I know that this will probably cause some people to pour boiling hot oil down my throat, and install lead bars into my fingertips, but this chapter is a!

...summary...

In the beginning...

Melbourne, Australia, a city rich in culture and variety. It was from this city that ten thousand players were taken hostage in a most queer and unthinkable way; by a video game. In particular, four school friends, by the real life names of Richard (Sirius), Matthew (Rhythm), Daniel (Cig Bock) and Rebecca (Becka) were trapped within the game. Playing around with the features, Sirius and Daniel began a duel to the death. Sirius won the duel. Daniel lost.

Neither fully understood the severity of that action.

On day one, the Game Master, a mysterious, crude man with an undeniably strong Australian accent informed the slightly less than ten thousand players what had befallen them. They were hostages within a video game, in which death was as real as the world they had once been a part of.

Daniel hadn't just lose the duel. He had died.

Sirius fled from his remaining two friends that night, for fear that Becka, Daniel's girlfriend, would do something she might regret in the future, such as attempting to murder Sirius. Rhythm stayed with Becka, and bared the heavy burden of being her constant consoler.

Meanwhile, Sirius fled into the world, not wanting to be dragged beneath the fear that permeated the player. He crossed blades with a player named Dark Blade, and his comrade, Jarvis, after the two had tried to steal a particular quest item from an incredibly young boy named Chris. A hot headed girl who's temper was rivalled only by her fiery hair interrupted the duel however. Despite her unnaturally thin frame which made her seem unwell, she was stronger than Dark Blade and Sirius combined, and berated the two for fighting with each other, especially with the threat of death looming above them. Harsh words were spoken between this girl and Sirius, and the two left at odds with one another. She though he was a violent maniac. Sirius thought she was a bitch.

After staying out too late one night, Sirius underestimated the power of the night. Regular creatures became rabid monsters, several levels higher, and near impossible to fight at his current level. He was forced to spend the night fleeing from Dire Wolves, and wound up in a rather isolated village named Aricana. It was here that Sirius made his first friend in this virtual world, Martin, the Spaniard. Taking the role of a sword and shield tank, Martin and Sirius fought side by side, saving the lives of several young and headstrong gamers, and completing a particular quest for Martin. They ventured to the cabin at the top of the hill, and received their rewards from an old, grizzled man and his young, adorable granddaughter who offered the guests sweet honey cakes.

Returning back to the Starting City, where everything had began, Sirius initiated his first quest, alongside Chris, the young boy with a crucial quest item, Jarvis, who Sirius distrusted, Dark Blade, who was teaching Sirius many things about the game, and Martin, who was determined to pay back the favour for helping with his own quest. The party entered an abandoned house, and after fight several floors of undead, struggled to defeat the final boss. They were victorious, but the victory came with a cost.

In a swift movement, Dark Blade betrayed everyone for the treasure. Jarvis, whom Sirius had constantly distrusted, sacrificed himself to protect Chris and Sirius. Martin escaped the dungeon with Chris through the use of teleportation crystals, but Sirius was left to duel with Dark Blade. The two fought viciously, and Dark Blade would have won, if it were not the sword which Jarvis had dropped before his death. Dark Blade had stumbled upon the blade of his former friend, and Sirius took advantage of the distraction, and ended another player's life for the second time.

There was no blood on his blade though. The world of SAO didn't program the blade. Instead, his player marker had turned a bright orange, a warning to all other players that he was a murderer.

It just so happened to be at the moment of ending Dark Blade's life that the hot headed girl from earlier burst in. She saw Dark Blade's final moments of his life, and assuming the worst, attacked Sirius, thinking him a blood-thirsty murderer. She was far more powerful than Sirius, and it was only the intervention of Rhythm, who had chased this girl after hearing her intentions.

After Rhythm destroyed the girl's blades, she fled in fear of her life. Sirius confessed everything that had happened, and Rhythm believed him completely. It was a sign of best friends. No matter what would happen, they would never turn their blades on each other.

Sirius learnt of the fiery haired girl's name. It was Red, aptly enough, yet the simple name sent shivers through Red's body when he thought of her.

Sirius was a wanted player now though. Red had released wanted posters displayed Sirius's face to the world. He was safe nowhere. Players upon the road even tried to attack him. Therefore, he fled into the wilderness, and to the only place that was currently safe: The cabin on the top of the hill.

The old, grizzled man barely noticed Sirius as he spent his meal times and sleep times in the cabin. He was only an AI after all, and was not programmed to actively interact with the real players. Sirius didn't mind though. He spent his time tracking and hunting powerful bears, relentlessly raising his skills and levels. On the eighth day however, I began to doubt my beliefs about life.

The AI's learnt.

Sirius has returned to the cabin one night, and discovered that the old man had built a rickety wooden bed for him to sleep on. The granddaughter had meekly slipped a freshly made sweet cake into his hands before dinner. Sirius began struggling to simply call the girl 'girl', so he gave her a name. Lily. On the thirteenth day of having an orange marker, Lily presented his with a wooden bracelet that she had constructed herself, under guidance from the old man. It had just two words, but they forever changed the way he viewed this world.

-Big Brother-

Before He could think on what this could truly mean, or form more bonds with the AI's, he was forced to steal his way into the city, avoided the keen eyes of the NPC guards, and the more intelligent minds of the players. After much rooftop running, he arrived at his goal; the meeting to discuss the first floor boss. The meeting was led by a charismatic man in his early thirties, with long flowing hair like a typical surfer and intelligent blue eyes. His name was Ricochet, and he filled the players of SAO with hope as he banged his solid metal hammer upon the central podium.

The peaceful night was ruined for him however when Red appeared once again, and with the aid of Ricochet, spotting Sirius in his hiding spot. After much rooftop running, Ricochet easily subdued Sirius, and when Red was out of earshot, blackmailed Sirius into joining the upcoming boss fight. In return for Sirius's cooperation, Ricochet provided Sirius with a potion that would remove the orange player marker in the next twenty-four hours.

Sirius made his way home with mixed feelings about joining the boss fight the next day, and he was so lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice that Red had trailed him to the cabin on top of the hill. She brought an angry mob with her, intent on taking his life; the 'murderer's life'. They set the wooden house ablaze, and although the visual mechanics were amazing, Sirius was distracted by the old man's antics. After claiming that he was once a warrior of the might Legion, he presented an all-powerful, two handed blade to Sirius.

The old man called Sirius grand son one last time, before bravely leaving the house and taking on over twenty players simultaneously. Sirius fought for the old man's last wish, to protect Lily. Sirius and Lily escaped, but the old man perished, along with the cabin on top of the hill.

After spending the night sleeping in a tree, and waking up without an orange marker, Sirius spent a curious morning trying to analyse Lily. The lines between real life and virtual life were fading away as he discovered an AI girl who was growing and learning with the real players. She wasn't just an AI, but an advance artificial intelligence. She was an AAI. Sirius had no idea what the implications were for that, but he knew that they would permanently change the way the world worked in the future.

With some persuasion from Lily, Sirius joined the boss fight. However, he arrived late, and the battle had already begun. He arrived just in time to see the carefully constructed parties fall apart as the boss's attacking patterns began altering from the Beta information. With the powerful Legion Blade Sirius was able to defeat the boss, utilising evasive sword skills, such as Ghost Rush and Horizontal Bolt. The observing players were in awe of a single player solo killing the boss.

However, Red, who had been a part of the boss hunting party, confronted Sirius once more. With the help of Ricochet, Martin, Rhythm and even Lily, Sirius was finally able to dispel all of the rumours that Red had fabricated about him. The tension between the two didn't fade however, and Red left the scene in tears, while Sirius left feeling a mixture of self-loathing for making a girl cry, and anger at her assuming so many things incorrectly and ruining his virtual life. He may no longer have had an orange marker, but there were thousands of wanted posters with his face upon them circling around the players.

In the months following that, the top tier players became known as "Serious" players, derived from Sirius's username. The name no longer implied that you were a murderer, but it was still a very negative term, used to describe selfish, greedy players that only cared about themselves and their own level.

Two months after clearing the first floor, Red confronted me again, but for the first time, not in anger. She had become shunned by the Serious, for falsely accusing Sirius for various crimes, and suddenly needed a companion, and had no one to turn to except for the man she had tried to kill three times. A deal was finally made, in which Red would draw and distribute a massive amount of fake wanted posters, with Sirius's name on them, but other peoples faces. This, along with removing the real Sirius wanted posters from the world, would hopefully result in players forgetting what Sirius ever looked like.

In return, Sirius was to help Red to track down an orange marker player. Sirius commented on the irony that this was exactly what she had done to him, but she was adamant that this time, the player was indeed a 'bad guy'. To prove herself, Red introduced Sirius to an acquaintance, a very attractive, well endowed female named Crystal. She had platinum hair, and deep violet eyes that suggest some sort of gene mutation in the real world.

Crystal told her story about how a murderer named Perilous killed her brother. After seeing Crystal, Sirius had no choice but to accept that Perilous was indeed a dangerous player. Crystal, on the other hand, seemed to be struggling to accept that he brother had truly died. Two cloaked players approached Sirius and Crystal, informing Crystal that her brother was alive, and that she should come along with them if she wanted to see him. Sirius and Crystal left with them, without their weapons. Just before they left the gates though, Sirius spotted Becka, who he had not seen since he had murdered her boyfriend. He pleaded to her to find Rhythm to help him and Crystal, but her mind appeared to be actively blocking her recognition of Sirius.

Sirius and Crystal therefore ventured into the dangerous wilds, following the two cloaked players. Sirius attempted a brave manoeuvre to save himself and Crystal when he learnt that they were being taken to Perilous, but he failed. He was left paralysed in the dangerous fields, while Crystal was taken ahead by the cloaked players. Paralysed, Sirius met Perilous for the first time, who openly admitted to having murdered Crystal's brother. Perilous left Sirius alone for the wild creatures, and Sirius would have died if Lily hadn't arrived carrying the Legion Blade. Lily then told Sirius that he had to return and help Red, because she was in a fight with a strange girl. Sirius however knew that he had to save Crystal, or Perilous would murder her.

He finally chose to save Red. It turned out to be a disaster however. Becka had gone mad, and was unable to distinguish between Sirius and Richard anymore, and had tried to murder Red in order to honour Richard's name. Red was far more powerful than Becka however, and was easily able to subdue her.

Becka had listened to Sirius earlier however, and had indeed found Rhythm and asked for help. Therefore, Rhythm burst into the scene, and seeing Red subduing Becka, fought her. Red feared Rhythm, him being the only player to have ever beaten her in a duel before, and her confidence caused her to lose the duel. She would have died, if Sirius hadn't entered the scene, and crossed blades with his best friend. In an epic fight, Sirius lost his left arm, but lowered Rhythm's health bar to the critical red.

Sirius then broke down, and collapsed to the ground, crying freely as he cursed the world of SAO that had caused him to fight, kill and hurt his friends. Rhythm left, feeling as guilty as Sirius, and dragged Becka away with him. Sirius and Becka returned to trying to help Crystal. They encountered the cloaked players and Perilous, but were severely outclassed. Sirius was missing his left arm and couldn't use his two handed sword, and Red's blade had all been destroyed by Rhythm in the earlier duel.

Perilous then revealed his murderous insanity to them by beheading his two own companions. His reasoning was vague at best. Perilous tasked Sirius, in return for saving his life, to advertise his name. Crystal, Red and Sirius were left incredibly confused and scared about the murderous player that had entwined himself into their lives.

Red and Crystal parted ways with Sirius, claiming they wanted to do more personal training and become stronger. Sirius felt that he had been able to see the true side of Red during his brief time with her though. He better understood her intentions from the beginning of the game. She had truly been trying to do the right thing, and stop him, the murderous, orange marked player.

It still didn't mean they were cozy together though.

The floors passed slowly but surely. Ricochet had begun a guild known as the Builders, and had become the sole party responsible for advancing through the floors. He continued to use underhanded methods to get Sirius to participate in several of the boss fights. A new, eccentric character known as Dr (HA()5, pronounced Dr Chaos, begun to make appearances in Sirius's life. He seemed solely concerned with Red however, and Sirius was quick to cast him aside as a stalker.

Lily continued to live with him, travelling up the floors along with him. She continued to grow and learn more and more. Every player that met her and different reactions. Some treated her as simple pixels, while others treated her as a real human being. A new friend joined the party soon; a Golden Grass Dragon, just a foot long, by the name of Goldor. He was an acquired pet, incredibly rare, and although largely useless in combat, had incredibly senses of sensing and detecting. Goldor lead me to discover my next weapon, a golden sword known as Grasswhistle.

After being pestered by many players, Sirius finally decided to inform the general population of the information about how to acquire a pet. However, after a harsh argument with Ricochet, Sirius felt compelled to only tell the regular players about such information, and leave the Serious out of the loop for a while. He received another warning from Ricochet, and eerily enough, an almost exact warning from Perilous. Sirius ignored the warning however, when he decided to help out a certain party.

Prince, Iris, Whisker, Jaxx, Thrash and Burger were the party member names. They were a happy party, all friends from the real world, and caused Sirius to wonder about how life would have turned out if he had never murdered Daniel at the beginning of the game. However, the party was happy, but unskilled, and it took several days of harsh lessons before they were ready to face bosses.

Sirius received another warning from Ricochet, but this one threatened not just himself, but the new party he had befriended. In a rage, Sirius stormed into the hall of the Builders, and unleashed verbal fury upon Ricochet. Ricochet wanted to hoard all of the experience and supplies so that the Builders could beat the game as fast as possible. Sirius believed that they were going to be in the world for far over a year, at least, and that to make over five thousand other people suffer in poverty and fear for that long was inhumane. They reached no compromise, and Sirius left, still furious.

His fury ebbed away slowly after spending more time with his new friends. Prince finally made an announcement that it was his idea for all his friends to buy SAO, and that therefore it was his fault they were stuck in this world. All his friends forgave him however, and for once, Sirius felt great hope for the future of this world.

The next day, several of Perilous's men murdered Whisker, Jaxx, Thrash and Burger, leaving both Prince and Iris severely mentally scarred. The interweaving threats between Ricochet and Perilous had become too much for Sirius, and when he was confronted by an old man named Arthur, who claimed to be starting a guild to rival the Builders, Sirius hastily joined, quickly followed by Prince and Iris.

Arthur's battle plan against the floor boss was absolutely terrible. If it hadn't been for Sirius and Martin's incredible teamwork, the whole boss raid party would have probably died. Moments after the boss was defeated, the Builders arrived. Sirius automatically attacked Ricochet, the deaths of Whisker, Jaxx, Thrash and Burger still fresh in his mind, but Rhythm was standing by Ricochet's side. Once again, the two best friends clashed blades. With the power of Grasswhistle Sirius was able to overcome Rhythm, but when Ricochet joined the fray, Sirius was overpowered. Only the timely arrival of Crystal and Red saved Sirius from death.

Battle lines had been drawn as new friends, old friends, new enemies and old enemies glared at one another. Sirius, Red and Crystal left together, while Rhythm stayed by Ricochet's side. Sirius left Arthur's side that day, despite Arthur trying to offer him a position as a Knight, but Sirius rejected him. Prince and Iris stayed however, still believing that it was Ricochet's fault that their friends died, and that Arthur was their best chance at exacting revenge one day.

That night, Sirius and Red shared a touching moment beneath the stars. Red explained that all she wanted to be was a hero. When she joined the world of SAO, for some reason she wouldn't explain, she felt like she was finally living. She wasted to be a hero, and therefore tried to chase down the 'bad guys'. She apologised to Sirius for dragging him into her fantasies, but admites she can't help but feel jealous that Sirius has become the hero that she has always wanted to be.

Sirius replied by saying that he is no hero, but if he were, then that Red was just as much of a hero as he was. They hugged in the moonlight, feeling that they understood each other a little more. Red finally respected Sirius, and Sirius had come to understand that under her harsh persona, Red was a frail woman at heart. As his hands had wrapped around her sickly, frail body, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with her in the real world.

The next day, Sirius had a vague meeting with Rhythm, and as best friends, they tried to recover the trust between them. They informed no one else of their conversation. That night, Sirius left Red and Crystal without saying a word. He took Lily with him, and for months afterwards he remained invisible to the world. Despite several attempts for Red to track him down, he always evaded her. Things erupted suddenly in Red's heart however when she saw Sirius letting Becka into his apartment.

After Sirius and Rhythm's suspicious meeting, Becka had commented that Rhythm had changed. She had finally followed him, and discovered that Rhythm had been meeting with murderous players from Perilous's guild. Sirius was interrupted in explaining however by a message stating that the 25th boss floor fight had turned into a disaster.

Sirius arrived, just in time to aid Rhythm in defeated the boss. The cost was high however, and only a handful of Builders remained. Ricochet's spirit was shattered, and he announced that the Builders were disbanded. Meanwhile, Becka arrived on the scene, only to see Sirius and Rhythm clashing blades once again. Harsh words were spoken between the two once-best friends, and Rhythm left with a threatening message.

Sirius continued to live with Becka after the fall of the Builders. However, he had begun to disappear during the night, and Becka was curious as to his deeds. She attempted to follow him, but instead discovered Rhythm, walking with two of Perilous's cloaked murderers. Sirius arrived in time to save Becka from the players, but he was outnumbered three to one. Becka could only watch in hopelessness as Sirius and Rhythm clashed blades yet again.

It was only when she stared into their eyes that the pieces began to fall together. Sirius and Rhythm had never been enemies. They had only been pretending to be hostile to one another. Together, the two best friends launched a surprise attack upon the two cloaked murderers, killing them immediatly. Sirius and Rhythm then explained to their old friends that they were trying to take down Perilous. Rhythm had infiltrated Perilous's rank of murderers. However, the only useful information they had discovered was that Perilous and Ricochet were indeed partners in some sort of crime.

Becka was tasked with seducing Ricochet and searching his house. As Ricochet, still broken after the fall of the Builders, let her into his home and served her dinner, Becka learned about Ricochet's real life. He was engaged to a girl, and had planned to marry her before their child was born. Now, because of the SAO game, that might not be possible. Ricochet feared that his wife might leave him, and that his reason for trying to speed through the game with the Builders was to get back to her as soon as possible.

Humbled by the truth, Becka was now left feeling guilty as she searched his house for more clues about the identity of Perilous. She was shocked to discover several vials of poison that Perilous specifically used, the black cloak that Perilous wore, and the scythe that Perilous wielded hidden with Ricochet's house. Becka returned to Rhythm and Sirius safely, but the group was confused by the discovery. Ricochet could not be Perilous, because Sirius had seen Ricochet meet with Perilous before. One person could not be in two places at the same time.

Sirius fell back to the only solid information they has about Perilous, which was that the first time he had been seen, he had murdered Crystal's brother. Sirius didn't want to contact Red, as he was nervous about what she might say to him after avoiding her for so long, so he discreetly contacted Crystal. Crystal agreed to answer any question Sirius asked, but only if she had a picnic with him. She tricked him however, and led an unsuspecting Red to the picnic location.

Red and Sirius finally made up. There emotions for each other were strong enough that they were both able to forgive each other rather easily. Crystal, satisfied that Red and Sirius were friends again answered Sirius's question. Sirius therefore leant the username of Crystal's brother; Phoenix.

Sirius examined the names on the Memorial Wall, desperately searching for the name Phoenix. Beside the name would be the cause of death, labelling the player who killed him, thereby identifying Perilous. He was shocked however to discover that Phoenix's name wasn't on the stone however.

Phoenix, Crystal's brother, was not dead.

Sirius, Red, Rhythm, Becka were gathered together at this point, and were trying to make sense of the new information when Crystal overheard them. Realising that her brother was no longer dead, and hearing that Rhythm was to meet up with Perilous as part of his infiltration routine, Crystal followed Rhythm to Perilous.

In an epic finalé, Perilous admitted that he was Phoenix. He had faked his own death, in front of his sister's eyes with the help of Ricochet, who had pretended to be 'Perilous' for a while. In a desperate attempt to get Crystal away safety, Rhythm and Sirius discreetly forced a teleportation crystal upon her. The process however altered Perilous to Rhythm's true alliance. Perilous and the rest of his followers left, leaving Red, Becka, Sirius and Rhythm with more questions about what was truly going on.

Finally, the party reconvened in Sirius's house, which was becoming awfully crowded with himself, Red, Rhythm, Becka, Crystal, Lily and Goldor living within. In a heartfelt moment, Red admitted that she had never made a friend before, whether in real life or within this virtual world. Sirius promised Red that they were already friends, despite their overly rough beginning.

In silence, Sirius has realised that he's hurt enough people by leaving them alone, leaving them in the dark, or by acting on his own. He promises the from now on, he will always be by Red's side.

To the present…

Two months later, Arthur and his Knights beat the floor boss guarding the 40th floor…

I know, I know, I cheated you guys out on a chapter with real substance. And not just that, but this is after a TWO MONTH gap. I'll just nail myself to the cross to get it over and done with.

On a more serious note, This story has gone on for quite a while. I was wondering what people though about ending this "story" And starting a Part II "story" with a fresh chapter 1. It would mean that newcomers would be able to read this summary (which I post as chapter 1) and then continue with the story from chapter 40 onwards. Is it a stupid idea? I can't tell.

ANyway, for now, I'm not dead, I haven't given up on this story. Trust me when I say I have the WHOLE thing planned out. It just takes a lot of effort to do that.

THANK THANK THANK YOUUUU! To my wonderful fans who review, even when they must feel absolute hopelessness, and get me to keep writing. You honestly don't know who much you actually influence and motivate me. I'm talking about EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU :D :D :D

Cheers for now. I'll be around.

Council