SAO: Friendship Online

by Solar Force

Rating: teen
Tags: Equestria Girls, Violence, Crossover, Sex, Ember, Sunset Shimmer, Profanity, Slice of Life, Death, Alternate Universe, Original Character, Tempest Shadow, Comedy, Starlight Glimmer, Adventure
Length: 6860

When die hard game nerd Sunset Shimmer buys the latest and most advanced game system ever made, she soon learns there is more to this game than just being the best player.

Sunset Shimmer is a die hard game nerd, and she just bought the most advanced game system ever made, The Virtual Reality Headgear, the system that allows full emersion into a huge Virtual World. However, once she enters the world of the first game released for the VRH, Sword Art Online, she soon learns that she along with thousands of other players have been trapped inside the virtual world by the games creator.

Now Sunset along with her new friends, must fight to survive and find a way to escape this virtual prison.

If you die in this game, you don't get a second chance!

Co authored by Mad Page AKA Madforce Entertainment

Published 2019-06-25 01:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-08-20 03:21:30 UTC

Prologue: Link Start

“Video games. Everyone plays them for different reasons. You know, like for chilling out or just plain fun. Or if your like me it’s because you want to escape reality. Because you know, in the real world, I don’t have any friends. Sounds sad I know, but it's ok because I enjoy my own company. Okay it’s sad! It’s just that, I find it so much easier to talk to NPCs, then I do talking to real people. Man, that sounds so lame! Anyway, as you can probably guess, I’m a complete game nerd. I literally own every games console ever created, and when they announced the V.R. Headset, I had a gamer orgasm. I know that’s more of a boys thing to say, but that’s what it felt like. Don’t Judge Me!! But to be honest, right now, I wish I’d never bought the damn thing.”

Hour Zero:

Sunset Shimmer carefully performed the setup procedure one last time, making absolutely sure that everything was perfect.

“Okay, all the software is setup, everything’s connected, we’re good to go.” She said excitedly. Then she blushed slightly.

“It is a bit embarrassing using these again at my age.” She said, looking down at the pack of diapers lying next to her bed. Then she blushed even deeper, thinking about the one that was currently hidden by her skirt.

“Besides, I’m sure I’m not going to be the only one. There will be a lot of people spending a long time playing this game too.” She reasoned with herself.

“Come to think of it, everyone else is probably going to be doing the same thing, because it’s launch day.”

With that thought, her embarrassment faded away. She looked at the clock, and saw that it was almost time. Now it was finally the moment she had been waiting for, time to start the game, and enter a whole knew, virtual world. She placed the Virtual Reality Headgear carefully on her head, laid down on her bed, got as comfortable as possible, and closed her eyes, giggling with excitement.

“I feel like a little kid at christmas.” she said happily.

“Link Start!” She Announced.

Through a dream like sensation, Sunset could feel her mind leaving her body behind, and entering the virtual world. She opened her eyes, and looked around. She was now standing in what looked like a medieval city, much like the ones she’d seen in many fantasy animes, or JRPGs. In front of her, stood two tall Crystal Obelisks, and hanging between them, was a huge banner, which read, WELCOME TO THE TOWN OF BEGINNINGS. Sunset gave a wide smile.

“Oh, I am beyond welcomed.” She said happily.

Without hesitation, Sunset ran off to explore the town. The first thing she came across, was a window of a virtual cafe, and she stopped to admire the reflection of the Virtual Avatar that she created for herself. The mirror image staring back at her, had short red hair, was wearing black leather boots, long black stockings, a short black skirt, a simple white tank top, and had brown leather armor covering the front of her torso. She struck a pose like a model, and blew herself a kiss.

“Hey good looking, you busy later?” She said to her reflection. Then she laughed. “I’m such a dork!” She said.

It was then that Sunset took a closer look at her reflection, and noticed just how big her Avatar’s chest really was, causing her to blush.

“Maybe I overdid it in the boob department.” She said. “I mean I did base this Avatar on Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy 7. Maybe I should get moving before… “

“Hey babe!”

“Before that happens.” Sunset groaned, with a deadpan look.

Sunset turned around, to see two average looking guys, one taller than the other.

“Why don’t’ cha form a party with us?” Said the taller one.

The shorter one placed his arm around Sunset’s waist. “It’s way more fun when you play with friends.” He said in what he believed was a charismatic voice.

On the inside, Sunset was cringing. “Ew, pervert alert!”

Then she thought of the oldest trick in the book.

“Ok,” she said aloud in the most innocent voice she could muster. “I’ll play with you guys, as long as you don’t have a problem with me being a dude. That’s no problem right?”

The two guys looked at her in shock, and made a hasty retreat. As they ran away, Sunset could hear what they were shouting to each other.

“Man, we should have known it was a trap!”

“Yeah, no girl in their right mind would choose an Avatar like that!”

Sunset snickered to herself. “Worked like a charm.” She said with a satisfied smile. “Well now that that unpleasantness is dealt with, I better check and see what gear I’ve got.”

Sunset then swiped her hand through the air in front of her, and a floating interactive menu appeared. She used her finger to scroll down the menu, and pressed the icon saying [Inventory]. In the new menu, she saw four items, a Sword, a Shield, a Spear, and a Dagger. Sunset thought for a moment, and decided to use the classic Sword and Shield technique.

“The game has only just started so let’s keep it simple for now.” She said to herself.

Once her chosen items had been equipped, Sunset then set out to explore her new environment, and find some weak enemies to train against. For the rest of the day, Sunset spent her time out on the grassy plains outside the town, fighting and killing Boars. Just as she struck down yet another Boar, she overhears two other players.

“Whoa! Nice kill there bro. That pig never saw that one coming.”

“Damn right there bro. Were gonna totally own this game!”

“Too right bro!”

“Bro fist, bro!”

“You got it bro!”

The two players fist bumped each other and headed off, laughing loudly.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. “Ok, that was weird. Could they have broadcast any clearer how close they are?” She said.

“Stil, though, I bet it would be nice to have a friend I was that close with to play this game with.” She thought to herself with a sigh.

Sunset then checked the time on the clock above her health bar, and decided it was time to logout before it got much later.

“I just hope when i wake up that i’m not wet.” She thought with a grimace. “Not looking forward to that.”

She opened her menu, and scrolled down to find the log out icon. But to her surprise, there was only a blank rectangle where the logout icon should have been.

“That’s weird, it should be right here” She thought.

She scrolled back to the top of the menu and then scrolled back down slowly, thinking maybe she had missed it. When she still couldn’t find it, she thought that it may be a glitch, so she decided to try to contact the Game Master for help. But as soon as she tried to make the call, her screen said (Error). Sunset then presumed that she’s not the only one experiencing this problem.

“It must be a Glitch. I mean it is launch day, there are bound to be problems.” She said to herself.

Just then, she heard what sounded like a large bell ringing in the distance, and suddenly she found herself being transported back to the central plaza. She looked around and saw she was surrounded by what looked like a sea of player Avatars, probably every player in the game. She could hear everyone talking to each other, and it seemed like they were all asking basically the same questions, What was going on?, Why can’t we log out?.

Before Sunset could say a word, a voice in the crowd shouted.

“Hey, look at the sky!”

Sunset looked up and saw what looked like a red shape in the sky, she squinted her eyes to see it more clearly, and read the word (Warning!.) Then the whole sky turned a terrifying Scarlet as hundreds more (Warning!) Signs covered the sky like a huge blood red lattice. Almost immediately a blood like substance began to leak down and coalesce above the twin obelisks, finally forming into a giant figure in Scarlet robes with a gooden trim.

Sunset could only stare in shock and awe. “Isn’t that the Game Master? but why can’t we see his face?” She thought.

The hooded figure began to speak, and all the gathered players fell silent.

“Attention gamers of my world. I bid you all welcome. My name is Akihiko Kayaba.”

Sunset was stunned. “The game creator? Why is he here?.” She thought.

“As I am sure you all have noticed, an item is missing from your menus, the log out icon.” Said Kayaba. “Allow me to assure you that this is not a glitch or a defect. This is part of the games original design. I repeat, this is how the game was designed.”

“No log out?! Why?!” Shouted a voice from the crowd.

“‘Why?’ you ask? Simple.” Continued Kayaba. “I wanted to create a World where life and death truly matter. You see, if you attempt to remove the headgear, or if your health bar drops to zero, you will immediately be deleted from both Aincrad and the real world. Behold.”

He waved his arm and dozens of virtual screens appeared throughout the plaza, showing feeds from news networks from all over the world.

“As of now, there are 247 less players in SAO than when the game began. The families of these 247 did not heed my warning about shutting down or removing the VR Headgear and this is the result.”

Sunset looked from screen to screen with horror as the news feeds relaid stories of the tragedies that were unfolding in the real world.

“Now,” Continued Kayaba, “To mark the beginning of this event, I have sent you all an item. Please look in your (Inventory).”

Sunset opened her menu and looked at her (Inventory), she saw there was indeed a new item. She then opened the inventory and selected the received item. The item that appeared in her hand was a small hand mirror. Sunset was confused. But then, suddenly, the entire plaza lit up with a shimmering blue light. Once the light died down, Sunset was even more confused. What was that all about?

Then Sunset heard two boys shouting at each other, “Your not a girl!”

“Your not seventeen!”

Sunset looked around and noticed that everyone around her suddenly looked different. Then she looked back at the mirror in her hand and she gripped it so tightly it almost broke.

“That’s… That’s me! The real me!” She thought in utter shock.

Before she could attempt to process what just happened, Akihiko Kayaba continued.

“Now, before I depart, I have one last thing to tell you. Your five senses will be available to you, this world is just as real as the one you all came from. And finally, in order for you to leave this world, you must clear the game. To do this, you must make your way threw all the floors of Aincrad, and defeat the Boss on each floor to unlock the next. Make it all the way to Floor 100 and defeat the Boss, and you will have cleared the game. I bid you good luck and farewell.”

With that announcement, his body begins to glitch before he vanished, and the sky returned to its original twilight glow.

For a few moments, everything was still and silent.

And then… “OH, SHIT, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!”

There was chaos. Everyone was screaming and running in panic.

Sunset didn’t scream or run. She just fell to her knees.

“It’s just a game.” She whispered. “It’s just a game.”

With tears in her eyes, she threw back her head and screamed in anguish.

“IT’S JUST A FUCKING GAME!!!”

To Be Continued...

Chapter 1: The First Boss

Author's Note

Hi Solar Force here. For those who follow this story, I’m so sorry this took so long, I’ve just been concentrating on our other stories recently. But just so you know, I’ve not abandoned any of my stories, and there’s more to come.

Hope you all enjoy this new, action packed chapter.

Bye for now.

Chapter 1: The First Boss

“1 month. It has been 1 month since that day. 1 long, hard month since the start of this death game. In that time, over 2000 players have died, and about 70 % of those deaths were suicides. I witnessed players throwing themselves off the map. And I've also seen players down on their knees and begging other players to kill them. Why? Why would they choose death? To be honest, there have been times when I’ve actually thought about it myself. Ending it all.”

“Hey!” Shouted a voice.

Sunset looked up from where she was sitting beneath a tree. “What?” She asked.

“What level are you?” The voice asked.

“15. What’s it to you?” Sunset replied.

“Get down to the Coliseum!” The voice continued.

“Why?” Asked Sunset again.

“Haven’t you heard?” The voice asked. “Someone found the Boss Room! There’s going to be a raid! They want all Players at level 10 and above to take part!” The player turned on his heel and ran off. “See you there!” He shouted over his shoulder as he went.

“And at those times, something like this happens, and I say to Myself…”

Sunset gave a small smile. “Maybe there’s hope after all.” She said softly.

At the gathering in the large Colsiem, there were 50+ Players waiting for the host to arrive so the meeting could begin. Sunset was among the crowd. She sat down on one of the chairs that had been set out for the meeting. Just then, another player sat down in the chair next to hers. This player was male, about the same age as Sunset. His armor was strange, as it looked like a mismatch of different pieces. He looked over at Sunset. “Hey.” He said.

“Um, Hey.” Replied Sunset, feeling a little awkward.

Before anything else could be said, the crowd fell silent, as an individual at the front called for their attention. “First of all, I would like to thank you all for coming on such short notice.” The figure said. “Now, I would like to confirm that, yes, the Boss Room has been found. This our first major step on our way to escaping from this game. Now, I would like to ask you all, If there are any of you which have any Skills, Items, or Weapons they wouldn’t mind sharing, please feel free to inform the rest of us of them now.”

There was an awkward pause. Everyone seemed hesitant to share their supplies with anyone else. That was until the guy sitting next to Sunset stood up and made his way to the front of the crowd. “I’ve got something.” He said to the host. He pulled up his Player Menu, went into his Inventory and selected an item. A six feet long sword appeared on his back. It was also 12 inches wide. He pulled the sword from his back and held it up for all to see. “I got this from a Mimic.” He said.

At this, the assembled players began murmuring to each other. They were all surprised. Mimics were known to be quite dangerous, so the fact that this player managed to defeat one to gain such a weapon was quite impressive. But before anything more could be said, a loud shout rang across the Plaza.

“Stop right there!”

A female player ran up to the front of the crowd. She had mint green skin, streaked blond hair and hazel eyes. She pointed an accusing finger at the male player. “You’ve got a lot of apologising to do!” She said angrily. “So get down on your knees and start apologizing!”

“What crime have I committed?” Asked the armored player.

“Don’t play dumb!” The mint skinned girl yelled. “You know exactly what your guilty of!”

“Elaborate?” The armored player asked.

At this point the point, the host intervened. “I believe I know what she is accusing you of.” He said.

“Yeah, that's right.” The girl scowled. “You goddamn Beta Tester!” She turned to the crowd. “When we got imprisoned in this virtual nightmare, the Beta testers abandoned us, all of them! And because of that, over 2000 players have died!”

“Excuse me Miss?” Asked the Host. “But who exactly are you?”

“My Tag is Lightning Gal 42!” The girl stated. “And none of you dweebs better not forget it!”

At that moment, the armor clad player stabbed his sword into the ground, drawing everyone's attention back towards him. “Since we’re introducing ourselves...” He said as he reached up and took off his helmet, revealing a pale skinned face, inky black hair and a pair of mismatched eyes, one Ruby, and one Sapphire. “The Tag is Nomad, and don’t you forget it you little twerp.” He said, glaring at the blond haired girl. “What evidence do you have for accusing me of being a Beta Tester?”

“The evidence is right there.” The girl said, pointing at the sword that was wedged in the ground.

“You're basing your entire accusation on a Lucky Drop?” Nomad asked incredulously. “Anyone could have gotten this.”

“Lucky Drop? Don’t give me that crap!” She shouted. “Only a Beta Tester could get an item that powerful this early in the game! Now I think you owe us for what you bastards did! So not only should be on your knees begging for forgiveness, you should hand over every Item, every weapon and all the money you got!”

“Now hold on just a minute.” Said the Host, trying to regain calm. “Lightning Gal, I know where your coming from, but making accusations about another player simply because of what Items they have is ludicrous.”

But before he could say another word, he was simply shoved aside by Nomad, who grabbed his sword form out of the ground. “I…” He said, lifting up the sword. “Am not, a BASTARD!!” He roared. He took a threatening step toward Lightning Gal, his face twisted in rage. “I’m gonna snap your neck you little bitch!”

“Oh, is that a threat, tough guy?!” Shouted Lightning, pulling out a Dagger.

“It’s a Promise!” Growled Nomad.

But before a fight could break out, a Spear was thrown in between them. From down the steps of the surrounding stands, came another female player. She had blue skin, spiky blue hair with white bangs and deep red eyes. “Hey goldilocks.” She called. “You pick a fight with Nomad, you pick a fight with me.”

“Who the hell are you!?” Shouted Lightning.

“You can call me Fire Princess.” Said the new arrival.

“You stay out of this Fire.” Said Nomad. “She’s mine.”

“Yeah, and once you get started you don’t know when to stop.” Fire Princess said back. “Look, for once, just let me handle this.” She then opened her menu and pulled out a book. “You see this? Every Player would have received one of these. You received one didn’t you?” She asked Lightning.

“Yeah, I did.” Lightning replied snottily. “What's it to you?”

“You know what this is right?” Asked Fire.

“Yeah, a lame old Book.” Replied Lightning.

“It’s a beginners guide.” Said Fire. “It’s to help noobs like you, survive the first few floors. And do you know who gave out these books? That’s right. The Beta Testers. So you can’t blame them for those 2000 deaths. They gave everyone a fair chance. And by the way? Would a Beta really be stupid enough to reveal the fact that he had a rair weapon in front of a big crowd like this?”

Lightning blanched at this. “W-well he might be.” She stuttered unconvincingly.

“Yeah right.” Said Fire, rolling her eyes. “Just face it, Hun. You lost this argument before it even started.”

Lightning grit her teeth and blushed. She stomped through the crowd and back to her seat, where she sat down and began pouting like a small child.

“You know, you should have let me handle that.” Said Nomad, turning toward Fire Mistress.

“Everyone here should be glad I stepped in when I did.” Fire replied with a frown. “Who knows what you would have done if I hadn’t stepped in when I did.”

Throughout the whole confrontation, Sunset had sat and watched in silence. “Hmm? When did she get here?” She thought, looking over at the player known as Fire Mistress. “I don’t remember seeing her sat next to him. And I don’t remember seeing her when I got here either. When did she arrive? And without anyone noticing?”

Now seeing that the situation had been settled, the host cleared his throat to regain the assembled players attention. “Ahem! If there's going to be no further interruptions, I think we should get to the point of this meeting.”

Nomad and Fire Mistress both nodded, then took their own seats in the crowd, Nomad retaking his place beside Sunset. From that point on, the host resumed the meeting. He explained about the layout of the Boss Room, and about the Boss they were to face. The Boss’ name was Razorclaw The Goblin Lord, and he apparently used a sword and shield as his main weapons, but once his HP was reduced to 50%, he would discard his primary weapons, and gain the use of a giant Double Handed Cleaver, and his attack patterns would completely change, making him much harder to predict. On top of that, the new weapon would also cause poison damage, making it that much more deadly. “After studying this strategy guide for a while, I have decided that it would be best if we make our assaults in teams of five or six. That way we can all work off each others strengths, and cover for each others weaknesses.” The host said in conclusion.

After hearing this, Sunset began to panic.

3 hours later, the meeting had concluded.

Outside the Colosseum, in an alleyway, Sunset was pacing back and forth frantically. “Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!” She said to herself in a panicky voice. “What am I going to do?!” The simple fact was, Sunset had never had any social interaction with anyone, neither in games or IRL. She had always kept to herself in her everyday life, and whenever she played video games online, she always played solo. And now she was suddenly in a situation where she had to be part of a team? She rubbed her hands through her hair, both in panic and frustration.

“Ya know?” Said a female voice. “Making a rats nest out of your hair isn’t going to solve your problems.”

“Eep!” Sunset yelped, nearly jumping out of her virtual skin in shock. She spun around to face her eavesdropper. Standing behind her was a tall woman, with dark purple skin, tall dark pink hair, and ocean blue eyes. She was dressed in a dark, skin tight ninja outfit, which left little to the imagination, and showed just how much of a sculpted body she had. Admittedly, Sunset was quite jealous. But the most striking thing about her, was the large scar she had across her right eye. She also carried a short Japenese style sword on her lower back. “Don’t do that!” Sunset shouted. “You trying to give me a heart attack?! Who the hell are you?! How much did you hear?!”

“I heard everything.” Said the female player. “Pretty hard not to when your right outside my window.” She pointed up to an open window just above their heads.

Sunset’s cheeks went red with embarrassment. “Oh.” She said sheepishly. “I didn’t disturb did I? I thought there was no one eles around.”

“Hmph, not really.” Said the woman with a shrug. “But let me guess. Your not exactly the most social person are you?”

Sunset laughed nervously. “Hehehe. It’s that obvious?” She asked.

“It’s actually more common than you’d think.” The woman said. “A friend of mine saw you leave the Coliseum. He said you looked like you were about to have a fit or something.”

“I guess you could say I was.” Sunset said, feeling even more awkward.

The woman, seeing how uncomfortable the situation was for Sunset, gave the poor girl a reassuring smile. “Hey, would you care to join me for a drink? Better than staying in this dank alley.” She said.

Soon, Sunset and the woman were sitting at a table at the back corner of the local Tavern, enjoying their virtual Beers. Sunset gulped hers down with gusto. “Ahh! You know, I know this all just a bunch of Zeros and Ones, and that my brain is telling me that this is delicious, but damn this tastes good!” She said with satisfaction.

“You know, we're pretty much ripping off the Matrix here right?” Said the woman.

“Who cares!” Exclaimed Sunset. “Real or not, I want more!”

“Well, you certainly changed your tune.” Said the woman. “First your freaking out because you didn’t have a Party. And now look at us. We’re like proper drinking buddies.”

“Uh, yeah.” Said Sunset sheepishly. “Sorry about that huge freakout before.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Said the woman. “So let me guess. Your like a shut in NEET huh?”

“Well, less NEET and more Shut in.” Said Sunset. “I have a really hard time socializing. You probably think that's weird huh?”

“Not really.” The woman replied. “Believe it or not, it’s actually pretty common amongst gamers.”

“Really?” Said Sunset, surprised.

“Really.” Said the woman. “Say listen? You're looking for a party to join right? Well I’m actually part of a party of four. Do you think maybe you’d like to join us?”

“Are you sure?” Asked Sunset. “I wouldn’t exactly say no, it’s just that…” She stopped when the woman reached out and placed a hand on top of her own.

“It’s okay, I understand.” Said the woman. “Your not good with social situations.”

“You know what?” Said Sunset. “I think I will join you. I mean you seem nice enough. I bet the other members of your party are nice too.”

So the woman sent Sunset the invite to join her party and Sunset accepted. Once she had joined, she saw the list of names of the other Party members. At the top, was Nomad, next was Fire Mistress, then Storm Shadow, and finally Solus Force. “Hey, wait a minute.” She said, looking up at the woman. “Your not your Party’s leader? Is it really okay for you to just invite me to join without asking the rest of your Party first?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” The woman replied with a shrug. “Fire and Nomad wouldn’t care, and neither would Solus.” She then looked towards the front of the tavern. “Well, speak of the devil, there’s Nomad.” She then raised her hand and waved. “Hey Nomad, over here!” She called loudly.

The patchwork armor clad figure walked towards their table, and stopped beside Storm. “What’s up?” He asked.

“You see this girl right here?” Storm gestured toward Sunset. Nomad turned to look. “I invited her to join the Party. You don’t mind, do you?”

Nomad turned back to Storm. “You know what Storm? I really don’t give a crap!” He said, before turning and stomping away.

“Well,” Said a slightly uneasy Sunset. “That was...blunt.”

“Uh, yeah.” Said Storm. “He’s not the best people person. In fact, he spends most of his time going around as a Solo Player.”

“Really? But why? If he’s the leader of your Party, how can he also play solo?” Sunset asked.

Storm just shrug. “I don’t know. He never explained. Not to any us. Not even Fire. Come to think of it, I don’t even know what kind of relationship those two have.” She then let out a cute yawn. “Anyway, It’s getting late, and we need to be at our best for tomorrow. You got anywhere to stay?”

Sunset hesitated. “Um...not really.” She said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Really? Well, where have you been sleeping?” Storm asked.

“Actually, this is my first visit to this town.” Said Sunset.

Storm chuckled. “Well, in that case, why don’t come stay with me until tomorrow?” She said.

“Oh, no, I wouldn't want to intrude.” Sunset tried to protest.

“Nonsense, you wouldn’t be intruding at all.” Said Storm. “Besides, It’s only for one night. Think of it like a sleepover.”

“A-a sleepover?” Sunset had never been invited to a sleepover before.

“Come on, would it really be so bad?” Asked Storm.

“No, I guess not.” Said Sunset.

“Well then, come on, let’s go.” Said Storm as she stood up.

“All right, if say so.” Said Sunset as she stood up as well, and followed Storm out of the tavern.

The rag tag army made its way towards the first boss room. Before they opened the doors, they went through the strategy one last time. “Alright, Listen up!” Shouted the leader. “Squads 1, 2, and 3, will be taking on the main boss! Squads 4, 5, and 6 will take down all the grunts and clear a path!” He then turned to look at Nomad’s team. “Nomad, you and your party will bring up the rear! If need be, you can use that rare weapon of yours to fight the boss!” Nomad simply nodded without speaking. And so, everyone prepared themselves for what was certain to be the battle of a lifetime.

The giant doors swung open, everything beyond was in complete darkness. Suddenly, everything lit up, and they all laid eyes on the enormous goblin, seated in a towering throne. The boss stared down at them with beady eyes, before it hefted itself out it’s throne and roared furiously. This was it. No turning back.

The leader stepped forward, and raised his sword. “CHARGE!!” He bellowed. The small army surged forward, splitting up and scattering as they went, their weapons held out in front of them. The only stragglers were Nomad and his party, playing their part as support. It was their job to roam around the battlefield, giving assistance to any squad that was in trouble.

There was fighting everywhere. Somewhere amongst the chaos, Sunset came up against a huge hobgoblin, wielding a large club. It thrust the club at Sunset, and she raised her shield to block, but the force of the blow through her off her feet and onto her back. She sat up with a groan, only to see that she was now surrounded by goblins. Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh, my God!” She shouted. “Oh,my god! I've seen Goblin Slayer! I know where this is going!”

Just as the goblins were closing in on her, Solus lept in front of her, and cut down the goblins with his saber. “Oh, yeah, last second save!” He shouted in triumph, as Fire ran up to check on Sunset.

“You okay there?” She asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Replied Sunset as she got back to her feet.

“Heal up quick.” Fire said. “This is far from over.”

Fire was right. The boss was just entering its second phase. It smashed its fists into the ground and stomped its feet, like it was throwing a tantrum, as its sickly green skin turned a furious red. It threw away it's shield and sword just like predicted, but the weapon it now wielded was not the Cleaver, It was a giant Sickle. This took everyone off guard, this was not part of the plan. With one mighty swing of its knew weapon, the boss took out nearly half of both Squad 1 and Squad 2.

The leader, enraged at the loss of so many of his comrades, became reckless. He charged straight at the boss and swung his weapon wildly. The giant goblin grabbed him with his huge, bulky fist, and tossed him far across the battlefield, straight into a pillar on the far side of the cavernous chamber.

Sunset dashed toward the fallen player, and knelt down beside him. “Hey, are you okay?” She asked, as she pulled him into a sitting position. She quickly rummaged through her satchel for a healing potion. “Here, you need to drink this.” She said, placing the bottle up to his lips, and attempting to pour the potion into his mouth.

Slowly, the potion poured down the leader’s throat, and he began to regain his strength. He looked at Sunset with a grateful look. “Thank you.” He said. “You came just in the nick of time. I was almost a goner.” He also seemed to have regained his senses. “I can’t believe I let that happen. I just become so angry I couldn’t think. But anyways, we now have a new problem.” That problem was the giant goblin. It was now jumping back and forth across the room, from one pillar to the other, and it appeared that all its stats had been doubled. All the remaining players scattered like scared children, as the enormous goblin picked them all off with his massive sickle.

Looking out over the battlefield, Sunset could plainly see how desperate the situation was becoming. This wasn’t a battle anymore, it was fast becoming a massacre. Before she could do anything, the leader pulled himself back to his feet, and before she could stop him, he ran straight back into the fight.

And then, before Sunset could act, the giant goblin landed right in front of her.

Sunset was petrified with fear. She thought that this was it. She was going to die.

The goblin raised it’s weapon to deliver the killing blow. But the attack was intercepted by Nomad. The goblin’s new target was now him.

As Nomad was dealing with the goblin, Storm ran over to check on Sunset. “Here, Shimmer. Drink this.” She said, offering her a HP potion.

“Thanks.” Said Sunset, taking the potion and gulping it down.

Meanwhile, Fire Mistress had run in to assist Nomad against the goblin. But despite both their efforts, the goblin got in a big hit on Nomad, sending him flying back towards Storm and Sunset, landing on his back. He sat up with a frustrated growl and shouted, “Damn it! How the hell is this the first boss?!”

While all this was happening, Sunset was deep in thought. “This boss is quite powerful. But something about this seems familiar. Like I’ve seen this boss fight somewhere before.” And then, like lightning, it hit her. “Wait! That’s it! I know how to beat this thing!” Turning to Storm, she said aloud, “Storm? Do you have any rope?”

Storm looked puzzled. “What would you need rope for at a time like this?”

“Do you have any or not?” Sunset insisted.

“Uh, yes, but,-”

“We need it to beat the boss!”

“I got some.” Said Nomad, pulling it from his inventory. “What do you need it for?”

Sunset snatched the rope from Nomads hands. “No time to explain. Just go over, and have your big sword ready.”

“And I’m taking orders from a crazy girl.” Said Nomad as he stood up and ran toward the door, looking through his inventory and equipping the sword as he was instructed.

“Fire and Solus, I need your help too.” Said Sunset, handing them the ropes. “I need you to lasso the goblin’s hands and keep them both wide open.”

“Oh, were doing a John Wayne. Sweet.” Said Solus.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Said Fire. “No idea what’s going on, but let’s do this.”

Following their new allies lead, Fire and Solus managed to get the ropes around the goblin’s wrists and pull both of its arms far apart. Of course, this wasn’t easy, as the goblin pulled hard on the ropes and thrashed about. It took everything the two players had just to keep their footing. But soon, other players took notice of what was happening, and decided to step in to help. They grabbed the ropes and pulled with all their strength.

“Nomad! Now!” Sunset yelled.

Nomad came charging toward the restrained goblin, before jabbing his enormous sword into the ground and flipping himself up like a pole vaulter, doing a somersault. “I’m about to go goblin slayer, bitch!” He yelled, as he swung the sword down, right through the middle of the goblin, finally vanquishing it. He landed back his feet, and looked behind him. “Holy shit, that actually worked?!” He exclaimed.

Sunset was just as shocked. “That actually worked?”

“Ladies and gentlemen.” Said Solus. “A badass is born this day.”

Just then, everyone erupted into cheers for their survival and their victory.

“Hey thanks for that awesome plan you came up with.” One player said to Sunset.

“We probably wouldn’t have been able to stop the boss without you.” Said another.

“Hey, don’t forget about Nomad, he was the one who dealt the killing blow.”

“Didn’t you get something from the boss?” A player asked Nomad.

“You know what?” Said Nomad. “With all the excitement I forget to check.” He took a quick glance through his inventory. “Oh, it seems I got the boss weapon.”

“Is that so?” Said the leader. “So, it would seem that after you defeat a boss, you obtain their weapons. That’s useful to know.”

“Yeah.” Said a still angry Lightning. “And what would have been more useful to know would have been how to beat the boss, which bacon hair over there seemed to conveniently know.” She said, pointing an accusing finger at Sunset. “I mean think about. Who among us would think that a plan that stupid would actually work?”

Slowy, the other players began to agree with Lightning, some even starting to throw accusations at Sunset.

The leader tried to maintain order by backing Sunset up, but his efforts were in vain.

“You can’t prove I’m a Beta Tester.” Said Sunset. “That plan worked because of sheer dumb luck.”

“HORSE...SHIT!!” Screamed Lightning furiously. “You know what I say? I say we beat the truth out of her. And you know what else? I bet a lot of these boys here got a lot of pent up energy. And the only way they know how to burn it off, is to be perverted.” She turned to the other players. “What do say boys?”

Some of the guys looked away, but a few actually nodded their heads, showing creepy smiles.

“ENOUGH!!” Yelled the leader. “This is shameful! There is absolutely no proof that this young lady is a Beta Tester! Including if she is, there is no call for the method you are implying, Lightning! No person in their right mind would do such a heinous act in the real world! Why would they do so in the game!”

After hearing this, the creepy smiles disappeared, and several players turned their heads away in shame.

“Don’t listen to him!” Screamed Lighting. “He’s a conspirator! He’s working with those FUCKING BETA TESTERS!!” She was starting to look a little unhinged.

“Give it a rest, LIghtning!” Shouted Solus. “This is getting beyond ridiculous! In case you forgot, Shimmer and Nomad are the reason the boss was defeated in the first place! Are you really that ungrateful to them for that?!”

“Forget it, guys.” Said Sunset. “It’s obvious her mind’s made up. Lets just go.”

“I agree.” Said Shadow. “There’s no getting through to this one, so why bother?”

“Alright, listen up.” Said Fire. “We’re leaving now. If any of you want to fight, then line up!”

Nobody stepped forward, so Sunset and her companions turned and left, leaving a fuming Lightning behind.

“This isn’t over! I’ll expose all you damn Beta Testers for the scum that you are! YOU HEAR ME!!”

As she continued to rant and rave, all the other players had had enough of her, and so they all left as well, leaving the deranged girl all alone to stew in her anger.

After they left the Boss room, Sunset had something she needed to say to her party. “Listen, everybody. I can’t thank you enough for all your help today. But I have to be honest with you. Despite everything, I still don’t really feel comfortable being in a team. So, for now, I think I’m better off on my own, as a solo player.”

Shadow smiled. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Just know that when you feel ready, your free to join up with us again, anytime.”

“Yeah, what you did back was there pretty cool. I’d definitely let you join us again.” Said Fire.

“Agreed.” Said Solus.

“I still think your crazy, but your a good kind of crazy.” Finished Nomad.

Sunset smiled. “Thanks.”

And with that, Sunset and the four player team went their separate ways. But they all knew that this was not the last time they would see each other.

They also knew that from now on, the game was only going to get that much harder.

To Be Continued...

Chapter 2: Betrayal

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