Maou bit his lip, gripping the sword Lucifer had given him, the small bear cub growling at him. Maou let out his breath, and swiped at the bear. The sword sliced across its maw.

The creature growled, and reared up before tackling Maou.

"Um… you know you're armed, right?" Lucifer asked as the tiny bear knocked Maou to the ground.

"Of course I do! Now, do me a favor and get it off!" Maou hissed through clenched teeth, as he held the sword across his chest, using it to keep the bear of his neck.

Lucifer sighed, and stood over Maou. He rammed his blade into the back of the bear's head. It stiffened, and dissolved into pixilated light. Maou stood up and rubbed his hands on his pants.

"Would you mind explaining why you can take on demons, priests, heroes, and angels, but not a bear cub?" Lucifer asked.

Maou sighed, and sat down on the grass.

"I have a much easier time fighting things that are actually alive… I can sense someone's weaknesses through their movements and hesitations… but these things don't seem to have any. It's unsettling I guess-" Maou was cut off as the momma bear rammed into Lucifer, growling. Maou lashed out on instinct, and sliced his sword along its side. Its health went down almost halfway.

Lucifer cursed, and rammed his blade into its neck. The bear gagged, and dissolved. He stood, and brushed off his sleeve.

Maou relaxed and sighed.

"God, now I remember why I hate bears," Lucifer said, and sheathed his sword. "You were saying something?" He asked, and looked up at Maou.

"Never mind," Maou replied.

Lucifer shrugged, and studied the field in front of him. He blinked, remembering something. He clicked on his menu.

"What do you want to name our guild?" Lucifer asked, clicking the icon. Maou frowned.

"Guild?" He asked.

"Think of it as an assault team," Lucifer answered. Maou frowned. He sighed, and leaned back.

"Midnight Embers," The demon king said at last. Lucifer nodded, and typed in the name, then went to 'invite'. Maou hesitated, and clicked 'join'. Lucifer looked up at a hill.

"Well, if we're going to get anywhere with this, lets find some more stuff to kill," Lucifer suggested, and started climbing the hill. Maou sighed and followed him. Lucifer stood from his perch on the peak of the hill. Scanning over the area, he spread his dark wings.

"Lucifer! Don't use your magic now!" Maou shouted up at him.

"Calm down, we can get tons in this place," Lucifer told the demon king as he lifted himself off the ground. He turned away from Maou, and flew higher up into the sky, spotting the nearest forest. His eye caught on a pair of players slowly walking up the field. He hovered in mid air for a second to look over his shoulder at the demon king slowly making his way down the hill. Lucifer turned his back towards Maou and dove back to the ground. Then a sword flew by his face. He grit his teeth, and flew upwards. Looking back at the players, he narrowed his eyes, and dove towards them, pulling out his sword. One of them stood in front of the other and put his hands up. Lucifer landed, hesitant to attack.

"I'm sorry!" the one in the back screamed. He had reddish hair, and a bandana over his forehead. The other had navy blue eyes, and a decent looking sword.

"Are you okay? We're really sorry, my friend here mistook you for a monster," one apologized. Lucifer sighed.

"It's fine," He said at last.

"My name's Kirito, this is Klein. Sorry, again," Kirito said.

"So, I assume that you're a beta tester? I mean, with those sick wings and everything," Klein commented.

"Yeah, I am," Lucifer answered, sliding his swords back in. "My name's Lucifer," He introduced himself.

Klein pursed his lips into a confused smile at the name. He shrugged it off as his gamer tag.

Kirito narrowed his eyes, scanning his eyes over the wings. It was about as easy to get wings as it was growing a second head- the game wasn't programed to offer additional body parts. He frowned, puzzled.

"HEY! Lucifer! What happened?" Maou shouted, and ran to his friend.

"Nothing important, this is Kirito and Klein," Lucifer answered, nodding to the two players.

"What are your plans-" Kirito was cut off as a flash of bluish light appeared, a character forming in front of him. Maou frowned, and looked in front of him to see Emilia.

"EMI!?" He shouted, surprised.

She groaned, and sat down. "I really hate you sometimes," Emi mumbled, and slumped.

"Wait- what did I do?" Maou asked.

Emi looked up at Maou, depressed. She parted her lips, the words forming in her throat.

\\\

They all sat there in silence, after Emi explained the situation.

"Kayaba… what did he…" Kirito whispered, and grit his teeth.

"And you followed us here… why exactly?" Maou asked. Emi scoffed.

"Because I cant have a pair of demons from hell go into a game where they can murder thousands upon thousands of innocent people!" Emi shouted. Klein gagged as Kirito frowned, eyes drifting to Maou.

"Don't mind her, she just likes to insult us like that…" Maou trailed off in a nervous laugh.

"Yeah… I hate them a lot…" Emi said honestly. Kirito's expression softened.

"Anyway, any ideas on how to survive?" Maou added, desperate to change the subject.

"I mean… we could just… " Klein trailed off, clicking his menu. Sure enough, there was no log out button. He groaned, and collapsed back on the ground.

"Wait… I have a double shift tomorrow!" Maou said, remembering his job.

"Oh, come on! You're trapped in a death game and you're worried about your stupid job!?" Emi shouted, annoyed.

Kirito stared at the ground, frustrated. There had to be some trick to this. Kayaba wouldn't make it so simple- you're trapped, end of story. Because then it wouldn't be a game. he sighed, his gaze drifting to Lucifer and his wings.

"Hey, Lucifer, where'd you get those?" Kirito asked, and nodded towards the dark wings sprouting out of Lucifer's back. Lucifer swallowed.

"Uh… Treasure Chest," He lied, scratching the back of his head.

"Is that so," Kirito said, unimpressed. Lucifer ignored him, and looked up at the sky. It was getting dark, so more dangerous monsters would be coming out. He took a deep breath, letting the chilled air wash over him.

Maou went to his menu, and clicked 'Join Guild.' He displayed the menu to Emi. She scoffed.

"As if I would join forces with you!" She shouted, appalled. He raised an eyebrow. She sighed, and clicked join. The menu dissolved. Maou studied Kirito and Klein. He didn't want to get too close to those guys; he doubted that it was worth it. His thoughts shifted back to the game.

"Okay, we need a plan," Maou said, staring at the forest in the distance.

"Says who? We could just live in some village, and not do anything stupid- not to mention I have some friends in here too, we could all team up and start a pretty decent life," Klein suggested.

Maou smiled grimly. "You really think that would work?" He asked, meeting Klein's eyes. "The game master put us in here because he wants to play with us. If the battleground settles, the monsters will come to us. He wants us to lose, simple as that. If we're weak, we might as well be dead," Maou told him darkly. Klein blinked, a lump forming in his throat.

"Lucifer, Emilia and I all have a pretty decent amount of experience as far as fighting is concerned, so I'd say that our abilities combined… we should be able to take on a good amount of monsters. How are you guys?" He asked, and looked up at Klein.

"Yeah, sorry, but I'm a noob at this… so I doubt that I could take on much of anything right now," Klein said sheepishly.

Maou nodded, and turned to Kirito.

"I'm a beta tester, so I know this place okay," Kirito said casually, a small smile forming in the corners of his mouth.

Maou rested his head on his hands in thought. "So, I assume that there are pretty powerful creatures in the woods," He said, looking up at Lucifer.

"Yeah, especially at night," Lucifer confirmed.

Maou pulled out his sword, and turned it in the light. He could potentially turn it into his sacred sword, but there was no saying how much magic that in itself would use up.

"You guys know where we could get some better weapons?" Maou asked.

"Yeah, if we can get back to town we should be able to upgrade-"

Lucifer was cut off as a bell began to ring in the distance. They stared at the place it was coming from. The square.

"What is that-" Emi was cut off as the world dissolved in pixilated colors.

Maou's eyes widened, startled, as the world brought itself back together. He found himself back in the square, heart beat pounding in his chest. Lucifer formed next to him, followed by Emi, Klein and Kirito.

"Hey, what the heck just happened?" Emi demanded.

"A forced teleport," Kirito answered, not meeting her eyes.

A shiver ran up Maou's back, feeling the panic around him, as it began turning to magic in his system. He grit his teeth, and tried to keep himself from transforming. Emi latched her gaze on him, clenching her fists.

Maou swallowed, looking up at the sky, his eyes glowing red. Klein looked at him, concerned.

"You okay?" He asked.

Maou nodded, forcing the magic into his core. The red glow from his eyes faded. He met Klein's gaze, and smiled, reassuring him.

"Okay…" Klein trailed off.

Maou loosened his shoulders in relief. Then he was practically thrown over by a huge wave of new founded fear and panic. Damn it… He trailed off in his head as his horns began to sprout from his skull. He held his hands over his head, using some of his magic to hide them and force them back into his skull.

"Maou?" Klein asked again.

Kirito frowned. His attention fixed on the sky. A single red hexagon sat directly above them. The crease between Kirito's eyes tightened. In an instant, more began running down the sky.

Maou felt even more terror and confusion around him. Gritting his teeth, he contained the power under his skin.

Emi looked up in disgust, to see red ooze seeping through cracks in the pattern that had formed across the sky. The ooze collected together, and began to form a cloaked figure.

Lucifer studied the figure forming, recognition forming on his face. He and Maou exchanged a glance, and looked back to the man now looming over the crowd.

Emi narrowed her eyes, summoning some celestial force to her hand.

Kirito looked over the three, each in turn, his gaze then returning to the figure as it began to speak.

"Attention players," It began.

Emi scowled, clenching her fists.

"I welcome you, to my world,"

Kirito stared up at him, anger building in his heart.

"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, I am in control of this world," He continued.

Emi growled, and summoned her sword, her pink hair becoming silky white.

Kirito locked his gaze on her, eyes wide.

"What da flip-" Klein whispered, eyes fixed on her.

"Please tell me that's not who I think it is," Emi hissed at Maou, teeth clenched.

He swallowed. "Malacoda,"

"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus… the log out button," The game master said to the crowd.

Lucifer sneered, and launched himself into the air, leveling himself with Malacoda's face.

The crowd's focus shifted to the winged player.

Malacoda registered the demon in front of him. He continued, ignoring Lucifer, not wanting to appear weak, or ruin his introduction. The game master summoned his menu, and displayed it for the crowd.

Lucifer scowled.

"Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game-"

"HEY! MALICODA, I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Lucifer shouted. T

he game master continued to treat Lucifer like an annoying fruit fly.

Lucifer groaned.

"Lucifer! Get down from there!" Maou shouted.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and dove back to earth.

"Well, he recognized me at least for a second," Lucifer managed, landing on the cobblestone.

Maou scowled turning back to the figure.

"Despite my warnings, some of the families have attempted removing the nerve gear. An unfortunate mistake to say the least," Malacoda continued.

The fear of the crowd seemed to become thicker as the game master's words began to sink in.

Maou narrowed his eyes. If Malacoda ignored Lucifer, odds were he wouldn't acknowledge the presence of demon king, either. He honestly doubted that the general would endanger himself also, so Maou couldn't successfully attack him.

"There are now 213 less players then when the game began," Malacoda added.

"213," Kirito whispered.

Klein's gaze turned to the ground, as if in a moment of silence for the deceased.

Malacoda clicked something, and several articles and pictures appeared in front of him.

Murmurs, and whispers rippled across the crowd.

"As you can see, international media outlets have round the clock coverage of everything, including the deaths,"

"So…I guess Malacoda found a gate, and got into the game industry… how do you figure that happened?" Lucifer asked.

Kirito frowned. "What the heck are you talking about?"

Lucifer and Emi exchanged a glance. They each looked at Maou.

He shook his head, no.

"Stuff," Lucifer told him.

Kirito frowned. He didn't appreciate being left out of the loop.

"Yeah, do you know that guy?" Klein asked, and pointed back up at the game master.

"Um… I mean… uh… no?" Maou lied.

Klein groaned, frustrated. "Okay, what exactly is going on here?" He asked.

Maou pinched the bridge of his nose. "It's nothing you need to worry about," He told Klein.

"Okay, well Guess what, I'm worried," Klein hissed.

"Would you guys shut up?!" A girl with dark hair hissed. She turned back to Malacoda.

"There is only one way for a player to escape now. You must clear the game. Now you are gathered on floor one; the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon, and defeat the boss, you can advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on floor 100, and you will clear the game," He explained.

"We can't clear all hundred floors… that's freaking impossible…" Klein whispered, his attention drifting from the group.

"Speak for yourself," Lucifer said, eyes locked on the game master.

"Last but not least… I placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look," He said.

Lucifer frowned, and clicked his inventory. He blinked, and clicked on the small mirror. It formed in his hand. He held it up to his face, his slit eyes beginning to glow as panic rose around him. He saw Kirito dissolve into blue light.

Kirito's stomach dropped as the world became pixilated, dissolving. Heart pounding, he screwed his eyes shut as the world began to reform around him. He gripped the mirror, catching a glance of his reflection. His real reflection. Kirito let the mirror slip out of his hand, dropping on the ground and shattering into blue light. His eyes fixed on Lucifer, who seemed unaffected.

Lucifer had decided to go with the default of his real face because he was too lazy to play dress up with a new appearance. His eyes fixed on a player next to him, staring at him, panicked.

"Kirito?" He asked. Kirito swallowed. "Yeah," he answered, looking around him at the unfamiliar faces surrounding him. Someone tapped Lucifer's shoulder.

Lucifer turned to see… Klein? He seemed different, but the headband gave him away. Klein was about to say something when the game master began to speak again.

"Right now, you're probably wondering 'why'? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of nerve gear and sword art online do this?"

Lucifer sighed.

"Maou… you have any idea how this guy got through the gate?" Emi asked.

"Well, first off, I thought you killed him," Maou whispered back.

"I did! I blew up his entire military base, there's no way he survived that," She hissed.

"Was he actually on the military base?" Maou asked.

"OF COURSE HE WAS!" Emi shouted at him. The people around them looked at her. She cleared her throat.

"I mean, yes, me and my army chased him inside, and surrounded him. There's no way he escaped! Unless he… damn it, he must have opened up a gate before he got blown up, the coward!" The hero growled, and slapped herself on the forehead. Maou's ears pricked up at a very familiar sound.

"SIRE!" he heard from behind him.

"Don't tell me…" He turned around to see Ashiya, in his demon form, weaving his way through the crowd towards Maou.

"My lord, please forgive the delay, it was merely impossible to locate you- until I saw Lucifer fly into the sky, giving away your location," Ashiya told Maou, bending down on one knee.

"Ashiya… you didn't…" Maou trailed off.

"I couldn't simply abandon my liege! Sire, I am here to help, and nothing more," Ashiya told Maou.

Klein blinked. "Did he just call you 'sire'?"

"We take roleplaying very seriously." Lucifer sufficed.

Kirito's eyes fixed on Ashiya's face. He was wearing some dark paint... a bit of a strange choise... his gaze lowered to the long scorpion tail curling from his tailbone. Okay, wings were pushing it, but a scorpion tail? No. There was no way a player could get their hands on one of those, and attach it to their body. "Okay, tell me something. Who are you?" Kirito demanded.

Maou swallowed. "Um… Maou," he answered.

Kirito scoffed. "Not your name. Who are you?" He asked.

"Well, I'm 'A' level staff at the MgRonalds near Saturuki Train Station," Maou said proudly, dodging the question.

Kirito swallowed. "Okay... and?" He asked.

"Yeah! And what was with the glowing red eyes earlier?" Klein asked.

Maou looked up as Malacoda began to sink back into the sky. More panic rose in the streets. Maou growled.

Screw it, he thought, and let some of the magic into his system. His eyes began to glow again.

"Come on, it's over," Maou said in a voice that seemed deeper, and distorted. He walked down the street. The demons and the hero followed him.

"Klein, come on," Kirito whispered, and trailed Maou. he waited until they were out of earshot from the rest of the players, before crossing his arms and continuing his confrontation. "Okay, I want to know now. What is going on?" Kirito demanded.

Emi sighed."Trust me, its not worth it," She told him.

He sighed, and bit the inside of his cheek.

"We're players, just like you," Maou tried to convince him.

"Yeah… but… you're not are you? You recognized the game maker, and on a personal level. Who are you- for real?" Kirito asked again.

"After you," Maou said.

Kirito frowned.

"I get the vibe that you're not an average player either. So, Kirito, you tell us all of your secrets and who you are, and you get to know who we are," Maou bargained.

Kirito swallowed. He sighed, and smiled.

"Yeah, I guess you could say I'm not exactly an ordinary player… when I got the demo, I played constantly. I have more information than most beta testers combined- I know this whole place like the back of my hand," He said. "Okay, now your turn. Who are you?" Kirito asked.

Maou chuckled. "One more thing-" He clicked his Menu, and went to 'Join guild'. The blue and red buttons appeared.

Kirito hesitated. He hadn't wanted to join any guilds before because he figured in the end, he would probably just be pulling the other players' dead weight… but these guys seemed to have too much pride to let that happen for one thing- and they also seemed pretty powerful, not to mention determined.

He sighed, and clicked join. The devil smiled.

Kirito looked at Maou expectantly. The demon king sighed, and bit his lip, trying to decide how to explain this. It was easier with Chi because she had seen him doing some serious magic… He decided to start with the basics.

"The name 'Maou' is fake. I'm actually Satan… funny story actually-"

"Wait Satan as in the Devil!?" Klein demanded from his hiding space behind a corner.

"Heh, heh… uh… yeah, about that… well, actually-"

"Don't worry, he can't do anything to you. For one, he's one of the wimpiest demons that you'll ever meet, and second, I'm actually a hero. I followed him into this death game so that I could keep an eye on him. Like I said, you have nothing to worry about," Emi added with a smile.

Klein's eyelid twitched. He grit his teeth, and took a step away from them. "Okay, I'll be honest with you. I don't exactly have time for demons. Like I mentioned earlier, I have some friends, and they're back at the square. My top priority is them, so if you don't mind, I have to go," He said rather sternly.

Maou kept a solid gaze with him. Klein let go of his breath, and turned around, running back to the square.

Maou watched him go. One less player in this guild would make things easier. He sighed, and turned back to Kirito who looked like he was prepared to defend an attack.

"You know, for a demon king, he's not very demonic," Lucifer added. Ashiya turned to him.

"You see here, his liege is slowly taking over this world through the fast food industry! He is plenty demonic!" Ashiya defended Maou.

Kirito studied the group… if they were demons it would explain a lot. He felt a terrible sense of fear nagging inside him.

Kirito had not only joined a Guild. He had joined a guild with the devil.

(Oh, and please Comment, I love hearing what you guys think! follow/fav for more!)