I was inspired by my friend, SaintInfernalNeos, to write this story. I highly recommend everyone to check out his work. It is truly exceptional and he is a fantastic writer. So sharing a story idea that I had with him, he managed to convinced me to try my hand at it. This will be my first story on fanfiction, so I am counting on everyone to help me improve my writing with any constructive criticism and helpful suggestions that they can provide.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of its characters nor any other franchise or media that is mentioned within the story. Kawahara Reki owns SAO and the other anime/manga/comics or any other media mentioned belong to their respective owners.

Prologue: The Arrival

August 29th, 2008. Valkor Prime, Valkor system. Hangar Bay 081, 02:14...

Valkor Prime, a terrestrial and habitable Earth-like planet, is home to a technologically advanced species of humanoid beings known as the Valkoria-jin. It was once a very beautiful world, full of life, an abundance of tall, oxygen-producing trees, and blooming flowers, clean air, pure water, and natural beauty. Unfortunately, due to pollution and the gradual destruction of nature and the environment, for the sake of progress and technological advancement, it has become a mere shadow of its former glory.

The Valkoria-jin had a special ability that made them unique and stand out from the rest of the various species in the known universe, they could instantly copy or replicate anything that they have ever seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. This ability works by manipulating and controlling reality itself, but only if the desired ability, object, sound, etc was witnessed by said Valoria-jin in one form or another, directly or indirectly. In order to take full advantage of said power, one would need imagination, creativity, and common sense. As the Valkoria-jin prove, it is entirely possible for a whole species to go countless generations without realizing the full extent and possibilities of said power.

Instead, they simply used their abilities to help them become one of the most advanced civilizations in the known universe, yet somehow did not possess anything similar to the Internet or any form of creative entertainment media. They focused on building weapons and factories that ended up causing more and more harm to the environment and surrounding ecosystems. On top of that, problems such as overpopulation, and lack of natural resources were surfacing, as well as global warming.

The people eventually realized that if they wanted to continue their way of life, a solution was needed and soon. The Valkoria-jin, in their infinite wisdom, decided to create the universes's greatest and most technologically advanced AI in order to solve all of their problems. To top it off, they basically handed over absolute control over practically every piece of technology(including their WMDs) on their planet to said AI, thinking it was a brilliant idea.

Mere hours after activation, the AI, also known as the Crimson Princess, became self-aware. Only one man realized that this was a bad idea and tried to stop the AI before it was too late. His attempt to destroy the Artificial Intelligence failed, and in response the Crimson Princess launches all of its weapons of mass destruction at key structural points all across the planet. The man's name was Reigan. Reigan managed to avoid the Crimson Princess's initial attempt at retribution and felt that he had no choice but to send his only son, Mugen, to the nearest habitable planet, after discussing it with his wife. The reason being that the only spaceship that was still operational, due to the Crimson Princess's sabotage, was too small to fit all of them.

"Good luck, Mugen. The future of our race rests in your hands, my son. Whatever happens, know that your mom and I love you and that we are both proud of you. Farewell." Reigan spoke to his only son just before the ship blasted off and was launched into space.

The almost infinite number of devastating explosions at vital areas of the planet caused a chain reaction that spread all throughout the very foundations of Valkor Prime, all the way to the fragile core, destabilizing it. The planet exploded shortly after the space pod took off. The explosion managed to cause just enough damage to the ship's navigational system to change the original destination that was programmed into the ship. As fate would have it, the ship was now heading for a distant planet far beyond the uncharted regions of space, otherwise known by its inhabitants as Earth. Little did they know that their lives would soon change forever.

October 2nd, 2010. Mount Fuji outskirts, Japan. 14:00...

The Kirigaya family were on their way back home from a family trip to Mount Fuji. Since Kirigaya Minetaka had a business conference to attend within the general vicinity, they decided to take advantage of the situation and make it a family outing. All of a sudden, a meteor shower hit, causing the Kirigaya's to stop the car as the very earth shook around them from the seemingly endless barrage of impacts. Thankfully, the meteor shower ended before too long and none of them were harmed. However as they were about to get back into their car, they heard what sounded like a baby crying nearby. The Kirigayas were curious but also confused and terrified. Midori's maternal instincts took over, overriding fear and caution, as she approached towards the sound, while holding a sleeping Suguha in her arms.

"Midori-chan! Don't! Wait! It could be dangerous!" Minetaka shouted in an effort to stop his wife from potentially endangering herself and their child.

"I can't, Minetaka-kun! Someone could be hurt and need our help, if nothing else there is a baby in need! You can't possibly expect me to just abandon it!"

"Then we should just alert the authorities. Let them handle this." Minetaka took out his cell phone and noticed that it was dead. The same thing happened to Midori's cell phone. As well as any other electronic device they had on them. It was as if some electromagnetic field disrupted and damaged all electrical equipment in the area. Thankfully their car wasn't affected due to Midori's father being paranoid and therefore modified their family car to resist electromagnetic interference.

"We are practically in the middle of nowhere, miles away from anyone. By the time, we can make contact with the authorities, it could be too late!" She rushed past her husband and headed for the source of the cries. What she discovered shocked her to the core, as well as Minetaka once he reached the clearing as well, chasing after his wife. What they both saw was a giant crater, and right in the center of it was what seemed like a very small spaceship, unlike anything they have ever seen before. It looked like an egg-shaped metal pod encased within a structure shaped like a pentagon. Just outside a ship was what seemed like a human infant, not more than a year older than Suguha. Said infant was bawling his or her lungs out. It was difficult to tell the infant's gender from a distance. The Kirigaya's quickly deduced that the baby in front of them was the source of the crying they heard before (and were still technically hearing). That wasn't the only thing they deduced when they looked at what appeared to be a spaceship next to said child. Suguha had woken up and started crying as well. Midori then adjusted her grip on Suguha so that she was carrying her with one arm, and with her free arm, she picked the other crying child up. Upon doing so, the strange child stopped crying and calmed down. On closer inspection, the infant was revealed to be a boy. The boy had looked at the still crying Suguha and smiled at her causing the girl to stop crying as well and smiled back.

"Kids don't just fall out of the sky, Midori-chan." Minetaka said bemusedly, while shaking his head in disbelief.

"Then where did he come from, Minetaka-kun?" Midori asked, although already suspecting the answer.

"I don't know, Midori-chan, but he must have parents, and they must be worried sick about him. We should hand him over to the authorities, somebody's bound to be looking for him." Minetaka replied, trying to regain control of the situation.

"If he does, they are definitely not from Japan." Midori deadpanned, while staring at the obvious spaceship.

"Sweetheart, we can't keep him. What are we going to tell people? That we just found him on the outskirts of Mount Fuji?" Minetaka tried to reason with his wife.

"We can't just abandon the poor child to an unknown fate. Who knows where he'll end up or if he will even be treated well. An orphanage is no place for a child to grow up in, and if they discover his origins, who knows what they will do to him. Besides, Suguha-chan seems to be quite fond of him." Midori referred to the fact the apparently alien child was making their daughter smile and giggle by making silly noises and facial expressions.

Minetaka could come up with a million reasons why they shouldn't do this, and how this was a terrible idea and could come back to bite them in the ass. However, in the end, he sighed in resignation. He could never say no to her. They ended up taking the alien child with them as they re-entered their vehicle. They felt the ground shake again ominously, as they started to continue their drive home. They were thinking about how they would explain the new child's presence to their friends, family, and neighbors.

"Every child needs a name, what are we going to call him, Midori-chan? Obviously we can't just keep calling him, 'boy', now can we?"

"Of course not, Minetaka-kun! What kind of horrible family would continuously refer to their adopted son or nephew as, 'Boy!' all the time."

"How about, 'Kazuto', after your father, Midori-chan?"

"You have certainly always admired Tou-san, as I recall, Minetaka-kun."

"Well who wouldn't? Your father is a great man, Midori-chan! So strong, wise, and honorable. Just like the legendary samurai of old. I wish my father was even half the man your father is. Back to the topic at hand, however..."

"Kazuto does feel like the perfect name for him. Kirigaya Kazuto. It has a nice ring to it. Good choice, Minetaka-kun."

"Somehow, I have the strangest feeling the ladies will be all over him when he grows up. My son, the ladies man." Little did he know that he was speaking the greatest understatement ever made. Minetaka could have swore he heard Kami-sama laughing his ass off in the distance.

Another earthquake rocked their car hard, causing it to lose control and swerve violently on the road. Fortunately for the Kirigaya family, they managed to regain control of the vehicle before anything terrible could occur. They did not travel for very long before they encountered an overturned black limousine in the middle of the road. Fearing the occupants may be injured or worse, they wanted to stop and help. Since they had children to worry about, Minetaka volunteered to go and check for survivors alone, while Midori stayed with the kids in the car.

Minetaka approached the overturned limo and saw that driver clearly did not make it, however there appeared to be two passengers that appeared to be trapped inside. Minetaka tried to open the door but it was stuck and wouldn't budge no matter how hard he tried to pull. Being forced to switch to Plan B, he smashed the window in with his foot, miraculously neither occupant was harmed by the glass shards exploding outward (or rather inward, in this case) from the kick. Whether by divine intervention or blind, dumb luck, the window could now be safely climbed through without suffering injury from the broken glass. He could now make out the passengers better. One of them was a middle-aged man who seemed as if he was quite well-off with the obviously expensive, albeit now dirty and damaged, clothing and accessories he was wearing. The other was a young girl not more than a year or two older then their own children. Minetaka inwardly reflected that he was now subconsciously referring to the alien child, newly christened as Kazuto, as one of his own. When did that start to happen?

Meanwhile, It turned out that Mount Fuji had been struck by a stray meteor in just the right spot and with just the right force to cause a catastrophic chain reaction and set off the active volcano, causing it to erupt for the first time in 300 years. As the lava began to quickly slide down the volcano, drawing closer with every passing minute, everyone began to panic in fear. While Minetaka was tempted to just run back to his family and get out of here, he could not just abandon these people to their fate. They needed him, and while Minetaka had his faults, as did every man, he was certainly no coward. He closed his fists in determination and steeled himself for what he had to do. It was a race against time, and against all odds - he had to prevail, for all of their sakes.

"Take Asuna-chan and go! Forget about me, just save my daughter, I beg of you! You know you can't save us both! There's no time!" The man pleaded out of fear and desperation. His daughter's safety came first in his mind. He lived a long and full life and resigned himself to his seemingly inevitable fate.

"I refuse to simply abandon someone in need, I will be back for you once I get your daughter to safety, I promise." He gave his word to the man, and Kirigaya Minetaka never goes back on his word. He quickly grabbed the little girl, Asuna, and raced back to his car where his family nervously awaited him. He quickly handed Asuna over to join the other children, and turned around to run back to help the trapped man in need.

"Minetaka-kun, No! You can't! Don't do this, please! Think about your family, we need you! Don't throw your life away like this! We have to get out of here now!" Midori desperately pleaded as she grabbed his arm to stop him from going through with what she saw as suicide.

"If I give up on this man, and just leave him to his death. I will never be able to forgive myself! Knowing full well that I might have been able to prevent it but chose the easy way out! How could you possibly be able to respect me then!" Minetaka spoke passionately, and with such determination that it shocked Midori enough to loosen her grip on Minetaka's arm. He seized his chance to pull his arm away, and hurried back to the trapped man's location, only pausing to look back at his family, and seeing their clearly scared and worried expressions. A part of him wondered if he will ever see them again before quickly shaking away such negative thoughts. He had a job to do.

To say that Yuuki Shouzou was surprised would be a major understatement, when he saw his rescuer actually come back for him just as he promised he would do. The CEO of RECT Inc. encountered and dealt with many people in his profession, and not once in all his long years has he ever met such a stubborn and selfless fool. He was simultaneously grateful and frustrated with this man. So all he could say when the man climbed into his overturned private limo was, "W-why?"

"I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I didn't do everything in my power to help. That's what's wrong with our country, evil wins when good people do nothing." Minetaka passionately stated to defend his actions.

"I am Yuuki Shouzou and that is certainly an interesting philosophy, mister..." Shouzou intentionally let his words hang to let the other man know that he was asking for his name.

"Kirigaya. Kirigaya Minetaka, Yuuki-dono."

"No need to be so formal, Kirigaya-san. You may feel free to address me as Shouzou. How-"

"Then it would only be fair if you call me Minetaka, Shouzou-san." Minetaka unknowingly interrupted, not noticing that Shouzou was trying to tell him something.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Minetaka-san. Howev-"

"The pleasure is all mine, Shouzou-san." Minetaka unintentionally interrupted Shouzou for the second time as he automatically responded to the exchange of pleasantries.

"While I hate to cut the pleasantries short, now is really not the time for us to get to know each other better, seeing as how we are all about to die a very painful and horrible death within a matter of seconds if we don't get out of here..." Shouzou managed to deadpan while staring out at the approaching lava, which was getting a little too close for comfort and as a result causing the surrounding air to become rather uncomfortably warm.

Upon closer inspection, Minetaka realized, rather ironically, that the very seat belts that were meant to save lives were actually keeping Shouzou trapped and thus dooming him. Minetaka endeavored to untie Shouzou, and in spite of having to work under extreme pressure and a rather strict deadline so to speak, he managed to get Shouzou free with only seconds to spare.

"You have my gratitude, Minetaka-san. Your a real hero. Now let's get out of here! We have no time to lose!"

As if to illustrate his point another earthquake struck, and violently shook the two men inside the overturned limousine, causing them to lose their balance and sending them both sprawling all over the floor, which was now the roof of the limo. Meanwhile, the earthquake had also served to heighten the tension, fear, and dread inside the Kirigaya family car. Kazuto and Asuna, who were sitting next to each other in the backseat, unconsciously grabbed each other's hands, causing them to look at each other momentarily and smile. Suguha feeling left out, grabbed Kazuto's other hand, causing the boy to turn towards Suguha and offer her a smile as well, which she returned. He was, perhaps unknowingly, calming them down and making them feel as if everything will turn out just fine.

Back at the overturned limo, both men had finally gotten to their feet and were about to continue their escape. However, just as Minetaka turned and made to leave with Shouzou, he, ironically, noticed that his clothes got accidently snagged and entangled by the very same seat belts that previously held Shouzou prisoner. He tried to force it free by pulling, but it was stuck real good and his clothing was made of too strong a material to easily rip through with nothing but his bare hands. He tried to take off his entangled clothing as he was beginning to panic. Only to come to a horrifying realization. His clothes became so badly entangled that it would take too long to free himself, regardless of what method of clothing removal he tried, it just wasn't possible, not within a reasonable time frame. There just wasn't enough time and he knew it. He closed his eyes briefly and resigned himself to his fate.

"I guess this is the end of the line for me...Go! Save yourself! There's nothing you can do for me! Were out of time! I knew the risks involved, when I chose to come back. I accept my fate, that I will die with my head held high and without any shame because I know that I did the right thing. I die knowing that I didn't die in vain, that at least I managed to make a difference, and saved others from a similar fate. Tell my wife and children that I love them. Remember to never take your family for granted. Life is too precious, and too short." Minetaka made his final plea, knowing that his time had finally come. He accepted the consequences for his actions and did not regret them. The only thing he would regret is not being able to see his family again, to not be able to see his daughter grow into a confident, proud, and beautiful woman, to see his adopted son grow up handsome, strong, and protective of his mother and sister. Call it a feeling, but Minetaka had a strong hunch that his adopted son was destined for greatness. So he was ready to meet his maker, knowing that his wife and daughter were in good hands.

"As I said before, your a true hero if I ever met one, Minetaka-san. I will never forget what you did for me and my daughter. You have my sincerest gratitude. I will relay your last words to your family, they shall know that you were a hero and died honorably. I wish I had your strength, Minetaka-san, and could've done more to help you...but my dear Asuna-chan needs me. Gomen ne. Sayonara." Shouzou felt ashamed of himself, as he climbed out of his own limousine, thus abandoning Minetaka to his fate. He knew that Minetaka would have never abandoned him, no matter what. He would have, somehow, found a way to free his fellow man, or die trying. He reminded himself that he was doing this for Asuna, to help steel his resolve as well as help assuage his guilt.

The Kirigaya family were filled with a sense of dread when they saw that only Yuuki Shouzo climbed out of the limo, and their loving husband/father was nowhere to be seen. As Yuuki Shouzou entered their car with a grim look on his face, and Kirigaya Minetaka was still nowhere to be seen, and assumed to still be in the thrice-damned limousine, their worst fears were all but confirmed.

"W-who are you? W-where's Minetaka-kun? Where's my husband?Minetaka-kun!?" Midori was badly shaking and seemed on the verge of having a panic attack.

"I am Yuuki Shouzou, Asuna-chan's father. I deeply regret having to tell you this, but your husband didn't make it. He heroically sacrificed himself to ensure our survival."

"N-Noooooooo! It can't be! Minetaka-kun! W-we have to go back for him! We have to save him! We have to get him out of that limo!"

Suguha began crying and Kazuto embraced her, holding her in his arms, attempting to comfort her. Asuna followed suit by hugging the both of them, realizing that they had just lost their father. She knew she would be pretty devastated if anything happened to her father.

"There's nothing any of us can do! There's no time, Kirigaya-san! We have to get out of here now!"

"No! I can't just abandon my husband! If you will not help then...fine! I will do it myself!" Midori attempted to exit the vehicle and follow through with her words but Shouzou, anticipating her actions, grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving.

"Let go of me! Minetaka-kun needs me!" Midori tried to shake off Shouzou's grip but he held on tight, knowing exactly what would happen if he were to let her go.

"Kirigaya-san, stop! Get a hold of yourself! You can't go back out there! It's too late! Dying along with your husband is not going to do anyone any good, least of all your children. Think about them before you rush off! Who's going to take care of them if they lose both their parents!? They need you!"

Midori seemed to have come to her senses. She looked at her children and steeled her resolve. As much as it pained her, she had to be strong for her children. They did, in fact, need her. She had to live, for their sake. She started the car, and with a heavy heart, she floored the gas pedal. As the car raced out of the area, the lava had finally arrived and she noticed through the rear-view mirror that the lava had finally reached the limousine and appeared to swallow and engulf it completely. Tears fell from her eyes and she tried not to think about her husband's fate.

"Kids, whatever you do, don't turn around. Do you understand me?"

Midori saw the kids nod their heads in the rear-view mirror.

Now normally, when an adult tells a child not to do something, their more likely to do the action, then they would have otherwise. At least that's how it is with human children. However, in this case, such a scenario was prevented when Kazuto hugged both girls to him, one in each arm. He briefly smiled at each of them in turn, causing them to smile in return despite the circumstances. Though he was actually quite upset himself, he somehow, instinctively, knew that he had to be strong for the girls. So he didn't let his true emotions show in front of the girls, instead he put on a mask of strength and confidence that they could rely on.

"You have raised quite a remarkable young man, Kirigaya-san." Shouzou spoke shortly after noticing Kazuto's actions.

"Arigatou, Yuuki-san...Kazuto isn't my real son, exactly. However, I would like to adopt him. Though, I fear, there may be...difficulties with that. It's a long story."

"No problem, Kirigaya-san, I will have my people take care of it."

"Ehhh!? Why would you do that for me? You don't even know me."

"Your husband saved the lives of both my daughter and I. It's the least I can do."

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Yuuki-dono."

"Shouzou. Call me Shouzou. No need to be so formal, Kirigaya-san. Believe me, I know what your going through, I recently lost my wife and son as well."

"Please call me Midori, Shouzou-san. I am so sorry for your loss." Midori gave Shouzou a sad smile.

"It was an airplane accident, earlier this year. My wife and son were going on a trip to Paris. It exploded upon takeoff and killed everyone aboard. Asuna had a bad feeling that day and wouldn't stop crying, and I chose to stay with her. It could have just as easily been me on that plane. If I hadn't followed my instincts and listened to Asuna..." Midori squeezed Souzou's hand in sympathy and comfort.

"I guess some things are just written in the stars, beyond our control. We can't change what happened, unfortunately. However what we can do, is focus on the here and now, and take our future in our hands, Souzou-san."

Souzou looked up into Midori's eyes and smiled at her in gratitude and maybe something more...

Author's Notes: A note on how Kirito's powers work: he can instantly recreate anything he sees, hears, tastes, touches, or smells, including artifacts, voices, music, appearance, special abilities, magical powers, so on and so forth. However, most of what he mimics or replicates is meant to be temporary. If he creates an object, it will eventually vanish back into the void from whence it came, unless it can somehow maintain itself without his help or interference. If its a superpower, he will have it temporarily. There is no strict set time limit per say(as that would only limit me as a writer), so let's just say he can keep it up as long as he needs to until he completes whatever task he needed it for. However he can't keep it up forever, as it requires his constant concentration to keep it active. Trying to maintain multiple items or powers at once will be more challenging and require more focus, though still possible for Kirito, up to a certain point. Trying to bypass these 'limits' would cause too much stress on him and thus shorten his lifespan. Some powers may be more difficult to replicate then others, and some could straight-up kill him for even attempting it. Overuse or abuse of certain abilities could lead to a decrease in lifespan, if not death. Though there is no actual limit to the scale or level of the copied abilities, it will still be every bit as powerful, potent, and effective as the original version. I can't reveal anything too specific because - spoilers. Also, for any comic book fans out there, it's kind of like a variation of 'Power Replication'.

One last thing, this story will diverge from canon quite a bit, in case you haven't already figured that out by now. I hope you'll all enjoy reading this story as much as I will writing it. Fasten your seatbelts, ladies and gentleman, it's gonna be one hell of a ride!