FOREWORD:

Thank you for deciding to read this AU story. I've always wanted to explore more behind the characters of SAO. In particular Lisbeth. I hope you find this as enjoyable to read as I found it to write.

"Players, I wish you the best of luck."

The enormous cloaked figure began to dissolve out of the sky and suddenly the sky flickered from the ominous red of the announcement hexagons and back to its almost beautiful red and orange sunset. It seemed out of place, such a beautiful afternoon, looking down upon us as the terrifying horror that had just been revealed began to sink in.

"My God…" A sharp scream tore at my ears and then, as if being awoken from a trance like state, the entire square erupted with screams and yelling. People were yelling for release, for mercy, for salvation.

Salvation from this injustice. This terrible, terrifying horror of a game.

My chest froze, and I felt my mind lurch into a panic. How could this be? Would I never see my family again? What about the real world? Was I going to die here? I can't die here. I can't die here!

I felt my knees go weak. My eyes began to water. I could barely breathe. I sank to the floor.

Shocked, I stared at the floor. Kabaya's words echoed in my mind. "...There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game, if your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system, forever; and the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."

"I'm going to die here." I said softly to myself. Everything seemed to be tuned out of my mind. The people around me losing their minds, the calls for help. The sobs. I could barely feel my own limbs as I just knelt on the floor. Tears were streaming down my face. I didn't want this, I didn't want to risk my life. This was just supposed to be a game! It's just a game!

My voice shrieked into the dark room. A cold sweat coated my freezing body. The darkness was...icy. Freezing.

The bed, what little I could see in the dimness of the room, it all seemed foreign. Too comfortable. Too different. That's when my mind lurched into fear. I had no idea where I was. I couldn't tell what inn I was staying at. There was a faint light coming in as if from other taller buildings. Wasn't this the back of my shop? Panicked I began swiping furiously at the air. First my right hand then my left hand. I was desperate to figure out where I was. But nothing happened. No menus. No context. Disorientation ran rampant through my mind until I saw a little flash from a nightstand next to me. A little blue light was flashing. Thoughts and ideas began to churn as I reached out, panicked and fearful towards the blinking light. I touched the cold metal rectangle and suddenly a picture lit up, hurting my eyes with its bright light.

Finally reality came crashing down upon me.

I looked and saw myself and Kiri...no...Kazuto in the picture. We were smiling and looking a bit frail, but still smiling. I had put up bunny ears behind Kazuto's head just as we had taken the selfie, our first day out of the hospital. It was the background to my phone. An older model considering it was almost 2025. The light was blinking because Kazuto had sent me a message.

It read simply: "Hey sweet dreams, see you tomorrow!"

The date read: December 20, 2024.

Tears roll down my cheek as I pulled my knees to my chest. The room was coming back into focus, it was the real world, this was my real-life room. Not some inn or some room in some virtual world. But my room.

It had just been a dream. A dream from a terrible nightmare that went on for two dreadful years.

I laid my head back and thought of the time I spent trapped in that game. Death game really… trapped inside of the NerveGear headset that I thought was a miracle at the time. A device to give me a life-like simulation of another world. It proved to be virtual jail for my brain. Two long years trapped in that virtual hell.

But it wasn't all nightmare stuff. I mean, I did meet Kazuto, I met Asuna, Andrew, Keiko, and even Tsuboi…however weird he could be sometimes. I met my virtual family and they got me through thick and thin. I made amazing friends and we really did share some incredible memories. We shared moments of heartbreak, of panic, but we all made it through together. I looked back at the picture on my phone. Kazuto looked so happy. I unlocked it and sat there, looking through the recent photos. We had been to a park, we had visited Andrew's little bar, the Dicey Café, and we had taken a group photo with some of the other SAO survivors. The tears of fear were now tears of joy. We had made it out. My adoptive father from SAO was right, Ryou, he was right, I didn't die.

I sat there, looking at the phone and smiling even more at the pictures of Kazuto and me. I felt shy again around him. But he didn't seem to mind. When he had rolled into my room on a wheelchair I hadn't even hesitated. I had hugged him right there. I hadn't cared that he looked so hollow, he meant everything to me. And the kiss he had given me, meant the world to me. It had been a sloppy kiss on the cheek, but it still counted. We had just sat there for an hour, letting all the emotions wash away, knowing we had each other.

The memories were all flooding back. The moment I forged Asuna's sword, Meeting Kazuto, the beautiful views we shared and the moments when we comforted each other. It was all powerful and real. It may have been a game, but Kaz...no...Kirito, taught me to really live and...love. I brought up his message. I didn't think he would mind getting a message from me at three in the morning.

"I couldn't sleep, but I can't wait to see you soon again!"

Sent.

His warmth, his kindness, his protection. All of it, he's too good for me. He was loyal to the end. A little...well a lot aloof at times. But then again...we were trapped in a life and death game. I couldn't expect him to always think without worrying about life and death. But since he had gotten out he seemed different. He seemed happy. Calm. It seemed to me that parts of him were coming out now that had been trapped before, trapped because of the looming death threat over our heads. Humor, openness, tenderness, it was like a cloud lifted up from him. I couldn't be happier. Sword art had wore on him far more than he wanted to admit to anyone. There was only a bit of a month, towards the end where he seemed to relax. Perhaps it had been the feeling of acceptance, or maybe it had been feeling at ease with everything. Still on Floor 22...in our beautiful little cabin he had found the perfect respite, even if had been ultimately temporary.

A smile touched my lips at the memories. It had been a good little cabin. As my mind ran through each day, I felt my face heat up. All...the memories, the quiet relaxing, the gentle touches, everything we did with the time we spent there, came rushing back to me. Each moment was something to cherish.

A buzz shifted my focus. Pulling up the metal rectangle, my fingers rushed to open the message, wanting to lap up anything my Kirito was sending me.

"You couldn't sleep either? Nightmares again? I've been writing down my thoughts on SAO. It really helps."

He knew exactly what I was feeling, knew me better than I gave him credit for. But his mind was right.

I couldn't just go back to sleep now. Not with all these thoughts swirling around in my head. So, forcing myself to get out of bed, walking carefully without crutches the doctor urged I use, I got my laptop. It too was older than most models. I couldn't even begin to describe how frustrating it was to get all those system updates when I had first turned it on in two years. But, I decided right there I had to start writing these memories while they still felt fresh, at least the important ones, because perhaps writing my story, would finally let my mind rest easy. Maybe it would help me fall asleep, and stop these nightmares.

"Thanks for the tip, I'll keep writing till I fall asleep. Love you!"

I held my breath, waiting for his response.

A buzz.

"Anytime Lisss-beth. ;) Don't be too tired tomorrow! Love you too!"

I rolled my eyes. Oh he knew how to tick me off. But I just couldn't get mad at him anymore.

With that, I powered on my laptop and began to type. I started with that day when it all began in that square. When that nightmare turned from joke into reality…

A/N: If you've enjoyed it so far, expect it to pick up! Expect adventure, romance, tension and emotional heartache! This will only take place within the original SAO game and there will be no ALO within this story at least. I feel that whole arc was really to save Asuna and if she isn't the main love interest then I just find it difficult to rewrite it to fit this AU.

For those of you who do follow me and the stuff I write, you'll notice this is one of the very few first-person stories I write. I just feel this form works better for what I'm trying to accomplish. Enjoy!