Today's the day, Kirito thought as he got up. Asuna was already awake, and was most likely in the kitchen making breakfast. Kirito got out of bed, slowly walked over to the wall and opened the curtains. He returned to the bed to fix it. A sudden overpowering feeling of nostalgia washed over him, nulling his senses.

This is the last time I'll ever do this, he thought as he pulled the sheets up. Finally resetting the pillows, he brought up the menu. He quickly de-selected his sleeping clothes and changed into his shorts and black t-shirt. Closing the menu, he debated whether or not he should turn on the lights. He finally decided to just leave them off and walked out into the kitchen. Asuna was waiting for him in her casual clothes. The table was already prepared. There were strips of bacon, pastries, and breakfast meats already arranged and waiting to be eaten. As usual, the system caused them to look abnormally perfect.

Asuna, holding two plates of scrambled eggs and toast sat down across from Kirito.

"It's hard to believe that after all the time we've spent here, we're so close to getting back to the real world." she said, reaching for a cinnamon bun.

"I know. I wonder what's going on out there sometimes." Kirito agreed, "Were they trying to find a way to get us out all this time? Or did they just trust in us to escape?"

"I'm sure they tried," she answered, "but considering we're still here, they couldn't have succeeded."

Kirito nodded. He was about to take a bit of his toast when a thought occurred to him.

"Since this food isn't real, how are our bodies being kept alive in the real world?"

"I'm sure our families have been taking care of us"

"But what about those unfortunate people who live alone? Did they all just die?"

"Well Klein's still here, isn't he? So I guess they have us being cared for in hospitals or something."

"You're probably right."

The two adventurers remained silent for a while, trying to enjoy their last meal. Once they had finished, they each changed into their battle outfits. Asuna checked the time

"11:56"

"We should get going," she said to Kirito.

"Yeah," he said, finally equipping Elucidator and Dark Repulser, "Let's go."

"Teleport: Town of Beginnings!"

"12:00"

The town center, which was previously unoccupied, was now full. All the players who had not previously traveled there had been forcefully teleported, just like the first two times. That familiar robed avatar that was Kayaba Akihiko had appeared again, surrounded by his usual barrage of system notifications. This time, everyone was already expecting him, so there were no crying children or angry players.

"Welcome back," his voiced boomed across the plaza, "So have you chosen who will enter Ellius?" he asked rhetorically.

"Yes," Kirito said, "We will."

He and Asuna, who had prepared and already chosen a position in the front of the center, stepped forward in unison. Suddenly, they were raised into the sky next to Kayaba.

"Perfect," he said as they stopped ascending, "I had hoped it would be the two of you." Kayaba quickly looked through his menu, typed in a command, and raised his head to look at the crowd.

"Now, if you open your menus, you should notice a new option towards the bottom called "View." Clicking this will allow you to watch these two at any moment of their adventure." He said.

"Now, you two," he said, looking at Kirito an Asuna, "Are you ready to depart?" he asked.

They each looked down at the mass of players who had been gathered. Kirito scanned the crowd and saw Agil, Lisbeth, Silica, and Klein. Klein, realizing that his friend was looking right at them, waved. The others noticed, too. They each gave Kirito one last gesture, a smile from Agil, a thumbs-up from Silica, and an air-kiss from Lisbeth.

"Yes," Kirito answered, "I think we are."

With that, he and Asuna pressed the button and pixelated. They smiled one last time at their friends as they disappeared from that world.

~~ Sorry! I was going to write more, but I wanted to get another chapter up today, and my parents are taking us out for dinner. I hope you all liked it! ReadxReview! Also, check out the poll on my profile about Klein. Bye! ~~