Hello everyone! I'm back! And I have a new story! This one is written by my friend Natty. ^not her real name^ And I hope you all like it! ^none of the names used are our real names; this was based upon my friends, sister and I, so please bare in mind that these are not our real names only names we like^

I don't own SOA.

It was November 2022.

Natalie was tapping her foot impatiently but excitedly. She was in line with her mom to get one of the first hundred free copies of Sword Art Online. Nothing was so much cooler than the world's first virtual reality game. From what the beta testers said, Sword Art Online was like magic.

She wasn't sure what had caused her to be so interested. But what was going to be fun, for sure, was her friends joining her on playing today!

So far, it had been an hour, but they were getting close to the front of the line.

In about fifteen minutes, she was up there. The vendor behind the desk said a few words about the fees of being online, but all Natalie could think about was the NerveGear.

Soon, he pulled a large box from under the table. It was shiny white and had the words NerveGear - Sword Art Online etched onto the side.

"Thank you so much." Natalie said. She picked up the box and walked back to her car.

A few hours later, all of her friends were at her house. Payge, Taylor, Maddy, Aidan and her older sister Emily.

Payge, who had curly dirty blonde hair and red glasses, embraced Natalie warmly. "Hello friends I am here!"

The first thing Taylor did was snort. "Sword Art Online? Why not Black Butler Online?"

Everyone laughed except Natalie. "Do you want to play or not?"

"Fight me then!" Taylor replied.

"That was not a valid response." said Natalie. Everyone chuckled again.

Later, they were sitting on the floor and eating pizza.

"So, how does this virtual thing work?" Emily asked.

"Well, the NerveGear somehow takes all of your senses in the real world and transfers them to the software. Somehow. I don't know, really."

"How are all of us going to play with one NerveGear?" asked Taylor.

"I got special extension cords," said Natalie.

"I'm sorry, but this seriously sounds like I'm about to have surgery." laughed Payge.

Emily frowned. "So, are we playing a game? Online?"

"Well, yes. With other people who have NerveGear."

Aidan's eyes lit up. "So do we get to customize our character's looks?"

"Yes!"

"Oh my god that sounds awesome… if only it were Homestuck." said Maddy.

Emily leaned over and patted her on the head. "Hello darkness my old friend…"

"Okay, so is everybody almost finished so we can start?" asked Natalie, practically bouncing off the walls.

"Look, I'm excited too, but a girl's gotta eat. K?" Emily said.

"Actually, I'm done." announced Payge.

"Me too." said Aidan.

"Eyyyy" said Maddy.

"Sorry, Emily! Five against one!" snickered Taylor.

Emily groaned. "Alright, fine, but only because all of you are my precious Star Children…"

"YES!" Natalie squealed.

She plugged in the NerveGear, and it started up right away. She also plugged in the extensions, which hooked onto special bracelets on Taylor, Payge, Maddy, Emily, and Aidan's wrists.

"I'm kinda nervous about this…" Aidan whispered.

"It'll be fun." Emily said, comforting her sister.

Natalie placed the NerveGear on her head gingerly. It was very comfortable.

Suddenly, a voice echoed from the NerveGear. A cool female robotic voice said: "Player, please touch your hands, shoulders, face, chest, knees, and feet." It the repeated the message two more times, then fell silent. They all did what they were told.

"So, the guide says that before we dive we need to get into a comfortable position. Preferably laying down."

"Natalie, in case if you haven't noticed, there's only ONE bed." Taylor said sarcastically.

"My bed is big. We can try." Natalie suggested, flushing.

Surprisingly, everyone did fit. Natalie was in the middle, Maddy and Payge by her side, Taylor on the outside, and Aidan with her sister.

"Ready?"

"Yup."

"Let's DO THIS."

"Ok…"

There was a few moments of silence, and then Natalie shouted loud and clear: "Link start!"

Suddenly, everyone felt themselves closing their eyes. Everything was gone.

And then, they were standing up.

Ohh! Cliffhanger!

I am such a bitch. There is more but... I want to keep you readers hanging on. I will be updating once a week. I promise this time. Every week. On Saturday. Without fail. Unless I am sick. Until next week bye!