Akiri opens his eyes to the familiar sight of the gaming room's ceiling.

With an exhausted sigh, Akiri places his NerveGear on the nightstand beside the bed. He then got into his wheelchair and just as he was about to leave the room, the door suddenly opens and Alexander walks in.

Alexander: Ah, you're finished already?

Akiri: Yeah. We just got Asuna out

Alexander: How did it go?

Akiri: It got more... Complicated than expected. I'll tell you the details later, but for now, we need to head out

Alexander: The hospital, sir?

Akiri: Yeah. Let's go

Alexander just nodded and the two of them went to the garage.

(Timeskip)

After getting through the security gate, Alexander parked the car at the parking lot and helped Akiri get on his wheelchair.

Akiri: Al, you wait here. I got a feeling something bad will happen, so be ready to call the police

Alexander just nodded and went back inside the car and Akiri went over to the main entrance of the hospital.

As he was halfway to the entrance, a voice suddenly called out to him.

???: You're late, Akiri

He then saw a figure standing in the shadows and it was revealed to be Sugou who came from the back of one of the parked vehicles.

His eyes were red and he was having trouble walking steadily, probably because of the extreme pain that he felt.

Sugou: You've kept me-

As soon as he saw Akiri, he started to burst out laughing.

Akiri: What's so funny?

Sugou: The strongest swordsman in SAO, is a cripple!

He kept on laughing as Akiri just rolled his eyes.

Sugou: That was a horrible thing you did, Akiri. I could still feel every last cut

Akiri: Good. I was worried you might pass out from the pain. Now, why don't you give yourself up, Sugou? You've already lost

Sugou: Lost? What do you mean? There are countless corporations that would want me. Yes, once my research is complete, I can become a true king... The god of this world

Akiri: You're insane...

Sugou then pulled out a knife from his jacket.

Sugou: But before that, I'm going to kill you, Akiri... And once I'm done with you, I'll kill Kirito as well!

He shouted before taking a step towards Akiri.

Akiri: I'm warning you. You better stand down before I lose my patience

Sugou: Or what? You can't even walk let alone stand up by yourself!

???: Mister Nobuyuki, I advise you to lower your weapon

They saw that it was Alexander who then got in front of Akiri.

Sugou: Huh? You think this old man can save you?!

Sugou ran over to Alexander, but he just stood his ground. Once Sugou is close enough, Alexander swiftly grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his body, making him drop the knife as he screams in pain.

Akiri: Thanks, Al

Alexander: My pleasure

Akiri: Put him up for me

Alexander pulled Sugou towards Akiri until they are face to face with each other.

Akiri: I warned you

He reels in his fist and punches him in the gut.

Akiri: That's for trapping those people and using them for your sick experiments

He then reels his fist back again, but then he notices something glinting on the ground and he saw that it was Sugou's knife.

Akiri: Al, hand me the knife...

Alexander: Sir, that might be going too far

Akiri: Alexander... The knife...

With reluctance, Alexander reached over and gave Akiri the knife. Akiri then shot a glare at Sugou as he looked at the boy in fear.

Sugou: Y-you're not gonna kill me are you?!

Akiri: Why not? What's one more gonna do...?

Sugou could only look in shock and horror as he tried to get away, but Alexander gripped him tightly, preventing him from escaping.

Akiri thought about all those people that he experimented on and he gritted his teeth in anger.

His grip on the knife tightens as he thought about what Sugou did to Asuna, harassing her and trying to use her for his pleasure.

Alexander: Sir. Think about what you're doing

Akiri puts the knife closer to Sugou's neck as he looks at Akiri in complete fear with tears running down his face.

Akiri: No...

He drops the knife and immediately punches Sugou in the face, knocking him out cold.

Akiri: Justice will come soon enough...

They then heard sirens behind them and they saw that two police cars have arrived.

Alexander: Go on ahead, sir. I'll take care of things from here

Akiri just nodded and went inside the hospital.

As he reached Asuna's room, he opened the door to see that it was unlocked. He took a deep breath before entering the room.

As soon as he went in, he saw that Kazuto is already there, embracing her and a smile grew on his face.

Not long after, Asuna notices him at the door and she looked at him, smiling with tears in her eyes.

Asuna: Akiri...

He smiles back at her as he too started to tear up.

Akiri: Hey, Asuna...

(Timeskip)

It had been 4 months since Akiri and Kirito rescued Asuna from being trapped in ALO by Sugou.

In that time, justice had finally come to Sugou's actions. After his arrest, he denied all charges and tried to place the blame on Kayaba Akihiko. But a victim of his came out and testified against him, causing an investigation to be underway.

Meanwhile, the 300 players Sugou had trapped had no memory of the experiments. Thankfully, they developed no serious psychological or neurological conditions and are returning to society.

But once again, the Virtual Reality games had suffered yet another fatal blow. The incident had practically destroyed the industry altogether. In the end, RCT Progress was forced to be disbanded, and RCT itself also took the hit as well. Of course, ALO was forced to shut down. As for the five or six other VRMMOs, with all the negative effects from the press, they'll eventually suffer the same fate as well.

In other news, they had finally found Kayaba dead in his house. When SAO collapsed, he did a high-output scan on his brain, uploading his consciousness to the internet but killing him in the process.

Currently, Akiri along with Kazuto, Asuna and Suguha are sitting in a black Rolls Royce limousine with Alexander driving.

Suguha: Woah... So this is what being in a limo feels like...

Suguha muttered in amazement as she looked around the interior of the car.

Kazuto: Thanks again, for giving us a ride, Akiri

Akiri: Don't mention it

Asuna: By the way, this is a different limo this time. What happened to the old one?

Akiri: Sold it. And I got this one used for a steal

Asuna: You sold another car?

Akiri: Hey, surgery isn't cheap

Asuna: You could've just asked my dad for the money

Akiri: He already gave me enough. I can't possibly ask him for more

(Timeskip)

Kazuto opened the door to Dicey Cafe to see that everyone who is invited is already present and is waiting for them.

Akiri: Oh, come on... We arrived on time, didn't we...?

Someone then walked up to both of them and smirked.

???: The stars of the show should be the last to appear. That's why we told you guys the time later than it really was

It was revealed to be Rika Shinozaki. Also known as Lizbeth back in SAO. Her appearance is pretty much the same with the exception of hair colour.

Rika then grabbed their arms and started to push Akiri's wheelchair.

Rika: Now, come on in

Akiri: Hey, what are you-

Rika then made Kazuto stand in front of everyone with Akiri beside him and she held a microphone.

Rika: Okay then, everyone. Let's have a cheer. One, two!

Everyone: Akiri, Kirito, congratulations on clearing SAO!

Party poppers were then popped and a sign that said, congratulations came down from behind them and Rika handed Akiri and Kazuto a drink.

Rika: Here, take this. Cheers!

Everyone: Cheers!

With a cheer, the party officially got started. With music playing in the background, everyone enjoyed themselves eating and drinking while catching up with old friends.

Those who are invited includes Tsuboi Ryoutarou, also known as Klein, along with the members of his guild, Fuurinkazan. Keiko Ayano, who is known as Silica back in SAO.

The others are Thinker, Yulier, Sasha, Yolko, Rika, Asuna, Kazuto and of course, Akiri. With the exception of Suguha, they are all SAO survivors.

Most of them were surprised when they find out that Akiri is in a wheelchair.

As the party continued on, Akiri went over towards the bar.

He then pressed a button on the controls on his wheelchair and it lifts him up to level with the bar stools.

Kazuto then sits beside Akiri at the bar.

Kazuto: Bartender. Bourbon on the rocks

Akiri: Vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred

Andrew then slides them two drinks and they saw that it was iced teas.

Kazuto: This isn't what we ordered...

Akiri: Once a rip-off shopkeeper, always a rip-off shopkeeper...

Ryoutarou then appeared and sat next to Kazuto.

Ryoutarou: Hey Agil. Slide me a real one

He ordered a drink and Agil slides him a cup.

Kazuto: Aren't you supposed to be going back to work right after this?

Ryoutarou: Alcohol makes the overtime go by faster!

He said as he drank from his cup.

???: Hey, Akiri

Someone called him before sitting right next to him and he saw that it was Thinker.

Thinker: Long time no see!

Akiri: Hey Thinker. l heard that you and Yulier are married now. I know it's a bit late, but congrats

Thinker: Thank you. But ever since we got back, it's been taking everything we've got to adjust to a new life here. The good thing is, I'm settling back into the groove at work

Ryoutarou: Congrats man! Hey, I've been reading the new MMO today

Thinker: Oh, I wish it were better. It could've used more content. Oh well, with the way MMOs are now, walkthrough info doesn't mean so much

Akiri: Speaking about MMOs. Andrew, what's the status of the Seed?

Andrew: Hold on a second

He said as he pulled out a laptop and went over to Akiri's table. He then opens the laptop showed it to Akiri and Kazuto.

Andrew: There are around fifty mirror servers now. Downloads are numbering a hundred thousand. And there are about 300 major servers that are making use of it

Akiri: That was faster than I thought

After he met with Kayaba Akihiko, Akiri gave the World Seed to Andrew and asked him to help him look into it. As a result, he learned that the World Seed was a program package called "The Seed" that Kayaba had developed, which simulates a full dive type virtual MMO environment.

Put it simply, anyone with a good enough server could download The Seed and could create their own online world with it. Akiri asked Andrew to upload it to servers worldwide so that it would be available for anyone to use.

The result, Virtual MMOs which were disappearing, took flight once more. Alfheim Online was taken up by new management and is revived. And Alfheim wasn't the only world that was reborn. Smaller companies, and even private ones. Hundreds of organizations seized the opportunity and began running their own virtual game servers.

They eventually became mutually linked. And now, a system that allows a character created in one game to be converted into another is being implemented.

And so, a new era is born.

Kazuto: Hey, we're still on for the after-party, right?

Andrew: Yeah, tonight at eleven. We'll be meeting at Yggdrasil City

Akiri: Hope you guys are ready for the surprise

(Timeskip)

After leaving Andrew's bar, Akiri went home and logged in to ALO and immediately flew up and went to meet up with everyone.

When he arrives, he saw that there's no one there yet.

Akiri: Looks like I'm early, huh?

???: Hey, Akiri!

He heard a voice calling his name and he looked behind to see that it was Kirito and Leafa.

Akiri: Ah, you're here

Leafa: So, what's this "big surprise" you've been talking about?

As she asked that, the four of them heard the sounds of ringing bells. They looked up and saw the castle Aincrad floating down and Leafa looked at it completely shocked.

Leafa: No way. Don't tell me that's...

Akiri: Yup. It's the floating castle, Aincrad

Leafa: But... Why? Why's it here?

Kirito: It's time to finish it. It's time to make it past all 100 floors and conquer that castle

Akiri: Yeah. We never did finish the game and it's been bugging me this whole time

Klein: Hey! Akiri, Kirito!

The four of them looked back and saw Klein along with Agil, Liz and Silica along with Thinker, Yulier and Sasha. Sakuya, Alicia, Eugene, Recon and all the other races of Alfheim were there as well and they all flew past them.

???: What are you guys waiting for?

They heard a voice call out to them and they saw that it was Asuna who is using her new Undine avatar.

Asuna: Let's go, Kirito-kun, Akiri, Leafa

Yui, in her Pixie form then flew up to Akiri and Kirito.

Yui: Come on, Papa, Uncle, hurry

Akiri: Alright, let's finish it properly this time

Kirito: Right!

The four of them all started to fly up and caught up to the others as they all flew towards castle Aincrad together for a new adventure.

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(A/N: Alright! Finally finished Season 1 of SAO! I'm sorry it took so long. I'd like to take some time to thank all of my readers and supporters. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for those of you who have stayed from the beginning. I really appreciate you all choosing to read this among the thousands of other SAO fanfics.

I'd like to know your thoughts on this book so far, so feel free to leave a comment. Any criticism and suggestions are welcomed and will help me to improve this book in the future.

This is by far the longest book I have ever written and it has been quite the journey. I hope you all will stay with me until the end of this book and beyond. Well, that is all from me. Remember to vote if you enjoyed it and follow my account to keep up to date with my stories. Thanks for reading!)

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???: No! Wait!

A begging voice was heard as a man was backing away from someone wearing a red coat, and holding a matching coloured sword.

???: I'm sorry! I won't go anywhere near her again! I promise!

Akiri: Do you really expect me to believe that...?

He coldly replied as he raises his blade as the man looked at him, trembling in complete fear and terror.

Akiri: You all are nothing but pests...

"And pests need to be exterminated..."

To be continued...