On Today's Episode: Two and a half years have ten thousand players from across the world been trapped in Sword Art Online. Only slightly over half that number still remain in the game. But now, it's all come down to this. The Sleeping Knights enter the Ruby Palace on floor 100 to face off with SAO's creator, Akihiko Kayaba. Who will prevail in this final showdown for the fate of everyone who is still trapped in the game? Can the Sleeping Knights defeat Kayaba and keep the promise they made back on launch day?
Episode 15: Endgame
April 17th, 2025
9:10 P.M. Aincrad Time
Floor 100, The Ruby Palace
Deepest Depths
After waltzing through a few hallways and doorways, the Sleeping Knights eventually found themselves inside what could only be described as a king's throne room.
"Oh, classy," Lisbeth quipped.
"Lis, focus," Strea retorted.
And right there, standing in front of the throne itself, was none other than Akihiko Kayaba, still in his Heathcliff avatar, holding onto his tower shield in preparation for the fight that was no doubt about to erupt.
Kayaba looked up at the Sleeping Knights and smiled.
"I must say, you all have far exceeded my expectations," Kayaba admitted. "Consider myself thoroughly impressed for making it as far as you have. I also must thank you for exposing Nobuyuki Sugou and his crimes."
"Wait, you knew about him?" Yuuki quipped. "Why didn't you do anything about him?! We almost lost Strea because of his bug-eyed face!"
"I was trying to turn up enough evidence of his crimes, but with no trace of his work, it was increasingly difficult to do," Kayaba replied. "That is, until you confronted him and coerced a confession out of him. I must say, that was a stroke of genius."
"So that's why you were barely available during the final quarter of the game," Lux gasped.
"Yes, I was searching for evidence, and I was also performing maintenance on the Cardinal System after the strange glitch that occurred on floor 75 thanks to your daughter," Kayaba answered.
Yui took a step back out of worry, and Nick immediately clutched the handle of his sword, indicating that if Kayaba did anything to harm Yui or Strea, there would be consequences.
"Relax, Nick, I do not intend to do anything to either of them," Kayaba proclaimed. "Like I said on floor 95, I am not so cruel. In fact..."
Kayaba opened his system admin window and typed in a few commands. After a couple seconds, Nick got a notification of something being stored in his item list.
"Okay, so what did you just do?" Nick asked.
"I simply saved copies of both Yui and Strea to your NerveGear's local memory," Kayaba stated. "They will show up as in-game items. You can transfer them to an AmuSphere if you wish, if you still have any love in your heart for the virtual world."
"We'll talk about that another time," Nick retorted. "Now how are we going to do this?"
"Well, this is the final battle, is it not?" Kayaba proclaimed. "I will fight you fairly, without the system assist nor my administrator-given immortality. You deserve the right to challenge me in a fair fashion after making it as far as you have."
Kayaba typed in a few more commands and a purple info window appeared above him that read CHANGED INTO MORTAL OBJECT.
Nick looked back at Yuuki and Aiko, who both nodded to him, before turning back to Kayaba. "On one condition, Kayaba," Nick replied.
"The three of us are going to fight you together," Yuuki proclaimed.
"We made a promise at the very beginning that the three of us would clear this game together," Aiko stated. "And now that we're here at end, we're going to fulfill that promise."
"Because we never break a promise," Nick, Yuuki, and Aiko proclaimed at the same time.
"Very well then," Kayaba responded, unsheathing his sword from his tower shield as he lowered his HP to match that of his challengers. "Shall we end this?"
"Oh, we most definitely shall," Nick proclaimed as he, Yuuki, and Aiko all unsheathed their weapons.
The rest of the Sleeping Knights all backed away to a safe distance as the four combatants stared each other down, just waiting to see who would make the first move.
"Let's end this, Kayaba!" Yuuki shouted, clutching Elucidator and Dark Repulser tightly as she charged forward, Nick and Aiko right behind her, ready to begin the final battle.
Kayaba responded in kind by immediately raising his shield to block each of Yuuki's wild sword swings. But Yuuki didn't stop attacking, knowing that Kayaba would have to focus on her, and that left him open to attacks from behind.
But as Nick lunged forward with a Rage Spike, Kayaba swung around to deflect that blow as well.
Damn it, Nick, remember that this guy knows how to counter every single Sword Skill in this game, Nick thought. The only way we're landing any Sword Skills is if we catch him off guard or put him in a position where he can't defend himself.
And Nick had an idea on just how to do that.
Silently communicating with Yuuki and Aiko, they both nodded and continued their initial strikes.
Aiko unleashed a Star Splash, and Kayaba turned around to counter that blow as well, but this actually left him open to Yuuki and her superior reflexes, and she took full advantage by hacking away at Kayaba's body with every swing she could get in before he inevitably raised his tower shield to deflect.
Moving as fast as he could while Kayaba was busy deflecting Yuuki's attacks, Nick managed to hit Kayaba with a Drop Dash, causing him to skid slightly as he was pushed back.
All three of them knew that Kayaba could block mostly any direct attacks that they sent his way. But that's why Yuuki was blitzing him, since she knew for a fact that she was faster than him and could take advantage of that, forcing him to deflect her swings and leaving his back open for Nick and Aiko to strike.
At one point, Kayaba actually swung his sword for her, but she crossed both of her own swords to parry the blow, then jump back to give herself some breathing room before returning to the fray.
While Yuuki was continuing to blitz him, Kayaba intermittently swung his sword to keep Nick and/or Aiko off of his back, but this eventually allowed Yuuki to knock his shield away with a heavy uppercut slash.
Press the advantage! Yuuki thought as she unleashed The Eclipse, the highest-level Dual-Wielding skill, a barrage of twenty-seven lightning fast slashes that Kayaba was unable to bring his shield back in time to deflect, and he took heavy damage from the attack.
Not intending to waste an opportunity, Nick and Aiko both jumped in to attack while Kayaba was stumbling from Yuuki's barrage, but Kayaba was able to get his shield up in time to block both of their hits.
This excruciating game of cat and mouse continued, mostly with Yuuki blitzing him and Nick and Aiko landing hits whenever they could, making sure not to rely too heavily on Sword Skills.
They would have to use their own skills to win this final battle.
Sadly, events took an unexpected turn.
After knocking Aiko and Yuuki away with a wide shield bash, Kayaba swung his own sword and hit Nick with a Serration Wave, the Bind status taking effect and locking Nick in his current spot.
"Well, this has been quite the battle, but I'm afraid this is where it must end," Kayaba proclaimed, raising his sword, then bringing it down.
Nick could only stand there, locked in place to await his rapidly-approaching death, as he knew this strike was most likely going to kill him.
But instead, Yuuki threw herself in front of Nick, spreading her arms out wide to protect him...
...only to be slashed across the chest by Kayaba in Nick's place.
The Bind effect finally vanishing, Nick could only catch Yuuki in his arms as her health dropped to zero. That strike had been fatal.
Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. After everything they'd been through together, this was how it was supposed to end?
"H-Hey, don't cry," Yuuki gasped, her body beginning to glow brightly. "I know... I know that you... wanted to survive together... but... if I had a choice... on which one of us made it out... I'd rather... you live... for me..."
Nick desperately shook his head, trying to dispel what he hoped was a horrible hallucination, but Yuuki Konno had spoken her last, her avatar shattering into a cascade of glowing polygons that rained down all around him.
Unable to process what had just happened, unable to accept that he'd just watched the girl he loved die in his arms, Nick fell to his knees and started crying, weeping for his lost love. He could even hear the other Sleeping Knights' disbelief and sadness as well, and that only made him cry harder.
And then he heard a beeping.
Nick looked up to see Kayaba typing something on his admin system console.
And dear god, the nonchalant expression on his face.
Almost like Kayaba didn't even care that he'd just murdered the love of Nick's life.
Like her life was nothing but a disposable tool to him!
At that thought, something in Nick's mind snapped like an overstretched rubber band, he let out a scream of pure, unyielding rage that echoed loudly in the throne room, catching Kayaba's attention.
"You son of a bitch," Nick snarled. "You're just gonna stand there and act like you don't even care that you just murdered someone?! Was Yuuki's life that meaningless to you?!"
Nick clutched the handle of Star Cluster so tightly he thought he was going to break his fingers from the pressure alone.
"Well, guess what?! I'm done screwing around with you!" Nick shouted. "Before, I was fighting for a chance at a life with Yuuki, but now that she's gone because of you, all I have left is the emptiness and regret! And I'm going to take this sword of mine and use it to drive that emptiness and regret STRAIGHT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEART!"
("Lifelight ~Tournament Arc ver." by Casey Lee Williams and Mason Lieberman plays)
No longer in the mood for talking, Nick rushed Kayaba like a feral beast, intent on ending Kayaba's life right here and now.
Aiko was right behind him, her own sadness and rage palpable. She definitely wanted to follow Nick's example and drive her rapier right through Kayaba's head.
Kayaba raised his shield to block Nick and Aiko's attacks...
...but something wasn't right.
Their attacks were actually pushing his shield back.
One good look at the rage on Nick and Aiko's faces told him everything he needed to know. They were fighting to avenge the one they loved. And that rage was giving them the push they needed.
For the first time in this entire fight, Kayaba realized that he might actually lose.
Not wanting to go down without a fight, however, Kayaba continued to push back against Nick and Aiko's rage-filled swings.
During the relentless barrage of sword swings, Nick could actually see cracks forming in Star Cluster's blade.
Come on, damn you, hold together! Nick thought. Please, just hold together until we shank this monster!
Eventually, though, they found a weak spot in Kayaba's guard. In his newfound panic, he'd left himself wide open.
And Nick and Aiko were more than willing to viciously exploit that weak point.
Aiko slid underneath Kayaba's tower shield and stabbed him in the chest, and this left him wide open for Nick to attack him with one of Yuuki's favorite moves, Deadly Sins.
Nick started with a diagonal slash from the top-right to the bottom-left, with Nick making a full circle spin, drawing his sword backwards in the middle of the spin in preparation for the next attack. This led to a second diagonal slash from the bottom-right to top-left, followed by a horizontal slash from left to right. Nick then did an upward vertical slash, performing a backwards somersault, followed by a horizontal slash from right to left and another full circle spin, which led to a diagonal slash from the bottom-right to the top-left, stopping at face height.
This left Kayaba with only a sliver of health, and both Nick and Aiko prepared to pounce and deal the killing blow.
"You really thought that this was your reality to do with as you please, Kayaba?" Nick growled.
"Well, here's what we have to say to that, you murderer," Aiko growled.
Both of them clutched their weapons tightly.
"I reject your reality..." Nick and Aiko gasped.
Both of them lunged forward at the same time.
In response, Kayaba just smiled.
"...AND SUBSTITUTE MY OWN!"
Nick and Aiko stabbed Kayaba through the chest from both the front and the back, his health dropping to nothing.
Kayaba only had one word to say.
"Congratulations."
And with that, Akihiko Kayaba exploded into a shower of glowing polygons, and then a bright light came from him and swallowed up everything nearby.
The last thing Nick heard before his senses faded was...
"It is April 17th, 2025, 9:45 P.M.. Sword Art Online has been cleared."
When Nick could see and hear again, he found himself standing in what appeared to be the sunset sky outside of the Floating Castle Aincrad.
Now he was confused. Was this the real world?
Out of curiosity, Nick swiped his right hand and opened his game menu, but instead of all the usual options, the only thing that was being displayed on the window were the words "EXECUTING FINAL PHASE: 55% COMPLETION".
What was this "Final Phase" the game was talking about?
Did it have something to do with clearing the game after two and a half years?
Oh, who was he kidding? This may as well have been purgatory for him.
Without Yuuki by his side, everything just felt hollow and meaningless.
"...Nick?"
...there was no way.
This wasn't just a cruel joke, was it?
Against all odds, Nick turned around towards the source of the voice...
...and there she was.
Though very confused herself, Yuuki was standing right there in front of him, no sign of the fatal wound that Kayaba had inflicted on her.
"Y-Yuuki?" Nick asked. "Is that actually you? I'm not hallucinating this in my grief, am I?"
Yuuki slowly walked towards Nick, reached out for his face...
...and pinched Nick's cheek.
"A-Ack, Yuuki, really necessary?!" Nick gasped, only to start crying all over again. "...this is real, isn't it?"
"As real as it can probably be," Yuuki responded, starting to cry herself.
Unable to hold back their feelings any longer, Nick and Yuuki threw themselves towards each other, embracing each other like letting go would mean the end of the world.
"So... I probably need to ask the obvious question," Yuuki asked. "Where exactly are we?"
Nick looked around until he noticed something far off in the distance.
It appeared to be the Floating Castle Aincrad.
Only, it was rapidly falling apart from the bottom up, the floors crumbling one by one and their pieces turning into nothing but red wireframes before vanishing completely.
"What the hell is happening?" Nick wondered. "It looks like Aincrad's destroying itself. Was it supposed to do that?"
"Yes, it was intended to do this."
Nick and Yuuki glanced over to the source of the voice, and they saw a man with short, silver hair and metallic eyes wearing a white shirt with a necktie underneath and a long, white lab coat on top.
"...Kayaba?" Nick gasped. "Is that actually you? Didn't Aiko and I just double-shank you?"
"Yeah, and speaking of that, where is my sister?" Yuuki wondered.
"You can both relax," Kayaba answered as he gazed out at the sunset sky. "Your sister and your friends are indeed safe now."
"Wait, 'now'? How about you explain what's happening to Aincrad?" Nick asked.
"Simple, Nick," Kayaba answered. "I'm upholding my end of the bargain. What you see down there is Aincrad being completely wiped from the SAO mainframe, as was intended to happen when the game was cleared. Also, all 5,462 surviving players have been logged out of the game. They should be waking up in the real world any moment now."
"Okay, so... what about us?" Yuuki responded. "After all, I did take a lethal blow to protect Nick, sooooooo..."
"To answer that, Yuuki, you didn't actually die," Kayaba proclaimed. "I simply overrode that command so I could talk with you once all of this was over."
"All right-y, then, so, I have just one more question before the end of this," Nick asked. "Why, exactly, did you do all of this? Was there a motive for trapping us in this game for two and a half years?"
A few seconds of silence passed by before Kayaba answered.
"You know... it's funny. It's been so long that I don't even remember anymore."
Kayaba extended his hand towards the crumbling ruins of his greatest creation. "All that comes to mind... is my childhood desire to recreate the castle I saw in my dreams. One that surpassed all known laws and limitations, a place that would truly be my own."
Kayaba turned around and began to walk away, only stopping once he was almost out of sight.
"And, since this is the end of the road, I wanted to congratulate the three of you for clearing Sword Art Online," Kayaba proclaimed. "Truly well done."
And with that, Kayaba vanished into thin air, leaving only a small trail of clouds that dissipated quickly as well.
With nothing else to do, Nick and Yuuki sat down together at the edge of the opaque platform they were situated on, leaned in to embrace each other, and simply watched as the last remnants of the Floating Castle Aincrad collapsed, crumbled, and disappeared completely until there was nothing left.
"Well... if this is the end..." Nick sighed.
"Hey, don't sound so defeatist," Yuuki quipped. "We did it, buddy. We kept our promise!"
"After all of this... you said your family is currently living in the USA, but... we could be on opposite sides of the country for all I know," Nick stated, sounding like he was going to cry again.
"It doesn't matter how far I have to go, all right?" Yuuki proclaimed. "I'll find you, and we'll pick up right where we left off, 'kay? Despite the perils we faced every single day... being here with you has been the happiest moments of my life. I mean that. And I'm not going to let what we've got end just because of a paltry thing that calls itself distance."
Yuuki leaned over and kissed Nick as passionately as she could. "So, no matter what happens..." Yuuki stated. "I love you, Nick."
"I love you, too, Yuuki," Nick answered.
Nick held Yuuki close to him as the surrounding area got brighter and brighter, no doubt the SAO server finally wiping itself out once and for all. The light continued to grow brighter, encompassing even the sunset sky around them, until it finally swallowed even Nick and Yuuki, but they kept holding onto each other, facing the end of Sword Art Online together.
"...when I see you again..."
Slowly opening his eyes, Nick found himself in a different place than he'd just been. His entire body felt stiff as heck, but he figured that was expected from how long he'd been trapped in SAO.
...wait.
His body actually felt stiff?
That could only mean one thing.
"Hey, the sleeping prince awakens."
("See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa feat. Charlie Puth plays)
Though his strength was very low at the moment, no doubt due to needing to readjust to using his actual body, Nick looked to his right and laid his eyes on Nurse Bailey, a young woman who had been his nurse and doctor since he was a child. She was looking down at him from the seat of a nearby chair with a bright smile on her face.
"Welcome back, Nick," Bailey giggled.
"N-Nurse Bailey?" Nick gasped, his voice croaky but thankfully still usable. "...oh, my god. If you're here... that... that can only mean..."
Nick looked around and began to notice familiar sights, quickly realizing that he was in the Dearly Beloved Memorial Hospital of southern Mistralton, South Carolina.
He was back in the real world.
He'd made it back home.
Slowly picking himself up, with Bailey supporting him just in case, Nick reached up to remove the NerveGear device that had cushioned his head for the past two and a half years.
"Everyone else here that was trapped in Sword Art Online is waking up, too," Bailey explained. "We just got a report from RECT Progress that SAO has been completely deleted, too."
"...yeah, the game's over," Nick quipped, his voice gradually getting less creaky. "And, I don't know if you'll believe me, but... I was the one who beat the game. I shanked Kayaba right through the heart."
"That sounds like you," Bailey giggled.
"Oof, I still love this ice cream..."
Nick looked over to the door that led out of this room and saw his sister Melissa walking past the hallway, no doubt waiting for him to wake up.
"Hey, Nurse Bailey, do you think that..." Melissa asked, only to trail off when she saw Nick sitting up in his hospital bed without his NerveGear. Her hands started trembling, and tears started forming in her eyes.
Nick couldn't help but smile, knowing how worried Melissa must have been.
"...hey, sis."
And that was all Melissa could take, as she lunged forward to throw her arms around her big brother and start crying into his shoulder.
"Y-You're real, right?" Melissa sobbed. "This isn't a cruel dream?"
"Hey, even in a dream, I wouldn't do something like that to you, sis," Nick answered. "But, yeah, I made it back. I'm home."
Melissa sobbed even louder, but she was so happy.
"Mom! Dad! Nick's awake!" Melissa called out.
"W-wait, Melissa, did you say 'dad'?" Nick wondered.
Sure enough, the sibling's parents rushed into the room, and it quickly turned into a chorus of tears and happy thoughts as the Kelly family was finally reunited in full.
Bailey silently stepped out of the room to tend to other SAO survivors, deciding to let the Kelly family have their moment.
April 30th, 2025
10:31 A.M. U.S. Central Time
Dearly Beloved Memorial Hospital
"So, how are you feeling today, Nick?" Bailey asked as Nick continued to walk down the hallway. Naturally, Bailey had gotten Nick doing physical therapy during his stay in the hospital in order to fully recover from the time he'd spent in SAO. His limbs were mostly fine, thanks to all the physical therapy that SAO survivors had been getting over the course of their time in the game, but it wasn't perfect. But Nick liked to think he was doing pretty well, all things considered. He was lucky he wouldn't need months of therapy like a lot of SAO survivors, from what he'd heard.
"About as well as I can be, really," Nick quipped. "I figure probably a couple more weeks at this pace and I can get back to my life. ...I'm not looking forward to going back to school, honestly."
"Really? Why's that?" Bailey wondered.
"Well, besides the obvious catch-up I'm probably gonna have to do, I'm willing to bet so many people are gonna see me as some kind of celebrity," Nick admitted. "I mean, I know everyone in my class knows by now that I'm the one who cleared SAO, and... well, they need to understand that I didn't do it for the fame or any of that. I did it to save everyone who was still alive."
"And I'm sure every single SAO survivor is grateful beyond words for what you did," Bailey proclaimed.
"I wonder what she would think?" Nick whispered.
Though Nick hadn't said a specific name, Bailey knew who he was talking about, as he was referring to someone he'd grown very close to during his time in SAO. Nick had been worried that he might not ever see her again.
But what Nick didn't know was that Bailey had a major surprise in store for him later.
Once Nick's therapy was complete for the day, he and Bailey returned to his hospital room so he could relax.
"I'm surprised you still have your NerveGear, Nick," Bailey quipped as she eyed Nick's NerveGear, still resting on the table where he'd left it after leaving SAO. Once all of the SAO survivors had awoken, the government had ordered an immediate recall and destroy order on every single NerveGear around the world.
"Well, Kikuoka-san did owe me a favor for beating SAO," Nick answered. "You see, there's something in my NerveGear's local memory that's very precious to me, and I want to hold off on letting them destroy my NerveGear until I can safely transfer them over to an AmuSphere."
"Wait, you still want to play VR games after everything you've been through?" Bailey asked.
"Of course I do," Nick answered as if it was perfectly natural. "Despite the dangers, my time in Sword Art Online wasn't meaningless. After all, I met a lot of wonderful friends there, and I made memories I will never forget."
Bailey just nodded. "Oh, and... who or what is 'them'?"
"That's... a story," Nick laughed. "And I know you like long stories, Nurse Bailey."
"Do I ever," Bailey chuckled before her radio communicator beeped. "Bailey here. ...oh, they're ready? Good, good. Send 'em on over."
Nick looked at Bailey in confusion for a couple seconds.
"Um, is it okay if I ask?" Nick asked.
"Oh, you'll see," Bailey giggled.
After a minute passed, Nick heard a voice just outside his hospital room.
"I... I don't know if I can do this, sis..."
And when Nick recognized not only that voice, but the other voice that responded...
"Come on, you can do it!"
"What if he doesn't recognize me?"
"Seriously, sis, you don't need to fret as hard as you've been fretting. Two and a half years of good memories aren't going to fade away just like that. Now go on and say hi to him!"
Nick kept his gaze locked on the doorway, hoping he'd see who he hoped that person was.
A young woman about Nick's age stepped through the doorway, looking very bashful and unsure of herself at the moment. She had shorter hair than he remembered, but it was still a vibrant shade of purplish-black, and her red eyes were exactly as he remembered.
Almost on instinct, Nick stood up and walked towards the woman in question, taking a moment to study her.
And when a tear fell from Nick's eye, he'd put the pieces together.
It was Yuuki.
"H-Hi, Nick," Yuuki stuttered.
And the dam burst, with Nick letting his tears fall freely as he leaped over to hug Yuuki as tightly as he could without it hurting. Yuuki immediately hugged him back, the two lovers happy to be reunited.
"See, Yuu? I told ya you could do it," the other voice laughed, its owner stepping forward to reveal herself as Aiko.
"Y-You're here, too, Aiko?!" Nick gasped. "What's the occasion?!"
"Yuu and I were actually at a different hospital two cities away, but thanks to Kikuoka-san, we were allowed to be transferred here for the rest of our care," Aiko explained. "Kikuoka-san recognized you immediately when we told him about you. He figured it was the least he could do for after taking down Kayaba."
"We were talking with mom and dad after we woke up," Yuuki stated. "And... I don't know how to drag this out, Nick, so I'm just gonna say it. Our family's gonna be living in Mistralton from now on!"
"Really?!" Nick exclaimed.
"Remember, Nick, our mom and dad work for a big tech company, so they tend to go lots of places for their job," Aiko replied. "Heh, you should have heard Yuu's pleading when she was telling mom and dad about you."
"A-Aiko, I wasn't pleading!" Yuuki sputtered.
"...god, I missed you," Nick proclaimed.
"I missed you, too, Nick," Yuuki laughed.
"Oh, just go ahead and kiss already," Bailey teased. "I'm not going to mind."
With permission given, Nick and Yuuki leaned forwards, their foreheads touching before their lips did. Aiko smiled happily at the sight.
See, sis? I told ya you were worried for nothing, Aiko thought.
May 19th, 2025
3:31 P.M. U.S. Central Time
The Kelly Household
"Big bro, you've got a package!" Melissa exclaimed as Nick came racing down the stairs, knowing what was waiting for him. "It's from Kikuoka!"
"About time it got here," Nick stated as he received the package in question from Melissa and ripped it open to reveal his brand new AmuSphere, courtesy of Kikuoka. "It couldn't have taken that long to transfer them over."
"It's a complicated process, especially considering who they were transferring," Melissa replied. "Now come on, let's get upstairs and log on. I'm sure Yuuki's chomping at the bit to finally see you in ALO!"
"It's not my fault that Aiko was the impatient one to get back in VR gaming," Nick sighed as he and Melissa raced to their rooms to don their respective AmuSpheres.
"See you on the other side, big bro," Melissa giggled.
"Same to you, sis," Nick responded as he donned his AmuSphere, slid in the Alfheim Online game card, laid down on his bed, and muttered those familiar words.
"LINK START!"
One large tunnel of blinding lights later, Nick found himself in ALO's character creation room.
It took Nick a few minutes to finish his customization, hoping to get as close to his SAO avatar as he could.
Even though Nick found himself in the Spriggan capital city upon logging into ALO for the first time, Nick immediately turned on his heel and dashed outside the city towards the Sylph capital of Swilvane, since that's where he'd promised to meet up with Melissa, Yuuki, and Aiko.
But first, he had something important to take care of now that he finally had an AmuSphere.
After doing the familiar arm motion to open his game menu, Nick moved to his Items tab, and there, among the few items every starting player was given, he saw two specific names.
MHCP-001 and MHCP-002.
Good, that means Kikuoka and Kayaba kept their word, Nick thought as he tapped both of the items and caused two bright lights to appear above him.
When those lights cleared, both Yui and Strea had appeared above him, their eyes closed. But the instant those eyes were open, both of them were very happy to see Nick.
"Papa!" Yui exclaimed.
"NICK NEEDS A HUG!" Strea shouted as she dove to tackle-hug Nick to the ground.
Good to see that hasn't changed, Nick thought as he picked himself up.
After explaining that they were in a new game called Alfheim Online, Yui checked the database and realized that the game would normally identify someone like her as a Navigation Pixie, so she and Strea did so, transforming into a small fairy girl wearing a long, light-pink tube top dress with detached sleeves, pink anklets, and a blue flower in her hair. Strea transformed into a small fairy girl with very light brown hair, red eyes, and an outfit very similar to what she'd worn in SAO. Both of them now sprouted transparent fairy wings from their backs.
"It's really good to have you two back," Nick admitted.
"Wouldn't wanna be anywhere else, buddy!" Strea laughed.
"Is mama here, too?" Yui asked.
"Actually, we're going to the Sylph capital city to meet up with them," Nick explained. "This is actually my first time playing ALO, since I had to wait until Kikuoka transferred you two over to the new AmuSphere he gave me."
"Well, then let's scoot!" Strea exclaimed as she and Nick charged towards the city of Swilvane with Yui flying right behind them.
Well, folks, that's our story. Here's hoping it was a good one.
Naturally, when Yuuki popped up, decked out in almost the exact same outfit she'd worn in SAO (with the only additions being her new Imp wings), Nick immediately jumped forward to hug her, finally happy to see her back in the virtual world.
I'm sure some people will wonder why I'd go right back to VR games after everything Sword Art Online put us through. Well, simple fact: the memories of my time in SAO are irreplaceable.
"Oh my god, Strea, you're back, too?!" Yuuki gasped. "Is that why you haven't been on yet, Nick?"
"Yeah, I had to wait for Kikuoka to transfer Yui and Strea over to my new AmuSphere," Nick explained. "That was a pain and a half to my patience."
"Still the same as ever, huh, buddy?" Aiko laughed.
I met amazing friends, fought for my beliefs, and best of all, I met the love of my life there.
"Well, now that we're all here," Melissa, already decked out in her Leafa avatar, proclaimed. "What should we do first?"
"Well, sis, how about you teach me how to fly?" Nick laughed. "Because I'm still kinda stumped."
"All right, sit back and watch the pro!" Leafa stated, floating upwards to show her brother how to fly in ALO.
"LEAFA!"
Leafa glanced over to see Recon dashing towards her in a massive panic.
"Okay, okay, Recon, where's the fire at?" Leafa proclaimed.
Some people would consider it blasphemy, but I still hold a lot of love in my heart for virtual reality, and that's why I'm still playing it today.
"I spotted a bunch of suspicious-looking Salamanders trespassing in Sylph territory again," Recon responded.
"Seriously?! You'd think they'd have learned their lesson after all that crap with Sigurd went down!" Leafa groaned.
"Do we have a problem that needs solving?" Yuuki asked, her sword already drawn. "Then let's go beat some faces in!"
"I'll teach you how to fly on the way, 'kay, Nick?" Leafa quipped. "Let's go and see what those shifty Salamanders are up to."
Maybe someday we'll find what Kayaba was looking for: a world without limits. That would be really cool, honestly. But I know this: despite this being the end of my time in Sword Art Online, it's not the end of our journey. And I know I'm going to experience all of that journey with the woman I love by my side.
With that, Leafa, Recon, Nick, Yuuki and Aiko all set out for Sylph territory with Yui and Strea not far behind them.
As everyone began to take flight, Nick and Yuuki reached out to hold hands before taking off together.
As a song I really love once told me: "the adventure only ends when another begins."
Sword Art Online: Twin Memory
~The End~