Crystal: well... I've done it.

Anna: (looks to the other OCs and characters) get the tub oh holy water.

Crystal: what?!

Monkey: (picks up Crystal and shoves her in a giant tub of holy water) there, there. it's okay. you will be purified soon.

Crystal: I only wanted to make an Sword Art Online Fanfic! I'm not committing murder!

Monkey: it's basically the same thing in the eyes of the haters, though.

Anna: besides, you used to hate SAO!

Crystal: but... but the hype is dying. :(

Monkey: not exactly. though, attack on titan has taken it's place, it still stands strong on the internet.

Crystal: TT^TT I can't even introduce my new OC...

Monkey: IT MATTERS NOT.

Anna: so then, shall we begin?

Monkey: we don't have a choice, so on with the story! oh, and crystal doesn't own SAO and any flames that pop up, i'll be using for smores!

Crystal: (manages to surface from the holy water) also, the phrase Protagonist Powers is owned by Death's Door Podcast! (sinks back into the water)

Nihil:... was that a disclaimer?

Monkey: yes.

Anna: and if you don't like the story, there's a nifty little button on the top left hand corner that'll send you back.

Chapter 1: Killer Dare

"Look, I keep telling you. Sword Art Online sucks." I said to the members of the anime club. It was our usual weekly lunch meeting and our president, Danny Jackson, had us watch SAO. Since SAO came out, there's been this huge civil war in the anime club…, which only has about fourteen members so that's not saying much. On one side, it's me and a few of my friends who dislike SAO for the lousy writing, characters, and of course the Mary Sue and Gary Stu that is Asuna and Kirito. Others, like Danny though, love it for the idea of the story, the animation, and I'm not sure what else. All in all, we're pretty split.

"You can't deny that SAO isn't a good anime, heck it's downright disappointing at times. The first part I'll admit was good but at the second half, it just does a swan dive into hell. I don't play MMO games but even I know the stuff Kirito Stu does isn't even possible. Not only that, he seems to be the most desired human being since Helen of Troy. But unlike Helen who had beauty, Kirito just wins them over because he's the protagonist." I pointed out and a few of the members nodded. "Also, Asuna isn't even a good female character. You see that she's independent in episode two yet suddenly she wants a man? I don't get it, but then she turns into Princess Peach of all things in the second part. I heard better things about the light novel and if I can find it in English, I'd read it."

"Isabelle, you're taking this way too seriously." Danny said waving his hand but I rolled my eyes.

"Oh yeah, you like it because of the near rape scene, you sick pervert." I said, glaring at him and he glared back.

"I'm not a pervert." Danny growled but suddenly smirked. "Okay, why don't we have a little bet? You think SOA isn't a good anime, why don't we see how long we last? First one to die in the game loses."

"No way, the game doesn't really exist." I added, my arms crossed.

"Actually it does, I actually found it online the other day." Danny grabbed a piece of paper and quickly wrote the website before handing it to me. "Same rules apply to us like in the anime."

"Does that mean you'll die in real life if you die in the game?" Megan, a little freshmen, asked meekly.

"No way! No one would've let it go online if it was true." My friend, Helen argued.

"She's right. I'll be fine." I said smiling, and looked to Danny with a confident look. "Okay, I'll play your little game. What are your rules?"

"First one to die loses." Danny said, as I scoffed.

"Don't you mean, K.O?" My other friend, Lewis, asked with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me you think this will be exactly like the anime."

"It's probably not that." I said, hands on my hips and sitting on the desk. "It's a deal then, Danny. I'll sign up tonight." I don't know why, but the way Danny smirked then kind of scared me. It was the same as usually when we'd get into these fights but his eyes… they just turned dark.

"Good, see you then on the battlefield." Danny said looking to the other members. "We're gonna end early, that way those people who have classes across campus won't be late." With that, the club ended and Lewis, Helen, and our group met.

"You can't seriously be thinking about this, Isabelle. You've never even played an MMO before." Helen said, as we walked down the stairs.

"Helen's right, you can just say sorry." Lewis said as I shook my head.

"No way, Danny's been messing with me since he became club president. I'll take his place next year but this dare will put him in his place." I said, and smiled. "Besides, I doubt I'll die right away. I'm pretty decent at gaming."

"But…"

"It's fine. Besides, the anime isn't real and if I do get sucked into the game, you guys heard the dare so you can tell the police and they'll hopefully point it to Danny." I said, but my two friends didn't look convinced. "Again, don't worry. I'll see you guys on Monday, safe and sound." With that, I didn't think much about the dare. I was reminded though when Megan came up to me and asked me what class I would be in SAO. I told her I wanted to be a swordsman but I had a special idea for what my sword would be… I hope they'll let me choose what kind of sword I get to use right off the bat.

When I got home, I was greeted by my little brother; Jason. He's thirteen but he had to stay home because he caught a cold. Still, he's a good kid and a boy filled with energy. When our mom died, he was still young; about eight years old. I'm fourteen now, I'll be fifteen in a weeks time; still that means it's been five years since mom died.

"Isabelle, you okay?" Jason asked, as I entered his room. He was reading one of the Artemis Fowl books while sitting in bed.

"Nothing, just thinking." I said, smiling, sitting on his bed. "I was dared to do something really silly today."

"Really? What was it?"

"To play Sword Art Online. Turns out it's actually a game." I said, turning on my laptop.

"You sure you should do this? It could be dangerous. Your computer might get hacked. You know how dad gets about online games." Jason warned, as my laptop slowly started to work.

"Yeah but this is just to see who survives the longest. I doubt it'll take long. And once it's over, I'll just stop playing." I said, typing in the website. "Besides, it's an MMO and I doubt he'll find me right away." I clicked the download button and I looked to my brother. "Anyway, shouldn't you rest up? You still gotta recover from your cold."

"I know, I just can't sleep." I sighed, noticing the medicine on his bedside table.

"You didn't take your medicine, didn't you?"

"The pills are too big!" Jason yelled, blushing but started coughing.

"I'm going to give you cough medicine, it's the drinking kind so you shouldn't complain." I said, my arms folded.

"Okay." Jason said, looking a little better at the prospect of feeling better. Within five minutes, he took his meds and looked better.

"Now you rest. I'm gonna head to my room."

"Okay, try not to be too loud, sis." Jason said, and I smiled before leaving for my room. Making my avatar and account for SAO wasn't too hard. I decided to use a bit of my name, Belle, as my user name. As for my look, I decided to make my hair shorter, but my eyes and hair color would be the same. I was about to log on when I noticed a pop up.

Would you like to beta test a new System for SAO?

Yes or No

I stared at the question. I wasn't sure what the beta test was about but I decided to click yes. I noticed something on my screen and before I knew it, I was blinded by something. I screamed but it was too late, I fell forward into the light. The last thing I heard was my little brother coming in and then shouting my name.

I could hear the voices of people around me and when I opened my eyes, it looked like I was in some old fashion town. No one seemed to pay me any mind but when I looked at myself, I nearly screamed. My hair was now a boy cut, my clothes… they looked like the starting armor for girls for SAO, only mine was green. Worst of all, I was wearing a skirt. Not exactly good for combat. I stood up by I noticed something was weighing me down. I felt my waist and I felt I was wearing a belt and attached to it was a bulky sword. I quickly hid in an alleyway and took it out; I gasped in awe. It was a beautiful Greek bronze sword, like the one's I'd see in my history books. Oddly enough, that was the sword I wanted.

'Maybe this is a special feature of the game. I have to be in the game and wearing some weird contraption to cause me to think I'm in the game. Though, when did I put on a headset?' I thought, as I moved my hand to see the main menu. Knowing there was always a log off button for anything on the Internet, I tried to find it but… it wasn't there. I kept looking and looking but found nothing at all. I was starting to panic when I heard the sound of the church bells, a funeral or a mass? Suddenly, I was engulfed in blue flames and I just appeared in this huge plaza surrounded by people. It seemed like everyone was here, then I realized; this happened in the anime as well. So then… my internal question was answered when I saw the Warning and System Announcement red signs filling the plaza like a dome. Oozing out from the cracks were these red things and it then turned into a huge cloaked figure.

"Attention, players." The figure said, in a clear voice heard by all. "Welcome to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world." A few people talked to each other but I stayed quiet, I already knew this from the anime… and I'm not liking this. Only one thing went through my mind; this had better be a dream. "I'm sure you've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain and this ending your life." A lot of talk began at that. Some were worried, some were near panic; I was just confused. How come I can't get out of this sticking game? Unlike everyone here, I didn't even have a NerveGear. I stopped questioning myself and remembered NerveGears and any special virtual headsets weren't even made for games. Heck, those weren't even invented yet.

"As for certain Beta Testers for a new feature, you aren't able to log out because you are now official in the game." I gaped up at the man before me. No way, this can't be right? I can't really be in this. It's just nuts. I pinched myself but I felt pain; that's not suppose to happen! It didn't help that people were now demanding who these new Beta Testers were. If anyone found out about me, I could be in real trouble. "Unfortunately, several players' friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove the NerveGear. As a result, two hundred and thirteen players are gone forever, from both Aincard and the real world."

"This is insane… Danny, I swear I'll kill you myself to getting me stuck here." I growled as I watched some screens appear around Akihiko. Headlines of deaths and even a shot of a girl crying in front of a house as her mom comforted her just flashed in front of us almost as if it was taunting us.

"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting all this, including the deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of the NerveGear being removed is now minimal. I hope you will relax and attempt to clear the game." He doesn't sound too emotional at the fact that people are dying because of his product. "But I want you to remember this clearly. There is no longer any method to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be forever lost. And simultaneously, the NerveGear will destroy your brain." To that, there was utter silence now. I don't blame them. My mind was racing with too many thoughts now because of this. Will I just digitize like everyone else, or will I actually be able to bleed in this world? No one seemed to be asking any questions and if I say anything, it'll blow my cover.

"There's only one means of escape." Akihiko added. "To complete the game." He pressed something to show a virtual map of Aincard. "You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincard, Floor 1. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on Floor 100 and you will clear the game." Come to think of it, did Akihiko even think it was possible? In the anime, no one got to the 100th floor. Instead, they just beat that boss on a different level. So, was all this really just a suicide mission because if it was, then it's working perfectly. "Finally, I've added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves." I opened my item box and noticed there was something in there. The title said, mirror and I knew what it was… I let everyone take theirs out but I felt someone looking at me. I looked up and I really hoped it wasn't the large man in the robe the size of a building watching me. Aw hell, I know he was watching me! In the end, I took my mirror out and at once, people around me were starting to get engulfed in blue flames. After a while so was I but my features hadn't changed much; I just got my long blonde hair back.

"Right now, you're probably wondering, 'why'? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do all this?" Understatement of the fucking millennium! "My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason, to create this world and intervene in it." So he wanted to be god I'm guessing… why do Danny and the others defend this anime again? "And now, it is complete. This ends the tutorial for official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players." With that, Akihiko Kayaba vanished and all hell broke loose. I quickly ran out before I could get crushed to death and ran to the end of the village.

I have to get out of this game, but I have to get stronger. I couldn't die here. I refuse to die here! If I died because of this stupid dare that wasn't meant to be serious, I'm going to come back from the dead and kill Danny for putting me through this… well, I won't kill him. I'll just throw the bastard into the game myself so he can experience what it's like to fight for your life. Heck, maybe he's in this world. If I see him here… I swear I'll give him a piece of my mind! As I ran to the next town, I attacked every monster that I could. After all, I won't go down helpless. In this world, I'll try to get stronger and some day; I'll be home. 'Dad, Jason, wait for me. You won't lose another family member this time.'

(Crystal swims out of the tub)

Crystal: I live!

Monkey: do you want me to shove you back in? ^-^

Crystal: um... no.

Monkey: good. (faces the readers) leave a review to tell us what you think and we hope you liked the chapter! and for those of you wondering who have not been long-time readers of Crystal, i am NOT one of her OC's. i am a writer on this site known as NinjaMonkeyGirl2013, soon to be 2014.

Crystal: who is also my editor for a few of my stories. and if i get any flames... we'll me making s'mores with them in the next chapter.

Monkey: hopefully they'll be good!

Crystal: ^^; anyway, join us next time in Chapter 2: I Meet the Main Cast. See you soon!