXa roared back at him, albeit in a more guttural tone than Kirito's. The two swordsmen dueled ferociously, until at last, Kirito swung his swords in unison, and the sword that XaXa held was shattered. He reached for a gun, but Kirito cut off his hand before he could draw it. Then he proceeded to cut the man himself in three pieces.

"This isn't over…" XaXa growled before he disappeared into black fog. "He has eyes everywhere… He'll kill you someday…"

"Is he going to die with the same line every time?" Kirito wondered aloud. Then he sheathed his swords and turned to face his friends, who were all grinning at him. Even Sachi looked happy as she stepped up to him.

"Sachi, I-"

"Wake up, Kirito," she said with a smile as she touched his chest with a finger. "Your family needs you more than I do." A burst of light emanated from their point of contact, and Kirito could feel himself rising out of the abyss. "We'll meet again, someday. Until then, always remember me."

"I will," he promised. "I'd never forget you."

Robin's eyes widened as he saw Kirito bolt upright from where he lay on the ground, one of the few spots that had been deemed safe to stay on for any given length of time. "He beat the curse off?!"

"Yup," Lissa grinned. "Asuna called it."

"Well, is he gonna be okay?" Robin asked, still concerned.

"I dunno, I'd have to ask Henry."

"Wait, where is Henry?"

"Uh, he's… well…" Lissa grimaced. "He's on a bit of a rampage."

Kirito got to his feet quickly, wondering where in the world he had gotten to. Why am I in a volcano? Looking around a bit more, he realized that the other Shepherds were engaged in combat with Valmese forces.

"Ah, you're awake!" Libra grunted as he cut down a swordsman with his massive axe. For such a feminine build, Libra definitely held a surprising amount of strength. His appearance somewhat reminded Kirito of the time that he had spent in GGO, where most people mistook him for a girl at first glance. "We could use a bit of a helping hand right now," he said as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

"You got it," Kirito said as he went to draw his swords. But first he noticed something strange. "Libra, what's all this black stuff coming out of me?" The priest looked at the young man with surprise as he showed him the dark fog emanating from every part of his body.

"I am… not sure," he admitted. "I would ask Henry, but…" He pointed further down the field. Kirito smacked his face as he saw Henry laughing hysterically as he unleashed Valflame spells at his enemies as though he were throwing out candy to kids at a fair.

"I think I'll go down there and make sure that he doesn't melt any escape routes," Kirito sighed. "Where's Yui and Asuna?"

"Asuna is fighting alongside Miss Leafa at the moment," Libra answered as he readied his axe. "And Yui is with Lady Lissa in the medical area. We were planning on getting you out first, but the Valmese moved faster than we had anticipated, which is how you ended up here."

"Got it," Kirito said as he spread his wings.

"Wait, one last thing!" Libra cautioned. "Your sister mentioned that your flight in here will be limited because not enough sunlight can get through to recharge your wings."

"Oh," the Black Swordsman muttered. "That sucks." Then he shot off, dark energy trailing in his wake. Libra watched him go for a moment, then readied himself to face another pair of Valmese fighters.

The Spriggan warrior landed with an audible crash next to Henry, and he immediately dealt grievous wounds to three of them while Henry incinerated four others. "Nyaha!" the sorcerer giggled. "Glad you could make it!"

"Hey, why do I look like I still have dark energy coming off of me?" Kirito asked sharply. "Is this part of the curse?"

"Yay and nay!" Henry grinned. "The curse is gone, yes siree, but the energy is still in your system. That would be harmful- and bloody- for most people, but not you!"

"Why not me?!"

"Cos you already have dark magic in you, silly!" Henry giggled. "Ooh! Ooh! More bad guys! Yaaaaaaaaay!" And he took off, Valflame in hand.

Kirito watched him go for a moment before looking down at himself with renewed interest. "Extra dark magic, huh?" he muttered. "Well then…"

Chrom and Lucina were having trouble dealing with Yen'fay's personal guard, the hardiest soldiers in the troupe. "Damned bodyguards," Chrom muttered. "Maybe we could get Sumia to-"

"Scuse me, coming through!" shouted a familiar voice. The next instant, Kirito slammed into the fighters, bulldozing them, and causing several of them to be wounded in the process. Then he landed back beside the father and daughter pair. "Sorry I'm late," he grinned.

"Start apologizing by getting us close to Yen'fay, Chrom demanded tiredly. "We've been going at this for hours, but we still can't touch him."

"Yeah, well, they always say that the final hurdle is the hardest," Kirito said as he raised his hands, complicated runes swirling around him. "But I think in this case, we'll just knock it over instead of jumping it."

"Huh?" Chrom and Lucina asked simultaneously. The answer they sought wasn't very long in coming.

"By the darkness granted me from my enemies, I release the spell that darkens even the twilight," Kirito said, his body glowing ominously. "Goetia!" A massive sphere of darkness surrounded the men, and solidified into a dome of dark purple energy that crackled with lightning on the inside. Then it exploded, dark lightning and fog flying everywhere, though none of it hit Kirito or his friends. The Valmese were completely gone.

"Whoa," Chrom gasped. "I don't think I've even seen Henry cast that spell before."

"That's because he doesn't have the right tome for it," Kirito shrugged. "And normally I couldn't cast that either, but the curse left over some energy in my body. It's one of the twelve holy weapons, right alongside Valflame."

"Amazing," Lucina said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it's cool, but we still have that guy to deal with," Kirito said as he pointed his Elucidator at Yen'fay, who seemed to be waiting for them. He hadn't even drawn his sword yet. Kirito knew that meant either this guy was really, really stupid, or very confident in his abilities. From what they knew of Walhart, he wouldn't appoint stupid people to lead his troops.

"Ready?" he asked as he drew Dark Repulser.

"Of course," Chrom nodded.

"Always," Lucina added firmly.

Kirito: Man, it's good to be back in the action again!

Robin: I'm just glad you're alright! For a minute there, I thought Mataras might actually kill you off!

Mataras: Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence... I think we all know that nobody would read this story anymore if I killed off the main character.

Robin: I know I'd resign if you did that!

Mataras: No you wouldn't. You need to keep Lucina safe, remember?

Kirito: Ouch! Need some ice for that burn?

Robin: I'll show you both a burn!

Lucina: Robin, put that tome away. You're getting to be just as bad as Henry.

Robin: I am no- Oh gods, I really am.

Kirito: Haha, I think I'll just go to the freezer and get that ice now.

Mataras: You can get it next segment. Right now, we shall bid the readers adieu.

Lucina: Farewell, friends.