As suddenly as he appeared, it took a full second before Io realized what had just happened. Io ran his hands across his body and face and after assuring he was whole.

"What the hell is this?!"

"Hey! Someone! Where am?!"

A swarm of ramblings echoed through the streets and shops of weathered stones and bricks. Io screwed his head around the tightly packed crowd. It was a mesh of mismatched colors and ornate jewels that decorated the flamboyant costumes. The only things he could see from the kaleidoscope of metal and robes were the intricately carved rods and spears poking out into the air.

What is this? Is this a halloween party? But I was in my room waiting for...

A sharp jab hit Io's stomach crashing him into another person.

"Hey, what the hell's your problem, huh?!"

"You got a problem caveman? You get that costume from Cabellas?"

The small scuffle turned from a small wave into a tsunami throughout the crowd. The uncertainty in the situation making the surrounding strangers even more restless and causing more panic. Io collected himself and squeezed himself to the walls of the street. Past the crushing weight of the stirring riot he felt a metal doorknob, and mustered enough strength to slip through the door inside the building.

The soft rattling of the window and scratches framed a rapid river of ridiculous costumes. From a giant knight to a literal jester, Io couldn't believe his eyes. Even for a party or protest there was no way there were this many people in his city.

He looked around the quaint shop, the obnoxious banging of the glass sweeping the flowers of dust across the room. Past the spider infested cupboards of porcelain and past the decaying wooden chairs and stairs, there were a set of perfectly preserved painting. He turned towards them, a glint of light pierced through the drab light of the tinted windows. He brough the painting close to his face and squinted closely. The reflection revealed a somewhat uncanny face, familiar enough to know it was his face, yet different enough to know it was someone else.

This is... no way... I am in a game?

Chaos Online, an MMORPG that held a monopoly over almost every genre. Whether you were a hardcore gamer or the someone that couldn't even download a file. It had anything and everything most people wanted from a game. It was an escape, a second world for those tired of the everyday monotony of their lives or those shunned by society. But it was never supposed to be a replace the real world, let alone be a real place.

A sense of macabre permiated from the gradually ensuing mob of players into the small cracks of air through the shop. As if time slowed down, Io came to understand what exactly what happening. He rushed up towards the stairs, the defeaning creaks of the ricketing railings filling his head. He pushed through the darkness until he felt the long grains of a door. Hovering his hand to the sides he found a handle and rushed out into the roof.

The brustling of the wind cut across his face and clothes. The swift gray sky hastened the rumblings of the people below. He stepped closer towards the edge of the building only to be met with a swarm of players that seemed to amalgimate into an festival of terror. It seemed there were at least a couple hundred of players, and they were all stuck in a central square that could only hold a handful of stalls. There were small breaks in the crowd of players fighting and piles of people on top of each other pleading for help.

What the hell is happening?

He turned his head towards the other roofs around him where he saw a handful of people looking down onto the festivities as well. The mob now was slowly breaking apart towards the entrances of the shops leaving a wave of players heading at the hands of the whims of others. The outer sides of the riot were of players scurring trying to find an exit out the line of buildings funneling either side towards a gate or a fountain or another street that seemed to curve into each other into a circle.

Io leaned back towards the exit, slumping down to collect himself. His brain was crushing itself trying to break through his skull, trying to find any sense in his new reality. He massaged his forehead, in an effort to think back to the beginning, before he was suddenly teleported in this world.

Before... I was waiting for... that's right the new update!

Before the ensuing chaos, Io was waiting for the much anticipated expansion Deus Absconditus. Every major update before had at least a short synopsis or an ad campaign to introduce newer players into the game. This update was announced out of nowhere in the dead of night, and without any other information by the developers for nearly two years.

There was too many questions racing through Io's mind. Lost in his own thoughts he wondered if there were any ways to escape and before him appeared a transluscent menu. He swatted his hand only to meet air. Io rubbed his eyes, there were too many things happening at once for him to comphrehend anything at that moment. He stroked his temple and shook his head, the menu stayed steady revealing another screen dropping and endless string of corruped words and numbers. He tapped the air and figuring out the unnatural controls, traversing through sub-menus to find a bright red button. He furiously pressed the button, and a loud buzzing in his ear forced him to collapse and cover his ears in pain. He focused his vision to the menu to be met with a notice.

Error - Unable to leave game

"This is bullshit!" He poured his frustration into his fist and swung at the menu.

A small bang cracked a small crater on each of his knuckles on the walls of the exit. Io flexed his hand and fiddled with the menu until his vision was clear. He headed towards the crowd below that seemed to have shifted towards the large gate to his left, and only a handful of groups circled around small scuffles stayed or were at the fountain.

Io turned towards the exit and kicked the door open swinging wildly from the gusts of wind. He stepped down the stairs and sat down on the decrepid chair and table tapping his forehead. For a couple of minutes he randomly pressed buttons and throughly scanned every bit of the interface. He found a small button with a picture of a face, and pressed it revealing a long list of names, highlighted with lighter and darker shades.

Derrick, AlleyC3... even Xez is here, and Morigone? Eagle_Eye?

He was surprised to see an old friend and immediately pressed on his name and heaved a sigh of relief. He tapped his feet rythmically, listening to the chimes anticipating an answer. He heard a click and he tensed his body.

"Hello? I-Is that you buddy?"

"Max! It's me! Can you hear me?" He stood up flipping his chair and table in the process.

"Hey~ Now that's a voice I haven't heard in a long time", Max said.

"Where are you? Are you near the fountain?  I can hear other people next to you, are you in a party right now?

"Hey, easy with the questions. Yeah, I'm at the fountain, things seemed to have calmed down a bit. Where are you?

Io burst out from the shop spraying a fine mist of glass into the deserted street. He pumped his arms and sprinted towards the fountain.

"I'm heading there right now. You see me?" Io waved his hand while holding one hand to his ear.

"I see someone. Is that you? The kung-fu guy that looks like he's on fire?" Max quipped.

Io gave a restrained smile, only to give away to his sheer joy laughing like a maniac. He saw Max waving back, cosplaying a cowboy with an oversized revolver on his hip. He slowed and swung his hand down. A satisfying clap reverberated around the fountain.

"It's good to see a familiar face", Max tightened his grip around Io's hand.

"You too. Did you just come out of a convention?"

They both raised their hands and snorted a chuckle and sat down to discuss what was happening.

"Huh, so that's how you called me. Why didn't you try messaging me?" Max said while pointing at nothing.

"Y-Yeah, uh, it was a bunch of random letters and numbers. I, uh, couldn't read anything. So it probably would've been same if I tried messaging you."

"What's the matter? You want to say something else?"

Io was taken aback, "No, it was just that well... uh, what are you doing right now?

Max paused and tilted his head towards Io, "What does it look like, I'm looking through the menu. I just sent you a message, can you read it?"

A ding rang inside his head and buzzed through his entire body. It felt like he was touching a bell, yet he knew it was all in his head. He saw a red icon on the corner of his eye and pointed at it to reveal wall of random characters.

"I can't read anything."

"Yeah, and you looked like a crazy addict looking at nothing. It's pretty funny", Max snorted.

"Okay, Okay. Anyways can you read what you typed? I'm doing it right now, but I only see a bunch of random stuff."

"It was the same for me. I thought you'd be able to read it when I messaged you."

Max straightened his arms and legs and stood up, "Well, that settles it."

He dusted off his clothes and placed his hand on Io's shoulder, "You know what this means right?"

"No?"

"We're in a game. This is a our chance! Come on!" Max vigoriously shook Io back and forth.

"I know this is a game! And what do you mean by "chance"? This is serious!" Io said wrestling his arms under Max's.

"It means! We can do! Whatever! We! Want!" Max stiffened his grip and headbutted Io.

They both grunted in pain, covering they're foreheads. Io grasped onto his forehead, holding it as to prevent his veins from popping from his skin.

"What the hell! You going insane or something?"

Max laughed, making the pain on his forehead even worse, "Yeah, maybe. What I'm trying to say is that this is the game we've been spending our entire lives on you know. Don't you think it'd be a waste not to enjoy this?"

Io pondered the statement in his head. It had been the game where he could live his true life in. The only place where he could be someone instead of the dreary reality of having to work day in and day out. There was a sentiment of responsibility lingering in his head, attatched to an imaginary line to the real world. There was an element of truth to what Max said, though not applicable to real life, where they were now was far from where they once were.

"I guess so... well, what now." Io reached out to for Max's hand whle the sun glinted in his eye.

Max reciprocated and pulled him up from his feet, "There's a bunch of things we can do now. Where do you wanna start?"

"I'm thinking about what happens when we die."

"Lighten up will ya. How about something that's more fun", Max pointed towards a large gate.

"Sure. We should do some more tests though. Just in case."

Io swiped the dirt off his clothes, and slung his arm around Max, bickering as they walked towards the gate on the other side. They walked while the rest of the players were loathing and crying, all drowned out, stuck in their own little world.