The Tri-Blade Alliance
Chapter 2: Trapped
A/N: Another chapter out. I think I like the short chapters. Anyways, the story, hopefully, will get popular.
Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online.
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The player sprinted through the bazaar excitedly. It felt so good to be back here. He listened to the various conversations that the players were having with each other. He felt happy here. Honest to god happiness. However, he knows that he has to log out soon. Still, he can have as much fun as he wants to have now, because nothing's stopping him.
He rushed to a field where countless other players were hanging out and talking amongst themselves. He even saw a couple of players fighting some mobs. They were relatively new, so it took them a while.
As he sprinted past a corner, he felt the wind of someone else running past him. When that player looked back, the current player saw a male player with short, vibrant blue hair that was slicked back, and blue eyes the same shade as his hair, and they held an experienced, but kind light inside. The player was clad in all blue clothing, and he already got a cloak to wear, though he neglected to put on the hood. That person was an all too familiar face to the player.
(x)
Another player felt the same feeling of happiness as the aforementioned player. When he ran past the previous player, he looked back and was happy to see a familiar face. "Kirito?" he questioned, with a smile on his face.
"Arctic. Hey. Long time no see, right?" the player, now revealed to be Kirito, replied.
"I know," the other player, now known as Arctic, gave back as an answer. "Have you seen the others around?"
"Nope, sorry."
"Dammit," Arctic said under his breath. He was hoping to see the other two at least at the start of the game.
"Maybe they got caught up with their own things," Kirito said in an assuring tone.
"Yeah," Arctic replied. "They'll be safe anyway."
"Of course. We were beta testers, the four of us."
After the two finished their conversation, they started running again. However, just as they started running down an alley, they heard a voice call out to them. "Hey!" the voice shouted. "Wait up!" The two players stopped and turned around to see a male player with long red hair held up by a bandana, save for one thick bang, run up to them. When he caught up to them, he doubled over gasping for breath.
"Um," Arctic started. "Who the hell are you?"
"Don't be rude," Kirito nudged Arctic. Turning back to the player, Kirito asked, "Although who are you? I don't recall seeing you in the beta test."
"Yeah, sorry." The new player said sheepishly. "I overheard your conversation and the both of you said that you were ex-beta testers. I'm Klein," the player isn't introduced himself with a thumbs up, "and I was wondering if you guys could give me some pointers."
"Arctic," Arctic said introducing himself. "And my friend here is Kirito." Kirito waved to Klein. "And yeah, we're beta testers. We'll be happy to show you a couple things." When he finished talking, Arctic and Kirito opened up their friends lists and each sent a friend request to Klein, both of which he happily accepted. "Think of us as your friends, Klein. And I fight for my friends."
Klein smiled. "Awesome!" he said.
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"Okay, Klein," Arctic said. The three of them were now in a grassy field where tons of low-level monsters wandered. "Show us what you know!" Klein nodded and turned to a boar that was facing them. It squealed and charged Klein. Klein charged a sword skill, but he clumsily swung, which resulted in him getting knocked down and losing a bit of his health. Kirito went to face the boar.
"Okay, Klein," Kirito said. "Watch me!" He charged up a sword skill and waited for the boar to charge him. When it did, he dodged and swung downwards at the boar. The monster died in one hit, as shown by said monster shattering into crystals which floated away and disintegrated.
Klein was awestruck. "That was awesome!"
"Okay," Arctic said. "What he did was charge up a sword skill, and he waited for the right time to hit the boar, then he brought it home!" As Klein tried using a sword skill, he started giggling in delight. "Yeah, it gets kind of addictive."
"Thanks, man!" Klein said, moving to hug Kirito. Before he could do so, however, Kirito kicked him in the balls, which sent him on his ass.
While Klein clutched his package in pain, Kirito explained, "You're in a video game. It doesn't hurt."
"Oh yeah, you're right," Klein said, sitting up after that realization. "A kick to the balls doesn't really hurt as much."
"Hey, what's the time?" Arctic asked. In response, Klein pulled up the menu and showed him. The time read 5:25 PM. "Whoa, it's that time already? Sorry, guys. I have to log out. I need to pick up my imouto* from practice."
"Yeah," Kirito said. "Me too."
"I have a pizza and ginger ale coming to me by 5:30," Klein said. "I'll see you guys later." Klein pulled up the menu, but was confused at what he saw. "Um, guys, I don't mean to be a noob, but where's the logout option?"
Arctic looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?" he half-asked, half-deadpanned. "It's right-" he stopped when he didn't see the aforementioned option. "Hey, he's right. Where'd it go?"
Before anyone can reply, they felt themselves being teleported.
(x)
When his vision cleared, Arctic looked around and he saw all of the players, himself included, in the town square. Everyone was looking around confused.
After about 2 minutes, one of the players gasped in horror as she looked at the sky. "Look!" she shouted, pointing at the afternoon sky. As everyone copied her, they were horrified to see a single hexagonal image reading, "ERROR," multiplying into many more, until they completely filled the sky, creating a dome. From the gaps, a liquid that looked eerily similar to blood started to seep through.
The blood pooled in the air to form a massive figure whose body was covered by a cloak of the same color as the aforementioned liquid. His hood was preventing everyone from seeing what he looked like.
"Attention, players," the figure began, raising his arms to his sides, "I welcome you to my world."
"What's he mean by that?" Kirito whispered to Arctic and Klein, to which, in response, Arctic shrugged.
"My name is Akihiko Kayaba," the figure, revealed to be the game's creator, continued. "And as of this moment, I am in control of this world." Kirito gasped, recognizing the name as one of his heroes, along with others as they realized that they were being spoken to by the creator of the game. "I'm sure most of you have noticed the item missing from your main menu. The logout button." Kayaba opened up the menu to show what he was talking about. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is not a defect. This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."
"He's… kidding, right?" Klein nervously asked Kirito and Arctic, neither of whom gave a response.
Kayaba continued, "You cannot log yourselves out of SAO. And no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the NerveGear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter in the NerveGear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain and ending your life."
Various conversation erupted between the players; Arctic, Klein, Kirito, and a bunch of other players kept silent and continued listening to what Kayaba had to say. Two players attempted to leave, but an invisible force field pushed them back.
"Are you listening to this crap?" Klein looked towards Arctic and Kirito. Neither responded. He turned to the beta testers. "He's gotta be nuts, right. Right, Kirito?"
"He's right," Kirito responded, still looking forward. "The transmitter in the NerveGear works just like a microwave. If the safety's disabled, it could fry your brain."
"Couldn't we cut the power, or something?"
"That won't work." This time, Arctic replied. "The NerveGear has an internal battery."
Groaning in frustration, Klein said, "This is crazy. It's totally crazy!"
"Despite my warning," Kayaba continued, "the families and friends of several players attempted to remove their NerveGears. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has 213 less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad and the real world."
"213?!" Kirito repeated in shock.
"No way." Klein said in shock. "I don't believe it!" he said while shaking his head.
"As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths," Kayaba stated as a headline read, 'Death Count Rises in Online-Game Incident'. "At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a NerveGear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort to try and clear the game." Kirito, and possibly others, silently gasped and grit their teeth.
"It's important to remember the following: There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from the system. Forever. And the NerveGear will simultaneously destroy your brain."
Arctic and Kirito gasped in horror. They both envisioned themselves being taken out by monsters: Arctic from an ambush of players, and Kirito from a monster hitting him with enough power to deplete his HP in one shot. They both clenched their fists.
Kayaba continued. "There is only one way for a player to escape now: you must clear the game." He pulled up the map. "Right now, you are gathered in floor 1, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on Floor 100, and you will clear the game," he said as the highest level on Aincrad, on the map, glowed red for emphasis. Again, conversation erupted between the players, asking each other what he meant by "clearing the game."
"Why should we believe any of the crap you're saying?!" one of the players who was trying to leave shouted.
"We can't clear all 100 floors," Klein muttered. "That's freaking impossible. Even the beta testers never made it that high!"
"And last, but not least," Kayaba went on, "I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look." Arctic and Kirito opened up their inventory, and saw an item labeled "Mirror".
"Huh? A mirror?" Arctic asked himself. He selected, and a handheld mirror formed into his hand. He looked into it and saw his reflection. He then heard the cries of players all around him, including… "Klein? Kirito?! Guys, what's going on?!" Suddenly, he was engulfed in a bright light, and when all the lights cleared, all of the players looked...different. Their faces and bodies and, in many cases, their gender had suddenly changed. Some girls became boys, and vice versa; some people who were skinny suddenly gained weight; and everyone had different faces and appearances. He then realized that the player's true bodies and faces were being revealed, despite them already having avatars!
"Kirito, Arctic, are you guys ok?" a player who, Arctic thought, was Klein asked them.
"Yeah, we're fine…" When they saw Klein, he looked immensely different. Now, his hair was shorter and spiked up, and he had stubble now. In a way, he looked… older than his avatar was. "Who the hell are you?"
"I should be asking you the same thing!" Klein pointed a finger at Arctic, then moved it to Kirito. "Who are you, and what have you done with Arctic and Kirito?!"
"What do you mean?! I'm Arctic, and that's Kiri...to…" After getting a look at the new Kirito, Arctic saw that this Kirito was far younger than his avatar, and his hair was way shorter than his avatar's hair was.
"Arctic? Is that you?" Kirito asked Arctic. From his eyes, Kirito saw, in Arctic's place, a teenager slightly older than him, by about a year. His hair length and eye color stayed the same, but the facial structure and the light in his eyes were more innocent than experienced. His hair was messy and spiked in various directions, although the front part remained swept to the left. The spikes appeared to be natural-not too long or too short-and it suited him, making him look cool, but not intentionally.
"You look...different," Arctic replied.
"I can say the same about you."
"But...but how?" Klein questioned, just as confused as the other two.
"The scan…" Kirito said.
"Yeah," Arctic replied in realization. "There's a high-density signal device inside the NerveGear rig."
"It can see what our faces look like," Kirito continued. "But how does it know my height and body type?"
"When you first put the NerveGear on," Klein replied, "it had to do this calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over like this, remember?" he said as he demonstrated the required action.
"Oh, yeah," Kirito said. "You're right. That's where it got our physical data."
"But...this is..." Klein continued. "What's the point?" he said, exasperated. "Why would anyone do this to us?!"
Arctic pointed to Kayaba. "I think he's about to tell us," he stated.
Sure enough, he was. "Right now," Kayaba started again, "you're probably wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and NerveGear, do this?' Ultimately, my goal was a simple one. The reason I created Sword Art Online was to control the fate of a world of my design."
"Kayaba," Arctic and Kirito said quietly, but menacingly.
"As you can see," Kayaba continued, "I have achieved my goal." By this point, Kirito and Arctic both had a murderous glint in their eyes as they grit their teeth and clenched their hand into fists. "This marks the end of the tutorial and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players," he said to finish his speech. "I wish you the best of luck." When he said that, he started to glitch out as red mist seeped through his outfit and he disappeared as his clothes dropped.
When the mist disappeared through the dome, it glitched and the afternoon sky reappeared once again. All of the players were left standing, frozen in horror. Kirito kept his eyes down. He felt and saw blood dripping from the cut he accidentally gave himself earlier. When the blood streamed down his hand, he looked and saw it disappear. It's not a game, he thought. It's real. He formed a fist with his hand. Akihiko Kayaba created a virtual world. He designed the NerveGear rig. The man's a genius. I've been a fan of his for a long time, so I know: Everything he just said is the truth. If we die in the game, we die in real life!
The mirror dropped from Arctic's hands as he thought, He's not kidding. This is really happening! If that's true...he looked up. Then I'll just have to beat Sword Art Online!
One player cried out as she bumped into someone. That brought everybody back to their senses as they rushed out, proclaiming that they shouldn't be here, that they have people to meet.
Arctic saw the force field dissipate. He narrowed his eyes as he said, "Klein, follow us." He ran forward while Kirito pulled Klein with him.
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"Listen," Kirito said to Klein and Arctic. "I'm heading out right now for the next village. I want you to come."
"Huh?" Klein asked, confused.
"If what he said is true, then the only way we're gonna survive in here is by making ourselves as strong as possible," he continued as he pulled up the map. "In an MMORPG, the money you can earn, the XP. Once it starts up, there's only so much of that stuff to go around. Look, the fields around the Town of Beginnings are gonna be hunted clean soon. If we head to the next village right now, we'll have an easier time collecting cash and points. Don't worry, Arctic and I know all the paths and places we should avoid. Even if we're level one, we can get there easy." He closed the map.
"Well," Klein said uncertainly, "thanks, but...you know all those friends of mine I was telling you about? We stood in line for a whole night to buy this." He gasped in realization. "They're back at the plaza somewhere. I can't leave 'em." Kirito looked at Klein; he saw his health bar, and the green icon over his head. He looked at his own health bar. Beneath it read: Kirito; 250/250; LV: 1.
"I'll join with you, Kirito," Arctic spoke up. Kirito looked back up; he had almost forgotten he was there, as he was uncharacteristically silent. "You're my friend. And if we're lucky, then the others will have the same idea as us, and we can meet up." Kirito nodded and looked back down.
If it were just Klein, he thought. But two more... Or even one more…
"Sorry," Klein said with his eyes closed, snapping the two beta testers out of their stupor. "Can't ask a couple of guys I just met to risk their lives for a bunch of strangers, can I?" He opened his eyes to look at his two new friends. "So don't worry about me. Get your asses to the next village." To reassure the two, he gave a thumbs up, smiled and said, "I'll be fine. Last game I played, I ran a guild, so I'm more than prepared. And with all the stuff you both taught me, I'll get by, no sweat!"
Kirito and Arctic were silent for a moment. Finally, Kirito responded. "Okay," he said. "If that's what you want, we'll get we'll hopefully meet up with you again, sometime soon."
"Right," Arctic chimed in. "We'll be seeing ya Klein. And remember, don't die."
"Of course," Klein said. "And you fight for your friends, remember? If I need help, I'll call on you guys. No sweat."
"Right," Arctic said sheepishly. "I did say that, didn't I?" Holding his hand out for a handshake, Arctic said before leaving, "Goodbye for now, Klein."
After shaking Arctic's hand and watching the beta tester leave, Klein turned to Kirito, who nodded in return and turned to leave. Before he could leave, Klein called out, "Hey Kirito!" Kirito stopped and turned around. "You look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar."
Having turned around fully, Kirito smiled and said "Yeah, and I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better, too." Having said that, Kirito turned around and sped after Arctic. When he finally caught up to Arctic, they sped through the plains. They both silently vowed to escape this nightmare with their friends, or by themselves. Whatever it takes to win.
As they vowed to themselves, they both charged up their sword skills while running towards two mobs that stood in their paths. They cut through each mob with ease, Arctic with his left hand, and Kirito with his right. They swore that they would defy the cruel rules of this system, that they would not bow before this system. No matter the cost.
After one month of the start of Sword Art Online, over two thousand players were killed before the first floor boss could be found.
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