Anna, or "Ace", as she was now called, had been searching for Nick for what seemed (and probably was) hours. Sure, there were only ten thousand people in the game, but they really hadn't discussed usernames at all. Just their anticipations and hopes for SAO. She walked through the markets shouting his full name and even wandered out onto the fields with wild boar things. She couldn't find anything.
"Screw it," she said to herself. "I'll find him later, set up a meeting point." Ace brought up her menu and looked to logout. There was no logout button. "What the-?" Her words were swallowed in her mouth when she blinked and was in the large square everyone spawned in. More people starting teleporting in, but it looked like they didn't mean to do it either. All around her, the air was filled with questions as soon the entire plaza was filled.
The sky turned red and her stomach churned with fear.
System Error is what little tiles on the sky said. All language stopped. Everyone stared.
What looked like blood leaked from in between the cracks. It formed into a shadowed figure. The figure told everyone that it was the game creator, and that they were all stuck there. No one could log out. No one could opt to leave. Unless, of course, they died. People collapsed to their knees and cried. Ace just stared blankly at the creator, her mind still trying to process the news.
I'm stuck here. Forever.
The creator then said that the only way out was to finish all 100 levels.
Ace tuned him out after that.
Nick, she thought. Nick. I gotta find him.
Nick nor Anna needed anyone to look after them, but she needed him then. She just did.
"Finally," the word he breached her thought bubble with. "I have added a present from me to your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
Ace figured that if she could see his face, he'd have a smug little smile on his face. She went into her inventory and found a solitary item labeled "Mirror". She tapped it and into her hands came a small mirror. She could see her avatar's face. She looked somewhat like herself, but she gave herself longer hair and made it red. She had thicker lips. These were the features of Ace. Why did they matter to her?
The blue light swallowed up her body and when she looked back into the mirror she saw Anna. She saw Anna's face. More and more people turned into their real selves as her mirror shattered. She touched her face, feeling tears on her cheeks.
"How...?" She and many others asked. She suddenly remembered the NerveGear surrounding her face.
I'm going to die tonight, aren't I?, the young girl asked herself.
Anna was no longer shielded with the face of a strong warrior. Her mask shattered. Ace was gone now.
The creator disappeared as the crowd dissolved into its own madness.
Anna's legs suddenly snapped into action. She ran through the crowd, looking at each and every face, searching for Nick.
What would she do without him here? How could she survive?
She didn't know.
She didn't know.