Cash stepped one foot on to the cobbled path that led into the heart of the Town of Beginnings before being forced back by some strange phenomenon, Cash wasn't forced back but just hit by a force. Cash heard the sound of lightning crashing against the ground, but his eyes must have been averted elsewhere because he didn't see it. Cash, in a slightly confused daze, looked back at the group which he just started to leave. They all had the vague convoluted look on their faces, which means Cash can only assume he's not the only one who felt the strange ...force. They started to glow a soft blue tint, which turned vibrant in seconds. They vanished from sight right before his eyes. In his brief moment of despair he himself vanished. Cash looked around frantically, he didn't 'vanish' he was teleported to the town of beginnings. Every player in SAO must have been here, there were hundreds Thousands of people all pact into this space. A cloud emerged and spoke to the entirety of Sword Art Online.

Cash gripped his chest and stomach, even his insane amount of adrenaline couldn't null this pain for long. His words were very clear. If I were to die here, I would never see anybody again. No re-spawns no NOTHING!...What about my Mom?...A-and my brother? We just have to beat it?...but what about his "Game"? w-what if we do fight .... people will be trying to kill us no matter what... I-it'll be anarchy...B-but...Why? Why even go through the trouble of making such a horrible game... Whats the benefit? Cash's mind raced and he couldn't think straight with all this grave information. The cloud disappeared and chaos broke loose. Cash just tuned out all the screaming and yelling, all the curse words and fighting. Cash snapped out of his trance by the sound of a very familiar voice. There was no mistaken it. Cash looked around, before yelling back, " Faeron?!"

Ryan smirked at all of the talking, it seemed they would all be good friends soon enough, fighting their way through the game with ease. He accepted the friend request from Raven before suddenly hearing someone shouting nonsense about the log out button being absent. "Of course it's not..." He looked in his menu, getting a confused look as he looked through each section, finding absolutely nothing. "Uh... Log out! Link end! Nothing...?" He glanced to Bacchus for a moment before closing the menu he had opened. "It's just a bug, there's bound to be one or two... As soon as they decide it's best, they'll just boot us all from the game and take the servers down for maintenance..." He smirked, looking around at the group, "Guess we're stuck here, might as well have some fun while we are... Let's go hunting until we're strong enough for the next area!"

Suddenly, Ryan felt the push of a punch, though didn't feel the pain yet, and saw lightning. What the hell!? Suddenly he wasn't where he had been before. He was watching a cloud tell them the about how they would all be trapped until the game was beaten. We'll... Die... If we die in game...? He stepped back, his eyes widening. The confidence that he could take every strike that went his way simply disappeared. What happens when I get hit by an attack too powerful to survive...? What happens when I'm the only one being attacked... The only one risking death!? Can I change roles now... Would I even know how to play a different role than the tank? Oh god... I'm going to die... Suddenly, he felt an impact and pain in his chest. His eyes widened in fear as he put his hand to his chest. Oh god... I'm going to feel my death, too!

Ryan looked around at all of the others around him... Why were they all afraid? Why were they all worried... Who was the one who stood at the front, taking the pain, taking the risk for them? None of them... That's the tank's job. He looked down at his armor, all of it too heavy to avoid hits in. This... this is real life now... How can I... I have to... I have to be the tank... No one else will stand in the front and block the hits for the others... No one else will take the risk... Will... Will I even take the risk? I could... Become a blacksmith... Protect people with armor...? He put his hand to his head, his eyes still wide with fear. No... No... Most people will think like that... If we all do that... None of us will ever escape... Ever... I have to fight... I have to... I have to be strong for once, in real life... "Oh god... this is going to be Hell..."

IC: "Very nice to meet you, Ms. Izzy. Don't worry, I don't bite."

Right then, Aaron was hit with the blast and teleported, wheezing as he forced his next sentence out, assuming that the pain was caused by a Nervegear shock in real life. "That did, though. I knew I should have spent more time on repairs-"

And he was interrupted again, this time by something far more dire- the admin himself. He equipped his weapons quickly and activated Detection once he returned to the town square and regained his breath, not taking the chance of anyone attacking him in their panic. "Fantastic. Just, fantastic." A quick look to the side to ensure Izzy was still there, a hasty Party Request sent to avoid losing track of her easily. Secretly, this was actually a little bit exhilarating.

Not... Not that it wasn't terrifying too.

His threats couldn't be real- Could they? The spooky thing was that they were entirely possible, with the right software tinkering, and that worried him. But right now, whether they were real or not didn't matter. What mattered was the uproar ripping through the plaza, players trying to stay on their feet, some getting trampled... The spear wielder dashed for the statue in the center of the square, jostling his way through the crowd, hoping Izzy would either keep up or find her way to safety. He pulled himself onto the statue, trying to make up for his lack of Acrobatics with caution.

The friction of the stone against his hands burned.

That should not happen, not in a normal VR game.

"ALL OF YOU, SHUT UP," Aaron yelled, slamming his spear into the side of the statue with his free hand once he was standing on the saddle of the horse, using his other hand to grip its head and steady himself, a resounding clang blasting through the area. "All this powder keg needs is one spark and someone will die, and even if he's lying, we can't risk that, not now!"

She definitely heard his voice. Faeron turned around again, trying to pinpoint where Cash was, but all she saw was a flurry of people. After she took one step towards a direction, someone did actually knock her over. The girl feel to the ground, scraping her knee. Faeron looked down at her leg in horror. Actual blood and that same stinging pain was back. This was the real deal. She sat there, paralyzed with shock and fear. She should have never bought this game. If she had just listened to her brothers...

There was no point in regretting now. Faeron bit her lower lip and got up on her feet, calling out Cash's name as she wandered around. A familiar face showed up and was soon covered up by dashing people. However, she was sure that it was him. She pushed back against people, not caring if she stepped on a few toes till her fingers found leather clothing. She looked at the person's face and a look of relief waved over her. "Hey," she weakly said, forcing a smile on her face as she stood close to him.

"Yo-"

A loud yell, banging, and a threat cut off Faeron. She looked at the statue, where a guy was at. "This is seriously not happening," she murmured.

Realizing that in the panic, they'd all been split up, Raven begins to push for the edge of the crowd, opening his menu and sending a message to everyone in the party.



Sending the message and closing his menu, Raven keeps pushing through the crowd, ignoring the guy who'd climbed to the top of the statue and was yelling. Well, he was mostly ignoring him. He was right about the panic, but most people weren't going to listen to him. Good luck pal, you'll need it. Finally nearing the edge of the crowded square, he pushed a little harder until he broke free and then set into a run, making a mental note to get Sprint the first chance he earned. "Gotta hurry, gotta hurry, gotta hurry."

Izzy nodded in response, still looking away. Haunt seemed nice enough, but she knew she wasn't the easiest or most fun person to talk to. He'd probably enjoy the game more if he found other people to -

Her thoughts were cut off by an invisible push to her gut. She doubled over in her seat, and stared at Haunt as he began to glow a light blue. She quickly looked at her hands to see that she was also glowing.

Before she could make sense of what was happening, she found her self in an unfamiliar square. She looked around frantically, feeling a panic attack begin to take hold of her. It seemed like every player in the game was packed into the square, all just as confused as she was.

A black cloud formed overhead, and with it a voice addressed the players. With every word the voice spoke, Izzy's panic attack grew. She frantically swiped at her menu, seeing that what the voice had said was true. There was no way to log out.

She realized with a start that she was having trouble breathing. The second unseen push, this time hitting her in the chest, made the problem worse.

This couldn't be happening. She couldn't be trapped in a life-or-death game. She couldn't be, she couldn't be, she couldn't be.

Her thoughts continued to spiral downwards, becoming incoherent even to herself. She stood doubled over, eyes wide and hands covering her mouth. She couldn't move, and people bumped into her from all sides.

Haunt had taken off, but Izzy didn't notice. The only things she noticed were the awful feelings that bounced around mercilessly inside her. She was going to die. Everyone around her was going to die.

A loud clang resounded throughout the square, audible over the thousands of voices. When she heard the noise, she felt it - the urge to run. To leave wherever she was.

So she did. Izzy turned on her heels and sprinted blindly. She didn't care that she had no idea where she was going. She didn't care that she was running into dozens of people. She just wanted to get as far away as possible. She gasped for air, but no matter how hard she tried, her breaths were quick and shallow. Blackness crept into the edges of her vision, and she felt herself begin to get dizzy.

But she kept running.

IC: Aaron sighed, for the first time realizing that he had been holding his breath. Even if the majority of the were shooting dirty looks at him, at least they and their anger had some focus-

But some weren't focused. The "Pending Group Invite" icon over Izzy's head ran away quickly, and Aaron bit his lower lip. D### it...

Another quickly tapped message to her.



As he tapped his mind ran in a thousand different directions, searching, searching...

"We need to work with each other," he yelled turning his eyes back to the crowd. "Even if you think you can take this on alone, that you don't need the others, you still need to remember that they need you, that you could be the hero that saves their lives, or the one who left them when they needed you. The fastest way to conquer this and get back to our lives is to form a concerted effort."

Aaron really hoped that drew the crowd together, he couldn't keep ripping off speeches from old game concepts of his forever. Still, it felt good to actually use something from United Forces.

That last sentence still felt weird, though.

OOC: Sorry about not waiting, SEFan, I had to sleep. Night all!

The sky was shinning bright, as juno looked from his bedroom window into the deep blue sky, and to the gleaming moon, such a wonderful sight, and to himself he wondered if the world of the new game Sword Art Online would be as beautiful as such, with sprawling sky, stars that shine like diamonds, and a wonderful landscape so beautiful that it were to bring a tear to is eye. he was filled with such great excitement that he took an entire week off work, and took a vacation from school just to play it, as his friends were already doing, but he had to finish a last minute assignment for his anatomy teacher, Mr. McKinley. he had finally finished it at exactly midnight, and closed all of his currently running programs on his computer, before connecting the NerveGear, and placing it upon his head, and laying down on his bed.
"..... Link Start."

---

as he said this, lines of bright light passed by him, and the opening screen appeared within his vision. he created a username and password, and the game began.
he awoke, laying in an alley, he blinked a few times.
"woah, is this the game?" he sat up, rubbing is head.
huh, i can feel my hair, but i have the nervegear on, must be the game..."
he walks up to the side of a building, placing his hand on it.
"i... can feel it... how is this even possible?....such an amazing advance in technology..."
he sees a stone, and picks it up, tossing it down the alley.
" i can hear every tap of the stone hitting the ground, this is even better than surround sound.."
he began to walk around , looking onto the street he reached, full of different types of shops.
"well, convenient, but i have no money, yet.. * he looks around, looking for someone else, when he was suddenly he was hit with an unseeable force, and was trasported to an area, wherein a speech was given about how if one were to die in the game, you would die in real life,and the rest of the details, then the speechperson dissapeared, and all went silent.
he attempted to yell throughout the crowd.
" HEY! ANYONE THAT WISHES TO LIVE THROUGH THIS DAMNED GAME, MEET AT THE WEST END OF THE TOWN!, IVE GOT A PLAN!"

Kaithas said
IC: Aaron sighed, for the first time realizing that he had been holding his breath. Even if the majority of the were shooting dirty looks at him, at least they and their anger had some focus-But some weren't focused. The "Pending Group Invite" icon over Izzy's head ran away quickly, and Aaron bit his lower lip. Another quickly tapped message to her.As he tapped his mind ran in a thousand different directions, searching, searching..."We need to work with each other," he yelled turning his eyes back to the crowd. "Even if you think you can take this on alone, that you don't need the others, you still need to remember that they need you, that you could be the hero that saves their lives, or the one who left them when they needed you. The fastest way to conquer this and get back to our lives is to form a concerted effort."Aaron really hoped that drew the crowd together, he couldn't keep ripping off speeches from old game concepts of his forever. Still, it felt good to actually use something from That last sentence still felt weird, though.OOC: Sorry about not waiting, SEFan, I had to sleep. Night all!

(couldnt wait half an hour kaithis?)

Ryan looked up as he heard a loud sound coming from the statue. Someone was attempting to keep everyone focused. He glanced around, the sound had gotten him to stop fighting with himself, he looked forward again to notice that he had a message from Raven. I guess I should head out... He glanced up at the one who had focused everyone on working together to fight. I should remember that face... He could be helpful later... He looked down to the message he had received, nodding to himself as he remembered where they had all been talking. He closed the menu showing the message, breathing slowly as he turned to walk towards where they had met. If I have to die to keep others safe... I have to... I can't let myself hide from my fear anymore... Not with peoples' lives on the line... He began to speed up, proceeding as quickly as he could to where he had been talking the others.

He rushed as quickly as he could, eventually ending up where they had all met up. He looked around, only seeing Raven from the previous group here. "We can't afford to wait anymore... I doubt we can just rush on, but we need to start farming for EXP..." He reached for his battleaxe while walking towards a boar. Come on... these guys are easy... One-hit kills... If you get scared now, you'll be scared of everything else... You'll be too scared to be the tank... And what am I if I'm not the tank? He unsheathed the axe, hesitating as the boar began to rush at him. Don't be afraid of something this weak... COME ON! He swung his axe just as the boar reached him. He took some small damage, but killed the boar, turning towards Raven. Fear covered his face as he spoke "If I stop moving... Yell... Something... But don't let anyone else try to take the hits for me... I'm the tank..."

Izzy ran with her head down, afraid to see anybody's face. She didn't want to know anything about anyone who would die soon. She felt that she would faint at any moment, and her lungs burnt. She didn't want to stop, but her body forced her to.

Turning into a random alley, she went as deep into it as she could before her dizziness got the best of her and she tripped over her own feet. She landed painfully on her forearms, but didn't have the strength to make any sort of noise. After slowly picking herself up, she crawled to the closest wall and sat with her back against it.

It was then that she finally noticed that she had a message and party invite from Haunt, and for one relieving moment, her panic subsided.

The moment passed when she realized that she had run away from the one person in the game that wasn't a complete stranger to her.

She clutched her face and broke down, finally hitting the peak of her attack. She did her best to stifle her sobs by burying her head between her knees.

It only took a few minutes for her to get over the height of her panic, but she was drained and exhausted. The attack wasn't over yet, either. It would last for another little while, but it would - thankfully - slowly dwindle during that time.

She stared at the party invite, completely at a loss as to whether she should accept or not. Of course, it would be a good idea to make friends in the game, especially now that everyone's lives were at risk. But that was also exactly why she didn't want to accept. The risk of death was substantial, and any friends she made would be in constant danger. She couldn't lose someone she cared for again.

It was an impossible choice, and thinking about it just caused her receding panic to flare up. So she stopped thinking and followed her instinct.

With a trembling hand, she reached out and accepted, choking back a sob.

Her sister wasn't in the game. She couldn't comfort and calm her. Izzy wanted to have people around her that she trusted and cared for. That desire won out over her fear of losing the friends she hadn't even made yet.

She hugged her knees tighter, deciding to stay in the alley until she had fully calmed down.

Raven grabbed Ryan's shoulders, steadying him, and looked him in the eye. Ryan could see fear in his eyes, but over lapping that was a strong feeling of conviction. "I know you're scared, that you don't want to die in this place. That you're worried you WILL die in this place." His grip on Ryan's shoulders tighten. "You're not alone. All those people back there in the square, the friends we've only just made, all feel the same thing and us running out on them like that won't help." Letting go of Ryan's shoulders, he draws his sword and faces a nearby boar, sliding into a piercing stance. Lunging forward, the blade glows blue as the sword goes straight through the boar, shattering it into pieces of data.

Standing straight, Raven rests the blade on his shoulder and faces Ryan again. "We can't let our fear rule us, otherwise we'll be useless in this world. To feel fear, to acknowledge it, it's what will help us retain our humanity. But if we let it control us, we'll end up being one of the first to die in this digital because we couldn't push it away." Facing another boar, he charges it with the blade held low and glowing yellow, this time leaping over the boar and landing behind it, slashing up at an angle to destroy that one as well. "Come on, let's get to this. We can start while the others catch up, then we'll need to move on to higher leveled areas." Showing Ryan his level, he smirks. "I'm almost too high for this field, so these guys are getting pretty close to useless to me."

Riegal said
Izzy ran with her head down, afraid to see anybody's face. She didn't want to know anything about anyone who would die soon. She felt that she would faint at any moment, and her lungs burnt. She didn't want to stop, but her body forced her to.Turning into a random alley, she went as deep into it as she could before her dizziness got the best of her and she tripped over her own feet. She landed painfully on her forearms, but didn't have the strength to make any sort of noise. After slowly picking herself up, she crawled to the closest wall and sat with her back against it. It was then that she finally noticed that she had a message and party invite from Haunt, and for one relieving moment, her panic subsided.The moment passed when she realized that she had run away from the one person in the game that wasn't a complete stranger to her. She clutched her face and broke down, finally hitting the peak of her attack. She did her best to stifle her sobs by burying her head between her knees.It only took a few minutes for her to get over the height of her panic, but she was drained and exhausted. The attack wasn't over yet, either. It would last for another little while, but it would - thankfully - slowly dwindle during that time.She stared at the party invite, completely at a loss as to whether she should accept or not. Of course, it would be a good idea to make friends in the game, especially now that everyone's lives were at risk. But that was also exactly why she didn't want to accept. The risk of death was substantial, and any friends she made would be in constant danger. She couldn't lose someone she cared for again. It was an impossible choice, and thinking about it just caused her receding panic to flare up. So she stopped thinking and followed her instinct.With a trembling hand, she reached out and accepted, choking back a sob. Her sister wasn't in the game. She couldn't comfort and calm her. Izzy wanted to have people around her that she trusted and cared for. That desire won out over her fear of losing the friends she hadn't even made yet.She hugged her knees tighter, deciding to stay in the alley until she had fully calmed down.

junohiriya heard crying in an alley , and went to the sound, finding a girl grying and holding her knees. amongst the chaos, he figured there would be those that wouldnt know what to do, and would break down, in events such as this, if everything the speaker said were true, that in order to make it through you need to be able to survive, and although he knew it wouldnt be a good choice with him only being a level one, but something told him to help the girl.
"hey there, it'll be alright, we just need to get through this game, together. i have faith in you, in everyone, but roght now i just need you to trust me, we need o go to the west end of town, quickly, im a tried and true game veteran, this shouldnt be too hard for someone of my skill, and with all of our combined efforts, we can do this. alright?"
*he kneels down, and extends his hand outwards towards her*

Cash had some trouble getting his thoughts straight, he couldn't stop thinking about what the dark cloud said, but her also couldn't loose focus of his main objective right now. Cash knew Faeron had called his name, because even through all this commotion he could hear her unmistakeable voice. He called out to her again. Cash had just received a message from raven, suggesting all the party members meet up in the field. "Quick thinking, Raven." Cash whispered to himself as he read the message.

"Hey" Cash heard from somewhere behind him. Cash turned around to see her standing there, she was about to say something more but was interrupted from someone els. It was a man standing on the statue in the centre of the square, he talked about getting organized and fighting this together. Cash looked down and sighed, he felt sympathy for the man trying to do the right thing, but Cash thought that that wouldn't work. At least, not until everyone calms down first. He looked up to see Faeron watching him. I guess she hasn't read the message just yet, Cash thought. Cash grabbed her hand and started heading towards the fields,"Raven, the guy who joined the party a few minutes ago, he sent a message talking about how we should meet up with the others. So, yeah , come on." Cash said in a hurry. This wasn't exactly the ideal place to say anything more, and discuss it. Luckily the field where they had met in wasn't extremely far from the town square, so if for whatever reason Cash or Faeron was out of breath, they could still make it there whilst jogging and not have to worry about collapsing.

While running cash could only thinking about this once beautiful game, that turned into a horror story in seconds. Now more than ever, Cash feels happy that Faeron was so sociable. If she hadn't talked to Karen and the others, who know if Cash would have met them in the future. Moments like that are good things to of had, especially at a time like this where teamwork and trust play an important factor in surviving. Cash tightened his grip when thinking about how lucky him and the others are to have been a part of the forming of this party. It may very well save everyone's lives in the future. At least, that's what Cash hopes for.

Ryan watch Raven kill both the boar, listening to what he said and looking at the ground. "I know that... But it's easier said than done... Why do you think I just said to make sure I'm the one taking the hits? I'm the tank... I just need to make sure I know that... even subconsciously..." He clenched his fists, breathing as slowly as he could, as deeply as he could. Even if I hide my fear, at least I'll be doing my job... I just need to stand in the front... Stop the hits from getting others, and do some damage... "Armor... I need better armor... I need to kill these boar until I can get better armor..." He looked around at the boar, seeing one he would kill. It's one of us two... Right here... Right now... That thing comes back, but I don't... So I'm sure as hell not going to die against it... Especially not these boar!

Ryan pulled his axe back, running towards the boar as fast as he could. "RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" He swung his axe, hitting it and killing it in the single strike that he had been using to kill them every other time. These are nothing... The next enemies are nothing... All these enemies will be nothing by the time we reach them... I have to stop fearing them... His brain wandered to the idea of fighting the bosses, but he shook his head, trying to avoid the thought. "I can't let these weak boars block anyone from getting out of here... Even if it means I have to die, I have to fight... No... I... will." Please, let my fear go away... I need to be strong enough for others... All of us that are going to fight have to be strong enough for others... He clenched his axe as tightly as he could, his knuckles turning white from the grip. "Raven... We don't know how strong the bosses are yet... We need to be stronger... A lot stronger. We need as many warriors out here training as we can, right? We need as much damage as we can get, and I need to have the best armor I can get..."

Cash grabbed her hand, pulling Faeron towards the fields as he quickly told her the situation. She nodded, relieved that Raven had sent the group a message. Now, hopefully, they would all be together. They started jogging and Faeron felt a flicker of fear. This was real now. She was actually feeling her muscles move and her brain was actually telling her what she actually felt. Faeron just hoped that her brothers didn't bust the door open and take off the headset...

As the two reached the fields, Faeron could see Raven and Ryan already there, killing boars. No doubt were they trying to get stronger... Relief flooded over her as she glanced at Cash and then to the pair. "Hey," she said, unknowingly interrupting their conversation. "You guys okay?"

Raven rolls to the side of another charging boar, bringing his blade down in an arc and destroying that one before stopping to look at Cash and Faeron, resting his sword on his shoulder again. "Terrified, worried, scared," he smiles, "but determined to outplay this game." He slides the blade into it's sheath and pulls Ryan away from the aggro zone for the boars. "Just breath for now, Ryan. You don't need to be the only one to take the hits here. There are other tanks and bruisers." He hesitates, then chuckles nervously. "Sorry, I played a bunch of MOBAs too. Bruisers are tanky damage dealers that can give as much as they take."

Sighing, he points down the path that moved away. "According to the Book of Truth, there's another town with more fields further down the path. I figure once we're all high enough, we can move on ahead of the others. That chaos back there can't last forever."

The man's voice startled Izzy, and she looked up at him with red and puffy eyes. She wiped her tears on her sleeve, embarrassed to be seen in the state she was in. The man's words of assurance were nice to hear, though, so she tentatively accepted his outstretched hand.

Putting a hand against the wall to support herself, she got up unsteadily. She looked at the man's face, prepared to respond, but lost her nerve and her gaze quickly dropped back to her feet.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I... um, I have someone I need to find," she said, tensing up. She hated turning people away when they were only trying to help her, but her mind was made up. She stepped around him to exit the alley, adding "I hope we'll meet again..." as she passed by him.

She left the alley and entered the populated street. A few people saw her and stared for a few seconds, causing her to go red. She must've looked terrible, what with the fact that she had just cried her eyes out. Across the street, she saw a shop that sold cloth armor, and quickly made her way towards it, keeping her head down.

Inside, she found exactly what she needed: a plain cloak-and-hood. She bought the dark green variant, and immediately equipped it. The cloak fell to her knees, and was open at the front, making it easy to move in and almost more like a cape. The hood, which she pulled up, helped hide her mess-of-a-face from the world.

She stepped out into the street again, feeling a little more confident, and began to try to find her way back to the square where she had last seen Haunt.

Karen looked up at the huge man she had come across just before her world came crashing down, Bachus. "W...what do we do now?" She was absolutely terrified. Impending death was looming upon them, and she couldnt accept that.

He stared back at her. "We beat the game I suppose. To do that we beat bosses." He scrolled down his menu and open the book of truth. "There isnt much about them in here... but it does say each is different and has it weaknesses. That means that with the right tactics, and enough people..." It dawned on him. It might actually be possible to come out of this alive. He composed himself, shutting his eyes for a moment, before opening them, with a serious glare. "Come on." He pulled Karen along with him and back to the centre statue. Someone was trying to do the right thing. But they were going about it in the wrong way. "You there!" He boomed, intimidatingly in his grumbling voice. "Step a aside." He jumped up with him. Scrolling down his menu, he pulled out his two handed and blade and forced it through the stone. "QUIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!" His voice echoed through the whole square. The players who remained in the square, about 100 in number fell silent. "You should all be listening to this man. He is right. The more panic you cause. The less chance of survival." He paused to make sure everyone was listening. "This... game... isn't a game anymore... and has taken your very humanity away from you! I say why? Why should we lose our humanity at a time like this? The only way for everyone in the game to survive is to beat every floor boss." He waved the book of truth i front of him. "Have any of you even read this?" He sighed. With the right numbers, and tactics... I think we can do this..." He paused again. "None of you know me, you dont know who I am, and who I will become. But I ask you this... Brothers! Sisters! Will you join me in arms? And take back your humanity?!" He winked at Karen, before leaning down and whispering. "I always wanted to start this guild anyway." He grinned, turning back and shouting, "WELL? WHO IS WITH ME?!" He yelled out, sending a guild invite to every player in the square only.

He finished, and a brief silence fell. There was mumbling for a while, before there were a few claps, then some more, and then an ovation followed by cheering. Bachus turned to the man on the statue. "Wont you join me brother? You started this, so are you in?" He offered him his hand. He could see the notification of accepted guild requests filling the top left of his vision. 71. 71 people had decided to join. He smiled, looking at Karen. She beamed back and accepted. 72. He looked back at the player atop the statue awaiting his response. A man with his courage must be recruited to beat this game.

IC: Truth be told, Aaron was terrified. One, single emotion blocked that fear, an emotion he had fed to protect himself.

Fire glinted in his eyes as he gripped Bachus' hand and shook it, the ???? that took the place of his spear's name finally resolving itself: Fury. Fury at the players who had already run away for themselves, at the admin for his sick, twisted idea of a game. The crowd cheered again, a small blinking message appearing in Bachus' HUD.

Invite accepted. playerID: hauntedWoods has joined the Legion of Light.

His gaze flicked up to the extra health bar in the corner of the screen as he released the huge man's hand, then he glanced over the plaza. Where is she... Hope I didn't scare her off... Still, if he had, she wouldn't have accepted the party invite...