Sword Art Online: Reinitialization

Episode 0 - "If"

A young man sighed as he opened the door to a dark room. There were two other people standing before him, one checking his phone and the other tapping away at a massive console. A huge monitor screen illuminated the half of the room it was installed into, and showcased a variety of data and visuals. The man closed the door, and looked at the gentleman with the phone, who looked up at him. a pair of glasses shimmered from the massive LED display next to him.

"Thanks for coming out this late. We have something to show you." He said formally, pushing up the bridge of his square frames.

The young man rolled his eyes. "This again? I thought we were done with this. What could you possibly be scheming now?"

The gentleman smirked, leaning on the counter overlooking the massive screen behind him. "Actually, not quite. This is... something more. We discovered a way to create artificial parallel universes using fluctlight data."

The young man's eyes widened. "Did you say... parallel universes...?" He approached the gentleman slowly. "That's heavy... I can see why you'd call me then, Mr. Kikuoka." He put his hands in his pockets and a serious look washed over his face. "So spill. What do you need me for?"

Kikuoka nodded, and pulled a remote out of his pocket. He tapped a button, and some windows opened on the screen. "You see, we've been using copies of your fluctlight as well as a copy of Alice's to construct a what-if scenario. If Rath was never attacked while you were undergoing treatment, and you and Alice were left alone after your defeat of this 'Administrator'. It's been a pet project of ours for a bit now, but we came across a hiccup. That's where you come in... Kirigaya."

Kazuto Kirigaya rubbed the back of his neck. "If Asuna finds out about this she's going to be... less than amused. But I have a job to do don't I?"

Kikuoka got the other man's attention. He spun his chair around to reveal himself as Higa. He scratched his stubble. "So here's the issue, Kirito. Your fluctlight copy, or rather your 'other' self, managed to get himself killed. He was also helping us out, and now we don't have someone on the inside to collect data and fix issues. We were hoping you would step into his shoes for a bit."

Kazuto raised a brow. "That's it? That's all I gotta do? Sounds easy enough."

Higa looked at Kikuoka, and then laughed nervously. "Well ya see, about this Alice-" Kikuoka then stepped forward and interrupted. "You'll see when you get in there." Higa frowned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Kazuto shrugged. "Alright, let's get started then."

...

After getting all hooked up to the STL, Kazuto laid back onto the machine. Kikuoka joined him and the nurse, and leaned against the wall. "I'll be logging you in with the Kirito account you used in the original Underworld. Keep in mind that the people in there have a slightly different memory of you, so you'll have to go along with whatever they say or do."

Kazuto nodded. "Okay. I'll do my best... wait... where do I contact you if there's an issue?"

Kikuoka smiled strangely, to which Kazuto raised a brow. "You already know where from last time. Good luck in there."

As the STL booted up and extended over his head, he relaxed and closed his eyes. "An alternate version of the Underworld, huh? I wonder what will be different..."

Just as the thought intruded his mind, a bright flash followed by flowing lights of various hues shot past him. He was going back. A different Alice, a different Underworld. Would Eugeo be alive? Would the Dark Territory still attack? He was about to find out...