It had been 2 years since 10,000 player have been trapped in SAO and over 3,500 have died already.

*Flashback*

I have been playing this new nerve gear, full dive game called Sword Art Online. In this game you are faced with 100 levels. At the end of each level you have to battle the boss. Throughout the game you can level up by defeating other creatures and completing challenges. My avatar is currently at level 32, but i am working to raise my level.

Today I was in the fields, hunting. My sword skill was getting pretty good so I brought a friend, I had met in the game, hunting with me

"Hey, so I was wondering if maybe we could meet up in the real world." Kit asked me.

"Ya. that would be cool! Where to you live? Maybe we could meet up somewhere." I suggested. we exchanged addresses.

"I don't live very far from you! I could drive to your house in 15 minutes!" Kit and I looked excited to meet each other in the real world. And since our real bodies and avatars don't looked the same, it would be interesting to see what each other really looked like.

"I'll log out right now and drive to your house." I said as i pulled up my players menu in front of me. I swiped my finger around until i got to where the logout button should be, but it wasn't there.

"That's strange. My logout button isn't there." Kit looked towards me. Her's isn't there either. Strange.

"It must be a bug. I bet they'll fix it in no time. In the meanwhile, lets keep training." I suggested. Kit nodded and got into a fighting stance. All of the sudden we were surrounded by a flash of light as if we were teleporting, but I wasn't using my teleportation crystal.

"Kit! Are you teleporting us?" I yelled as we both dropped down into the main plaza of the game, level one. I looked around immediately after the light faded. There were thousands of players here.

"What's going on?!"

"It's fine! It must be a bug!"

"We're all gonna die!!"

Everyone one trying to explain what was going on, but no one knew. I had to find Kit because we were teleported about ten feet away from each other. I found her and stuck by her side.

"What's happening? This hasn't happened before." Kit said as she pushed someone out of her face. Kit only looked a little worried for herself, but she mainly looked claustrophobic.

"Maybe they are holding us here until they fix the bug." I gave a guess. Just then a red color started to consume the plaza. The sky became pixelated with words that said 'Warning' and 'System announcement'. I figured this must be a system anouncment. I looked around me trying to figure out what was going to happen next. On the ceiling I a red liquid dripping through the cracks. It pored down in front of the plaza and form a giant cloaked figure standing above all the players. Some of the players were screaming and others calm. Almost everyone was trying to use their logout buttons, which weren't there, or trying to use their teleportation crystal.

"Welcome players." The figure spoke in a loud, deep voice.

"WHAT DO WANT FROM US?!" some players shouted. "Where are our logout buttons?!"

"This is all part of my experiment. You all are trapped in SAO from now on. I have taken away your ability to log out." The dark figure explained.

Players started to panic and yell, "This can't happen! If anything, our parent will realize we have been in here for a long time and log us out from the outside"

'This is true.' I thought, ' anyone in the real world could unplug our nerve gears.' But I thought too soon.

"I have programed the nerve gear helmets to fry the brain of anyone who is disconnected from this game. Even if the helmets power is turned off, you will die." The figure chuckled his words like a madman.

"That's cold." Kit mumbled behind me. "hundreds of players will die before people in the real world figure out that they can't get us out. Thankfully my parents are out for a couple weeks. Word will probably spread that they cant force players to logout."

"You're right." I agreed, "but why would anybody do this. They creators of this game created for a fun virtual experience, not a death bed. I don't get it."

By now everyone was either petrified or totally calm... or unconscious. The figure gave us plenty of time to yell and freak out in between his sentences.

The figure still continued, "The only way to make it out alive is to beat the 100 levels and make it passed the final boss. Oh, and did i mention, if your health bar goes empties, you die in real life too."

"Phew. I am glad there are healing crystals." Kit said to me in relief.

"No kidding." I said said with a short sigh.

"One more thing before I let you go... I have a gift for all of you in you items collection." The figure chuckled in his deep voice. Before I reach to pull up my item storage I saw Kit, out of the corner of my eye, starting to become shorter and her black hair lightened to become a dark gray color. The tip of her hair shone vibrant blue, like flames.

"Woah, what's happening to you?" Kit said to me as she stared.

"What do you mean. What's happening to yourself?" I gazed around as I saw everyone changing. Boy into girls. Old men in to kids. Kids into older men, and boys becoming less manly.

"Wait! You're not a girl?!?!" I heard some players say in disbelief.

"You're not seventeen!!!!!!" Another player shouted behind me. I started to understand what was happening. We were changing into our real body's appearance.

"Check your item storage for my gift, my young players." The figure said above us. I finally went to my storage and scrolled to the top where the new items would be. There, in my storage, was a mirror. I click on the item and it fell into my hands. I held it up, half expecting my avatar's face, but knowing it might be the face I see in my bathroom mirror each morning before school in the real world.... sure enough it was my real face. My avatar was very well built and had a shorter figure for strength, stability, and speed. I also had dark brown eyes and hair, but my real body was much taller. About 5.8". I had icy turquoise eyes and blond hair with icy turquoise tips. The 'x' shape scar on my forehead finished to appear from the transformation. My giant eyes looked scared in the mirror. What were my friend going to think of me? My real body was also slightly built and my long legs made it so my skirt was getting too short. I slowly started to pull my skirt down to cover myself and pulling it up to make sure it doesn't come off.

"Woah." Kit said beside me. I jumped a little. "Well there you have it, I'm not taller than you in real life." She walked up to me and was as tall as my nose. "Hey! We both have bluish colored tips." She added as held her hair against mine.

"Hey. You have gray hair?" I asked. Kit blushed in a embarrassed way, but she didn't look it.

"Ya. Isn't it cool. I was born like that. I'm glad it's a darker gray and not a whitish gray like old people."

"Ya, it looks awesome with the blue." I said reassuring her. Before I could remember that we where trapped in a death game the Dark figure spoke again.

"Good luck to all who don't die." And with that the redness of the sky went away and the figure vanished.

"Well, that's reassuring." I mumbled to the sky. I turned to Kit and said, "We are going to beat this game. No matter what it takes."

AUTHORS NOTE: SORRY FOR THE CONFUSION, IF THERE WAS ANY. THSI CHAPTER WASN'T SO MUCH A ONE SHOT. IT WAS MORE LIKE A INTRO. IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT SAO IS, THIS IS HOW THE PLAYERS GOT STUCK IN THE GAME. IF YOU ARE STILL CONFUZZLED, GO WATCH THE ANIME SHOW, SWORD ART ONLINE [SAO]. EVERYTHING WILL COME IN TIME.