It's been a couple of weeks after Kirito's GGO mission to enter into the Bullet of Bullets Tournament in order to capture Death Gun. Along the way, he had bumped into his blue haired, blue eyed partner: Sinon (aka Shino Asada) who helped him learn the basics of GGO.

Though a shaky relationship at first due to a misunderstanding, Sinon lends a hand in knowing that a killer had infiltrated the game. Trying to overcome their daunting past, both Kirito and Sinon fight to the bitter end. The curtains fell as their last act came to a close and Death Gun, along with his partner Kyouji Shinkawa had been apprehended. Signaling a closed case. For now that is…

Now, we see Kirito and the gang consisting of: Agil, Klein, Asuna, Silica, Sinon, Lisbeth, Suguha (Leafa) and Yui (camera on Asuna's right shoulder). They were in the Dicey Cafe, that Agil owned, to celebrate their latest achievement in helping Kirito obtain Excalibur.

Everything was going well with the gang. Kirito and Asuna enjoying each other's company along with Yui; Silica and Lisbeth talking animatedly with Sinon and Suguha [albeit sending jealous glances at Asuna] and Klein talking with Agil about whatever comes to mind. Although, if you'd listen closely, you'd be able to pick up words such as "lucky" "harem" "dating" "getting back in the game" and "not get shown up by Kirito" from Klein who has a rain cloud hanging around his head and a twitching eyebrow.

As comical as this scene appears, a tranquil and serene aura had befallen them. However, not everything last forever. The silence seized as soon as the sound of static reached their ears. They all reared their heads towards the 110-inch Ultra flat screen HDTV at the corner of the room that kept switching channels by itself until the screen turned white. No sooner than the static had occurred, it had stopped with a loud buzz that knocked everyone out cold.

"Wha...what happened?" asked Klein.

"I...don't know Klein" stated Kirito as he helped his sister Suguha to her feet.

"Well, whatever it was, it sure hurt" said Lisbeth.

"Ouch! It really did" said Silica with teary eyes.

"At least everyone's okay" replied Asuna calmy.

"True" said Sinon.

"That's odd. The TV was working perfectly fine before. What exactly caused this?" questioned Agil.

"It seems as if there had been an electrical discharge within the TV itself. How is that possible?" asked Yui. Everyone whipped their head towards her when they noticed that she was in her fairy form on Asuna's shoulder instead of the camera.

"T-tell me, I ain't seeing things right?" questioned Klein.

"Y-Yui i-is that y-you?" Asuna asked while trying to hold in her tears.

"Hello mama. Hello papa." Yui stated brightly.

"How is that possible, Yui...you're here? How?" asked Kirito as he goes to hug his in-game daughter along with Asuna.

Everyone was happy to see Asuna and Kirito have smiles plastered on their faces when they were hugging Yui. It was heartwarming to say the least. However, said happiness was shattered when two other bodies began to stir besides them.

"What the hell happened? Where the fuck am I?! And why the fuck is the beater here?!" questioned a startled orange spike head. As he looks around the bar, he sees Kirito and his group looking at the man at the other corner of the bar.

"Akihiko Kayaba! What are you doing here?" asked Kirito with a hint of hostility in his voice.

"I'm just as clueless as you are Kirito. After your battle in Alfheim Online against Nobuyuki I thought that my time had finally come to an end. It seems that death has yet to claim me. Although it does bring the question on why and how I am here of all places." calmly stated the creator of SAO.

"That is rather odd" nodded Kirito.

"Hey! Don't ignore me you lousy beater" ranted an inraged Kibaou. "I think this is your doing you…"

Kibaou's ranting had been drowned out when the ringing of static had reached their ears once again. The difference being that this time, a figure stepped into view. Wearing a white fox mask with the kanji for mirage, black shirt and black pants, the figure stood.

(Imagine the voice of Red X from Teen Titans)

"Greetings everyone. I know you are all asking yourself 'what's going on'. Fear not for your questions shall now be answered. As for my name, you can call me Nero." said the masked man.

"As you all may or may not know, there had been an issue that many of you have forgotten or failed to show much interest in trying to grasp." stated Nero. "For here lies the veil that will uncover the truth of the horrors waging within the tragedy we all know as SAO. Rejoice, for the world itself shall see events that will shed light onto the dark past many live to regret. All this shown through the eyes of an important survivor. The eyes of one Dark Hero. Isn't that great?! Dark Hero! Or should I say Black Swordsman...Kirito." Nero finished off with a dramatic pause.

"WHAT" everyone besides Kayaba screamed out. (He just raised a brow)

"Hey Kazuto do you know that guy?" questioned Suguha.

"I don't think so" says Kirito. "Have any of you seen him before?"

The rest of the group shook their heads no.

"Now, you would all be wondering on how Kayaba could be brought back here when he 'died' after Alfheim Online. A simple answer really. At the end of SAO, I found out that he executed a super high-powered scan of his brain to transfer his consciousness into the virtual world permanently. As such, I hacked into the game files while you were all busy taking care of Nobuyuki. Being the genius that I am, I was able to copy the same power scan that Kayaba used and converted it into a high frequency wave that caused you to blackout. I only used this on certain people that I wanted inside this...what shall I call this?...Ah! Pocket Dimension. Just my luck when I found out that you were all going to this bar. I simply hacked into the TV's smart platform while you were all talking merily inside the bar and unleashed said wavelength into a buzz sound capable of reaching your ears. As for you Kibaou, I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. There's a reason on why you're all here after all... you'll all find your answers in this TV screen. Farewell." Nero says as he disappears in a body flicker leaving only leafs dancing in the wind.

"Well...he just left us with more questions than answers" Klein stated with a sigh.

"This only begs the question: Who is he?" Asuna inquired.

"Whoever he is, he doesn't seem like an SAO survivor considering the fact that no one wanted anything more to do with this mess. Blabbing it to the whole world would seem counterproductive." Agil stated.

"Yeah" Lisbeth said with a nod.

"How odd. I wonder...did he work for me at some point?" As everyone turned to Kayaba with a questionable look, he continued his musing. "As Mr. Mills had stated, he isn't an SAO survivor. That much is certain. He, however, seems to know all about this incident, past and present. Not to mention that the data he collected was only restricted to those working for my VRMMO company in Kayaba Corp. Thus, I can conclude that he was either a worker for my company itself..."

"Or a hacker with a vendetta". finished Kirito when he pick up the pieces through Kayaba's musing.

"As smart to catch on as always Kirito." appraised Kayaba.

"So what! This won't help us leave this damn place! I bet this has something to do with you you damn beater!" Kibaou screamed out all in one breath.

"First of all, lower that voice. We aren't going to solve this with your ranting. Second of all, we are just as clueless as you are. So stop pointing fingers at Kazuto." the ever calm Sinon stated sharply.

"Yeah! You tell him Shino!" both Silica and Lisbeth shouted.

"She's right you know. I don't like how you start blaming my brother for this nonsense you dimwit." Suguha exclaimed.

"That's quite enough. We have to figure out what this guy wants, why we are all trapped here and how we could get out. If all he wants us to do is watch this video, so be it. We might be able to leave this place sooner. Please." stated Klein with a pleading look.

Everyone begrudgingly took their places. Shino and Asuna both sat besides Kirito with Shino at his left and Asuna at his right. Agil sat next to Klein and Lisbeth while Silica and Suguha sat besides Asuna. Kibaou sat at the farthest stool on the left hand corner while Kayaba sat at an empty table on the right side of the bar.

Everyone then quieted down as the screen started to flicker. Awaiting for the show to begin.