Spoiler Note: I usually hate putting something like this in front of a story, since it detracts from the pull of the initial chapter, but I felt I needed to avoid spoiling things for some. This story takes place less than a month after the Mother Rosario arc, but before Alicization. If you've only watched the Anime or haven't finished the Gun Gale and Mother Rosario arc, you might want to read them before continuing, to avoid spoilers.

Prologue

Reality will always be more powerful than than the virtual world. I believe that firmly. Yet the world we create as humans, while never coming quite as close in terms of beauty and light, has it's own mystery and allure. As the sun slowly set behind the canopy of the coniferous forest, I relished the gentle breeze that drifted across the lake. Even though it wasn't real, and could never quite capture all the sensations of the warmth of the sun and a spring wind, it was real enough for me. The weather setting on floor twenty-two of Aincrad closely resembled that of the real world, the warm days and cool evenings were my favorite, and there was nowhere I'd rather spend it. This, more than anywhere, was home for me. Or should I say for us.

A pair of slender arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and the familiar pressure against my back announced Asuna's presence. Pressing her body against me, my virtual wife nuzzled the back of my neck with her forehead, and for a moment the brilliant sunset was forgotten. Though we could see each other in the real world whenever we wanted, the chains of the virtual world no longer binding us, we still enjoyed our home here in Alfeim Online's version of Aincrad. This was where we had spend some of the best days of our lives, and even though it technically wasn't the same cottage that we had lived in while trapped in the Sword Art Online, the Death Game, the memories would forever stay with us.

"Come on." Asuna said, taking my hand. "Dinner is ready."

Smiling, I followed her into our home, the blue hair of her Undine avatar trailing after her. I honestly preferred her original SAO avatar, that is to say Asuna's actual appearance, but I would never tell her as much. Her character in ALO was cute, certainly, but the real girl was far more beautiful than any graphics engine could emulate, no matter how powerful it was. As we settled down at the table, I found myself staring out at the sun as it finished it's descent.

It had been five months since this floor of Aincrad had been unlocked, and for the first time in weeks Asuna and I had the house to ourselves. Our friends from ALO spent almost as much time here as we did, which wasn't something that really bothered us. The house was always filled with laughter, and if they were absent then the AI we had adopted from SAO, Yui, would fill the void. This evening Yui was off with Lisbeth and Silica, no doubt causing some trouble in Yggdrasil City.

Since moving back into the cottage on the 22nd floor, Asuna and I seldom bothered coming to any of the raids in Aincrad. Our goal had simply been this, though Asuna had gone off on her own adventure with the Sleeping Knights. It hadn't been a month since Yuuki's funeral, and Asuna still felt the loss. I'd tried my best to be there for her, and in that regard I'd been successful in my mission. Her mood had lightened considerably in the last few days, though whether that was due to me or the time we'd spent in our home, I couldn't say.

"Kirito," Asuna said, loading my plat with food. "If it's alright with you, I'd like you to stay here with me again tonight."

"Of course. There's nowhere I'd rather be."

The smile she flashed still affected me, after all this time, even if she didn't look like the real Asuna right now. With it being Saturday evening, we had a bit more freedom to spend time in the virtual world. Asuna's mother wouldn't allow her to remain logged in during a week night, despite the fact that any sleep she got here would be just as restful as in her own bed. On Friday and Saturday, however, we could spend all night together in our home.

We ate quickly, with few words exchanged. One thing we'd both loved in SAO was the food. It could never quite reach the texture and taste of reality, but with Asuna's maxed out cooking skill I often found it even better. Having cleared my plate, I collapsed onto the sofa nearby, letting out a long sigh. It was only a moment before Asuna came and curled up against me, her palms and and head resting on my chest.

"I almost forgot." I said, touching her bright hair. "Agil asked me to come by tonight, in the real world. Saturday nights are always busy at his place, but it sounded like he had something important to tell me."

"Will you be long?"

"No clue. Why don't you come with me? We'll see what he needs, and be back here in time to go to bed."

"What if I'm not sleepy?" Asuna asked, glancing up at me mischeviously.

"Then... we'll have to find something else to do."

I couldn't keep the flush of red from my cheeks, which was exactly the response Asuna was after. We stayed wrapped up with each other for awhile longer before logging out, and Asuna declined my offer to pick her up. I was secretly relieved. She enjoyed riding with me on the old combustion motorcycle, but her mother was much less thrilled about it, being the practical woman she was. I never told Asuna how much her mother intimidated me, though I'm sure she had guessed.

I arrived at Agil's to find it less busy than expected for a weekend, which was odd considering how nice of a night it was. Agil waved me over, and I somehow managed to weave between his customers without knocking anyone over, which was a small miracle. Asuna had apparently beat me there, and was seated at the bar, with someone I hadn't expected to see.

"Klein, what are you doing here?"

"You kidding me?" He replied, grinning. "You wouldn't believe how many beautiful women stop here on Saturdays. It's a gold mine!"

"Which makes me wonder why you've struck out three times already tonight." Agil said, the rich timbre of his voice standing out.

"We can't all be as lucky as Kirito." Klein shot back, winking at Asuna. "Just wait, my night is about to turn around."

"So what did you want to see me about? It sounded important." I asked Agil.

"I suppose it could be, depending on if you're interested." He said, sliding a paper over to me. "Take a look at that."

I snatched it up and briefly glanced over the text, frowning. It was an issue of MMO Today, which covered all the up and coming VRMMO's that were constantly being created using The Seed that had been born from SAO. This particular page was for a new game that had yet to be released, and one that I somehow hadn't heard of.

"Mecha Mayhem Online?" I said. "MMO? Isn't that name a little cheesy?"

"I think it's clever. Though I do see how it could lead to some confusion. Keep reading." Klein said, rubbing the scruff on his chin.

"The Closed Beta test for MMO begins on May 1st. Developed by Tsukino Industries, the game takes elements from previous VRMMO games and builds upon them to create a unique, futuristic world of Mecha combat on a massive scale. There are a limited number of slots available for the Beta, but in an interesting move the developers have extended an open invitation to all former players of the notorious Sword Art Online. They've been very vocal in welcoming all those players who had overcome adversity and real danger by surviving the Death Game, speaking openly of their bravery and strength."

I stared at the article for a long moment, frowning thoughtfully. Though the events of SAO were widely publicized and becoming common knowledge, no game developer had the courage to mention such a tragedy. Quite the opposite, most took great pains to separate their game from SAO as much as possible, so as to not remind people of the game that nearly killed the VRMMO industry. The only exception was ALO, which had taken Aincrad and integrated it into it's own world, with overwhelming support from former SAO players.

"I know what you're thinking." Agil said, leaning on the counter. "Sounds fishy, right? So I contacted the company directly and discussed it with one of their representatives. Apparently MMO was created with the help of several top players from both Sword Art and Gun Gale Online, and they expressed interest in trying to get as many former SAO players into the game as possible to test it."

"Yeah, I can understand that." I admitted, leaning back and tucking both hands behind my head. "There's a sense of belonging between a lot of us, isn't there? I see why they would want SAO players to check out their game. But to be honest, I don't think I'd want to transfer my character over or start fresh in a new game."

"That's the best part." Klein said, grinning. "You don't have to transfer your character. The developers actually compiled all the character data from SAO, so you can leave your original character in ALO and play this with the same skills you had on Kirito. They've been converted to MMO's format, of course."

"Won't that piss off a lot of gamers who didn't play SAO?"

"I'm sure it does, but nobody is going to complain about people who had to fight for their lives getting better treatment. Besides, they're offering some bonus cash to brand new players to compensate. It's a bold move, but everyone seems okay with it."

"The Closed Beta is only for two weeks." Agil said, serving a drink to a customer nearby. "At the end of the Beta they're having some huge PvP event. The hype on all the gaming sites is crazy, and it's already receiving a ton of attention."

"I don't know." I said, sighing. "Most Mecha games I've played bored me. Even if I get to use some of my skills from SAO, it's probably another generic giant robot game where you smash stuff."

Klein looked crestfallen, and Agil simply shrugged. To be honest, it did look interesting, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about the game. I had enjoyed GGO, and if this game was combining aspects from both it and Sword Art, it could be pretty awesome. That, or it could be handled poorly and flop, but either way I was more content to spend my time with Asuna and our friends in ALO, even if that amounted to just sitting around in our cottage all day.

"I'd like to try it." Asuna said suddenly, breaking the silence she'd held the entire time and glancing over at me.

"Really?"

"Yes. I think it looks fun, as long as I don't have to transfer my character data. As much as I love spending time with everyone in ALO, I sometimes miss the thrill of fighting on the front lines of a game that is new and interesting. You feel the same way, I know you do, so why don't we give it a try?"

There was a light in Asuna's eyes that I hadn't seen in some time, a kind of excited determination, that it took me a moment to place. The last time I'd seen her look like that had been as she was entering the boss room on Aincrad's 27th floor, with the Sleeping Knights at her side. It was a look she'd maintained on the front lines of SAO and one that I'd grown to love. I was powerless against it, against her, as I always had been.

"Okay." I said, smiling. "I'm in."

Author's Note: A few things. I'm trying to follow the same writing format as the Light Novel, with Kirito's perspect of First Person with the other characters being written in Third Person. This is a somewhat unreliable form, and isn't one I've done before, but I felt it more in line with the original source material. Also as a native English speaker, I refrained from using the Japanese honorifics. Mainly this is because while I am familiar with their meaning and use, I'm not comfortable enough with them to use them confidently. I'll also be using the English style of names, such as saying Asuna Yuuki instead of Yuuki Asuna, as it would be written in a direct translation. Think of it as an English dub, I suppose. This is just something I'm doing to keep my mind sharp while going through the mind-numbing editing of my novel before sending it off, and because I felt it would be fun to write a Sword Art story.

Comments encouraged, and let me know any plot points I may miss or things I mess up on. I've got a lot on my plate now, and even if this is just something I'm doing for fun, I don't want to make any glaring mistakes that detract from the story. Does the First Person-Third Person switch seem like a good idea, or should I switch it out to stick to one perspective? That's my biggest concern at the moment.