Chapter Text
Fife turned his head and grinned as he saw the Frenzy Boar freeze in place and burst into a small could of coloured polygons, the glimmering shapes scattering through the air for a moment before vanishing entirely. Fife lowered his sword and closed the congratulations window that had appeared in front of him before turning to his friend Staan, who’s name was displayed in the top left corner of his field of vision. "The polygon death graphic is a little weird,” he said, giving his friend a shrug, “but overall this is awesome!"
"Yeah, it’ll take some getting used to," agreed Staan, whose female avatar was slipping her rapier back into its scabbard, "but you’ve got to admit, this is amazing! The in-game rendering is fantastic, and the full immersion with the NerveGear is really cool!"
"So why did you decide to make your avatar a girl?" asked Fife, unable to avoid chuckling as he looked at his friend. Staan looked vastly different than he did IRL, his avatar being a rather adorable red-headed girl with freckles rather than the tall, lanky blonde guy Fife knew him to be in the real world.
Staan shrugged at him before answering, his face reddening slightly as he did. "I just like to switch up the characters I play. It keeps things interesting. You know?"
Fife took a step forward and raised the tip of his sword, flicking the red-headed avatar’s skirt up. "You sure you don't just like to dress up in girls' clothes?"
"Shut up!" Laughed Staan, pushing the skirt back down with one hand while he flashed Fife a rude sign with the other. "And quit peeking! Anyway, there's more boars over there. Let's go take them out, then head back to Town."
"Sounds good!" Fife agreed, flipping Staan’s skirt up again before turning and heading off.
“You know, if you keep this up you’ll get a harassment warning, and I’ll be able to send you to prison.” Staan chided him as his adorable avatar followed Fife further out into the fields. The two friends approached the pair of Frenzy Boars and readied their blades. Fife moved towards the boar on the left, and sprang forward, activating the Slant sword skill as he moved alongside the boar's head. Fife's sword started to glow a light blue colour, and he allowed the system to take over as it moved his sword to complete the diagonal slash onto the back of the boar's head. The boar froze in place, just as the last had, and the familiar polygon poof appeared and faded. Fife closed the "Congratulations" window informing him of his victory over the boar and noticed that Staan's health bar in the top left of his HUD had dropped a little. Fife turned to his right in time to see the cloud of polygons that had been Staan's boar, and watched as the redhead shrugged her slender shoulders at him.
"I didn't make the right gesture to activate the sword skill,” Staan said by way of explanation, the high-pitched female voice the avatar spoke with still sounding strange to Fife’s ears. “I missed my first attack chance, and it got a hit in before I managed to activate Linear properly. I just need to get a feel for it."
"Yeah, the sword skill activation is going to take some getting used to.” Agreed Fife, sheathing his sword and crossing his arms across his avatar’s broad chest. “But on the plus side, we've gained a fair bit of Exp and earned some Cor off this little outing. How are you liking the rapier?"
"It's not bad.” Staan replied, hefting the weapon in his hand and giving it a swing, “I want to base my play-style on speed, so I thought it would be a good fit.” Staan sheathed his rapier once again as he spoke, then glanced sideways at Fife before striking a comically cute pose, placing his left hand on his hip and holding his right hand up to give a peace sign. “How's the Small Sword?"
"Not bad.” Fife said after his laughter subsided, shaking his bearded head at his friend, “I'm probably going to tank my character, so I figured using a one-handed weapon with a shield would be the way to go." Fife explained, giving his friend a shrug. “I’m still debating trying a hammer or an axe, but I like the sword.
"Of course you are.” Staan said as he rolled his eyes theatrically, “You always tank your characters!"
"And you always go for speed,” Fife countered with a chuckle as he stepped forward and threw an arm around his friend’s shoulders, “so our play styles usually compliment each other.” Mischief bloomed in Fife’s eyes, and he reached out with his free hand and gave Staan’s skirt another flick. “Just like that skirt compliments your eyes!”
"Shut up, man!” Staan complained, pushing Fife’s hand away and running off a few steps. “And quit trying to check out my panties!” He added, casting a dark glance at Fife over his shoulder. Staan tried to maintain the glare, but a moment was all he could manage before the two of them broke down laughing.
"Should we head back to town and see what we can afford?" Staan suggested as the laughter finally subsided.
Fife agreed, and so he and Staan made their way back to the Town of Beginnings. The two had been friends for years in the real world, and were both avid gamers. They had both been disappointed at missing out on being Beta Testers for SAO, though they had made sure they both got copies on the first day of release. Once they had camped on the sidewalk and waited in line for what seemed like a lifetime, they had rushed home and waited for the 1:00PM launch of the SAO servers, and had logged in and started creating their characters. They had been waiting for SAO since the moment it was announced, and so far it had lived up to all their expectations. As the two walked towards the Town of Beginnings to the East, they discussed possible character traits, the game’s graphics, and Staan's latest addition to his long succession of short-term girlfriends. They reached the entrance gate of the town just as another familiar player was emerging from the gates. His in-game name was Freeman, which both Fife and Staan agreed was ironic, since in the real world he had the most controlling fiancee either of them could imagine, leaving him anything but free. Fife was almost surprised that she wasn't in SAO as well, if only so she could yell at him and boss him around in the virtual world as well as the real one. Fife had little doubt that, should she start playing SAO, she would end up repeatedly PKing Freeman for every little perceived slight and transgression.
"Hey Freeman!" Called Staan, raising his avatar’s slender arm to wave as he recognized their friend from earlier, though Freeman had had to log out to run some errands IRL. "How's it going, man?"
"Not bad, man! Er, woman? Girl?" Called back Freeman, stumbling with the words as he stared at Staan’s cute, bubbly looking female avatar. "So, uh, why are you a girl, dude?
“He wanted to wear a skirt.” Fife informed Freeman, giving their friend a broad grin. “He tells me it makes him feel pretty.”
“Shut up Fife!” Staan growled, the angry expression on the freckled avatar only making things worse as the other two laughed at him.
“Whatever floats your boat, man.” Freeman said, shaking his head as he let out another chuckle. “I’m just heading out to do a bit of hunting. How is it out there?"
"It’s awesome, man!" Said Fife, "This game is great! The Frenzy boars make for easy XP and Cor. We were just out for a bit to get some cash. Going to go check out the shops in town now."
"Right on, I'll catch up with you guys later, ok?"
"Sounds good man,” Staan told their friend as he made to head off, “Fife and I may catch up with you out there in a bit. Happy hunting!"
With that the friends parted ways, with Fife and Staan keeping up a steady stream of good-natured bickering as they made their way into the Town of Beginnings. They'd been out in the western fields for 2 hours wandering around, getting used to the sword skills, and had each killed a good number Frenzy Boars. Fife swiped his hand to open his player menu and looked at the clock.
"Not bad man! It's only 3:30. SAO has been live for 2 and a half hours, and we've already made a bit of cash and gained some experience!"
"Yeah, not bad at all! Let's just hit the shops for a minute, then go catch up with Freeman. We can get him to join our party and check out some other areas." Suggested Staan. The two friends made their way to the shops, and each bought a panini to eat, and each bought 5 of the cheapest black bread loaves from the NPC bakery in the Town of Beginnings. They browsed some other wares, but didn't bother to buy anything yet. They were close enough to leveling up that there was no point in spending any of their money on gear yet, so they spent the 17 Cor on their food, ate their paninis while sitting on a bench on the sidewalk of one of the large, paved roads of the Town of Beginnings, then headed back out the West Gate to go look for Freeman and grind monsters for experience.
Half and hour later found the three friends hunting together in the fields, hunting Frenzy Boar to try and get Freeman caught up a bit. Freeman turned away from the polygon burst that had been a boar and smiled at Staan and Fife. "This is awesome!"
"You getting the hang of initiating the sword skills?" Asked Fife.
"Yeah! It took a few tries, but I'm getting it now!" Freeman beamed, bringing his axe up to rest on his shoulder as he turned to face Fife and Staan. "I can't believe how cool this is!" Staan laughed at Freeman’s enthusiasm as the axe wielder continued. "I mean, I've always loved video games, but the NerveGear changes everything! Experiencing the game in full dive VR is so cool! It definitely beats the hell out of a console and a controller! And this way you can’t break the controller when you get pissed off and throw it at the hzzz..."
All talk and laughter abruptly stopped as Freeman’s avatar flickered briefly, his words cut off by a strange static sound. Fife watched wide eyed as Freeman’s avatar seemed to flicker and distort, the strange static speech sounding confused. The distortions continued for several more seconds before Freeman disappeared entirely, vanishing from the virtual world. Fife and Staan exchanged a confused look.
“He must have lost his connection.” Fife finally said, giving Staan a shrug. “He’ll probably be back on in few minutes. Unless his fiancée came home and ripped the NergeGear off his head.”
“If that’s the case, she’s probably beating him with it right now,” Staan said, shaking his head as he chuckled, “I still don’t understand why he proposed to her. She’s nuts!”
“Your guess is as good as mine, man.” Fife replied with an unenthusiastic smile, “You can ask him when he logs back in.” He turned to face his friend, sheathing his sword once more as he did so. “Why don’t we head back to town and see if he logs back in. We’ll give him twenty minutes or so before we log out and call the cops to report the murder.”
Staan laughed at the joke, the musical sound of the avatar’s giggle making Fife laugh that much harder. Their laughter died suddenly as the fields around them were filled with the sound of a tolling bell, it’s echoing call resounding through the air as though from every direction at once.
"What do you think it is?" Asked Staan, turning to look in the direction of town. “Some sort of event?”
"Dunno, man," replied Fife. "Maybe we should head back and…” Fife’s words were cut short as a bright blue light enveloped the two of them, his eyes widening with surprise until the light grew bright enough to force him to shut his eyes.
“What the hell is…” Staan began to say, though he never got the opportunity to finish as the two friends disappeared, leaving the area the had once stood deserted.
< = = >
Suki sighed as Mila finally walked into view and waved. Suki had been waiting for Mila to finish her character creation and show up to the meeting place they had agreed upon. She had been waiting. And waiting. For two hours. "Finally!" Exclaimed Suki, her tone impatient as she voiced her anger through gritted teeth. "How can it take so long for you to get through the character creation?"
"The character creation was SO cool! I wanted to take my time and enjoy it! You've seen me play console RPGs. You should have known I'd be a little while. Besides, it's not like I can just log in and play with one of the default skins! Where's the fun in that?"
"A little while? Mila, I've been standing around for two hours!" growled Suki through clenched teeth, "Can we please go explore now?"
"Yeah, of course!" Smiled Mila, speaking as though nothing was wrong. "I'm looking forward to seeing what the graphics are like outside! The Town of Beginnings is awesome so far!"
The two girls moved off, heading towards the western gate. Suki slowly began relaxing as they walked. She should have known Mila would take forever to create a character. They were roommates IRL, and Suki had watched Mila spend countless hours on many different games just playing with various character creation systems. On top of which, Suki had to admit that Mila had done a pretty cool job with her character. The likeness of Mila's character's face was very close to Mila's actual face, and her height and body shape were pretty much dead-on. Her hair colour was different, with the character's hair being a light orange colour, but as Mila's roommate Suki would be the only person to know that.
Suki herself had taken the lazy route with her character creation. She hadn't used the default skin settings, mostly because Mila would have never shut up about it if she had, but she had only made a handful of changes to make the character her own. In Suki's opinion, in a game with a first person view, it didn't matter to her what she looked like. She couldn't really see her character anyway. Suki wasn't one to care about what other people thought of her in the real world, let alone in the fake world of some virtual video game.
"I'm really excited to get leveling and get some armour and cool weapons!" Exclaimed Mila, practically jumping up and down in anticipation.
"As long as this isn't one of those games where guys' armour is big and bulky but women's armour is basically a metal bikini!" Grumbled Suki.
"There’s nothing wrong with a little bit of cleavage every now and then." Mila grinned, knowing the comment would irk her friend.
"You can't tell me the armour in those sorts of games would actually provide any protection!" exclaimed Suki, taking the bait, "it's nothing but a bunch of horny nerd game developers with dirty minds and a sad case of wishful thinking! No woman would actually wear armour like that!"
Suki glanced over at Mila and grinned sarcastically "Except maybe you, since you can't seem to get the hang of wearing pants around our apartment either."
"What?" Complained Mila "I just forget to do laundry! You can't expect me to walk around in grungy clothes! And If I do you just tell me to do laundry! I can't do laundry AND wear my clothes at the same time! Pick one!"
Suki growled under her breath, then sighed. Mila was hopeless. Suki and Mila had been friends for a long time, and had been roommates for a few years now. Mila was absolutely lazy and absentminded when it came to anything except her job and video games. On top of which Suki was pretty sure that, if Mila didn't work at a health spa, she would be lazy, absentminded and very out of shape.
Suki was the yin to Mila's yang. Suki was predictable in her routines for everything, including laundry and cleaning. Suki had never even held a video game controller before she met Mila. Even now she only played every now and then, and even then it was usually just to stop Mila from nagging her to play video games with her. And, she had to admit, she did enjoy them every now and then. When she wasn't standing around waiting for Mila to create her character.
"Let's go kill some creatures!" Said Mila as they walked through the west gate of the Town of Beginnings and out into the outside wilds of the 1st floor, "I want to try out these sword skills! It's supposed to be really cool!"
And with that, Mila took off running down the road, with Suki sighing and scrambling to keep up with her.
< = = >
As the two figures rematerialized among a massive crowd in the centre of the Town of Beginnings, the large bearded head of Fife’s avatar glanced around at the scene of chaos.
"What was that?" asked Staan, the now familiar high-pitched voice of his avatar drawing Fife’s attention.
"Hell if I know." Muttered Fife, looking around and seeing still more players appearing all around them, until the town square appeared to be filled with every player in SAO. A moment later the tolling of the bell fell silent, basking the square in an eerie silence before an alarmed cacophony of noise erupted from the gathered mass of players.
"Look!" Exclaimed Staan, pointing at the sky above the town, where a red polygon was flashing the word "Warning". Suddenly, the sky above the town of beginnings was filling with red alert blocks with server messages stating "Warning" and "System announcement", expanding until it created a massive red dome over the whole town. Once the dome had enveloped the area, a strange shape seemed to bleed out of it, extending downward form the dome until it formed a hanging glob that seemed as though it would drip down on top of them. As the gathered masses watched, the glob formed into a massive figure in a red cloak which hung suspended above them. The giant cloaked figure spread it’s arms wide as a voice boomed over the square, a male voice, speaking in a deep, calm tone.
"Welcome to my world, dear players. My name is Akihiko Kayoba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world.”
"What the hell?" Muttered Fife
“You have likely noticed by now that the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug – it is a feature of Sword Art Online.”
"What the hell is he talking about?" exclaimed Staan, his shoulders tensing as he balled his hands into fists.
“From this point onward, you will be unable to freely log out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered.”
"Is he serious?" Asked Fife.
"I think it would be safe to assume he is." Staan replied as his freckled avatar gritting her teeth, red colour rising in her face to emote the anger felt by the player.
“Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shut down via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted, the high-powered microwaves emitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes.”
""This guy is freaking nuts!" Staan whimpered.
"Yeah, kinda getting that vibe too." agreed Fife, the large barbarian like avatar balling it’s hands into fists as it too, coloured with rage. The red-robed admin figure that was Akihiko Kayaba continued its dark monologue with no heed for the cries of panic that rose form the crowd assembled below.
“To be more specific, the brain-frying sequence will commence upon any of the following circumstances: ten minutes of no external power; two hours of network disconnection; removal, dismantling, or destruction of the NerveGear. The authorities and media in the outside world have already announced the details of these conditions to the general public. At present, the friends and family of several players have already ignored these warnings and attempted to forcefully remove their NerveGears, the results being…”
Fife’s eyed widened as the realization of what was to come next dawned on him, his mouth opening wordlessly as horror gripped him.
“…that sadly, two hundred and thirteen players have already been permanently retired from both Aincrad and the real world.”
“Oh shit…” Staan breathed, the words coming out as a barely audible whisper as he came to the same conclusion Fife had. “Freeman… That means he’s…”
“Dead.” Fife finished the thought for him, the single word spoken in a low growl through the clenched jaw of his bearded avatar.
“Oh shit…” Staan whispered again, the eyes of his pretty avatar wide and white with fear. “Oh shit! Holy shit!”
“There is no need to worry about your physical bodies back in the real world. The current state of the game and today’s fatalities have been covered far and wide on television, radio, and the Internet. The danger that someone will forcefully remove your NerveGear is already much diminished. The two-hour offline leeway period should provide enough time for your physical bodies to be transported to hospitals and other long-term care facilities with proper security, eliminating concerns over your physical well-being. You may rest assured… and focus on conquering the game.”
“Rest assured? He can’t be goddamn serious!” Snarled Fife, his avatar the very picture of rage. “He’s murdered over two hundred people!” Gone was the horror that had previously seized him, gone was the shock that had left him muted and silent. Now Fife found himself filled with rage, with hatred that burned towards the hooded Kayaba who delivered this news of confinement and death with such a calm tone. This was insanity!
“However, please proceed with caution. As of this moment, Sword Art Online is no longer a game to you. It is another reality. The standard means of player resurrection will no longer function as they did previously. When your hit points dwindle to zero, your avatar will be permanently deleted… and the NerveGear will destroy your brain.”
“This is crazy!” Cried Staan, raising an arm to shake his fist at Kayaba’s avatar. “You can’t honestly expect us to play along with this insanity!” The shrill cry of his avatar’s voice joined the yells and screams of thousands more as cries of protest were put forward by the assembled crowd. Kayaba continued, paying no heed to the players or their collective protests.
“There is only one condition through which you can be freed from this game. Simply reach the hundredth floor at the pinnacle of Aincrad and defeat the final boss who awaits you there. In that instant, all surviving players will be able to safely log out once again.”
Fife heard a male voice yelling nearby, raising his own protest. “Clear the hundredth floor? W-we can’t possibly do that! I heard the entire group of beta testers barely got through the very start of the game!” The player who yelled the words wasn’t wrong. Staan had been reading up on Sword Art Online since it was announced and had been giving Fife constant updates on the game’s development and progress.
“We are so freaking screwed…” Fife breathed, the fires of his rage extinguished as a feeling of hopelessness came over him, chilling him to the core of his being.
“Finally, let me prove to you that this world is now your one and only reality. I’ve prepared a gift for all of you. You may find it in your item storage.”
All around the plaza, players opened their menus and looked in their item storage. The two friends followed suit, find an item labeled "Hand Mirror" in their item lists. They each tapped the item, and a small handheld mirror appeared before them. Suddenly, all over the plaza, people were surrounded by a blue glow, and startled cries filled the air as players were consumed by the blinding glow. After it had subsided, Fife and Staan stared at each other, shocked.
"Your avatar is gone!" Gasped Staan, staring at Fife and seeing him as he appeared in the real world, though still wearing the clothes he had been when they started out in SAO.
"You too!" Said Fife, who couldn’t prevent himself from bursting out laughing, "And you're still wearing the girls clothes from your avatar!"
"Shut up!"
"I'm sorry, it's not funny." Said Fife, trying to keep a strait face. His efforts lasted only about 2 seconds. "But I've gotta say," Fife continued between laughs, "It's a good look for you!"
"Screw you man!"
"With that pretty skirt on, you might have a chance!"
"Shut up, asshole, or I'll..." Staan’s threat was cut short as Kayaba once again resumes his grim speech.
“You are likely asking yourselves, why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of SAO and the NerveGear unit, do such a thing? Is it an act of terrorism? An elaborate kidnapping to extract ransom money? What I seek is neither of these things. I have no goals or justifications at this moment. In fact, this very situation was my ultimate goal. I created the NerveGear and SAO precisely in order to build this world and observe it. I have now achieved that aim.”
“This crazy bastard locked us in here and murdered all those people just because he wanted to?” Staan wondered aloud, speaking to no one in particular. “He’s insane. Utterly insane.”
“This concludes the tutorial phase of Sword Art Online. I wish you the best of luck, dear players.” Kayaba’s final words echoed in the air for a moment before dying out, casting the plaza below in dead silence once more. As the thousands of players who now stood trapped in the game Sword Art Online watched, the robed figure began to rise, it’s hooded head melting into the system warning display, followed by it’s shoulders, arms, and then the rest of it’s body. Once the hooded figure of their captor and tormentor, Akihiko Kayaba, had disappeared entirely, the system warning notifications that formed the ominous red dome of the plaza disappeared, allowing the sky to show through once more, the bright, cheerful look of a clear day seeming to taunt the players who had just had Kayaba’s dark ultimatum delivered moments before.
The occupants of the plaza all stood in quiet shock for a moment, then a shrill cry that sounded like that of a small girl rose from somewhere off to their left, and soon the panic had spread.
All over the plaza, voices raised in alarm and panic. The crowd erupted in confusion. Staan saw a young man with short black hair dart into an alley with a taller player in tow. He continued to look around at the crowd until his daze was broken by a hand gripping his left arm. He turned his head and saw Fife looking at him.
"We've gotta go," Fife growled, "This panic could turn ugly, and if we really will die IRL if we die in game, I want to put some distance between us and this panicked mob."
Fife's words snapped Staan out of his shocked silence. Staan nodded his agreement and the pair started making their way through the crowd towards the west gate.
< = = >
"Who cares about your stupid avatar!" growled Suki, dragging Mila by the arm through the crowd as the sounds of alarm and confusion grew all around them, "We should get somewhere away from all these people!"
"But it took me so long to make! It was so cool!" Mila whined.
"I know how long it took you to make! I was standing around here waiting for you the whole damn time! Now come on!" Shouted Suki, inches from Mila's face.
Suki had heard some players near them talking, and the two guys seemed to have a point. Large crowds plus panic usually spelled trouble. And as the guy had said, if death in Sword Art Online really did mean death in real life, Suki didn't want to be anywhere near large desperate gatherings of people. She continued to drag the whining Mila through the crowd, in the direction that the three men had traveled, which seemed to be towards the west gate.
"Where are we going?" Asked Mila, "Why are we heading towards the west gate?"
"I saw some guys head this way. I heard them mention back in the plaza that panicked crowds can spell trouble. They made a very good point."
"So now we're stalking them?" Asked Mila, "I'm sure that'll go over well."
"We're not stalking them!" Snapped Suki, "We're just moving in the same direction they are. Away from the crowd. Then we can figure out what to do from there."
"What should we do?" Asked Mila.
"What do you mean what should we do?" Snapped Suki, "The only reason I bought this game was because you wouldn't stop pestering me about it! You're the gamer girl here! So YOU tell ME!"
Suki's tirade seemed to snap Mila out of her sulk.
"Right. Ok." Said Mila, a new look of grim determination on her face. "It's still an RPG, even if it’s suddenly a much scarier one. So we need to treat it like any other RPG."
"Meaning..." Prompted Suki.
"Meaning we need to work to level up and get better equipment. Especially with the new risk in the game. The better weapons and armour we get, the better our chance of survival."
"So you want us to go out there and fight monsters, even though they can kill us. Like, actually kill us."
"Yeah."
"Ok. But let's be careful. You're the RPG addict, so I'll follow your lead."
"Right!" Said Mila, looking at her friend with a new look of determination. "Lets go."
With that, the two friends turned and continued heading for the west gate.
< = = >
Fife and Staan stopped just outside the west gate. Not much time had passed, but they seemed to have a bit of distance between them and the mob.
"Ok, hold up." Said Fife, "we need to figure out what we're going to do. This situation got really screwed up really fast back there. We need a plan if we’re going to…” Fife’s words died off as he was distracted by two players who came jogging out of the gate, stopping just a few meters short of them. Fife and Staan turned to the new arrivals, wondering who they had come running out of town only to stop just beside them. The players were two girls who looked to be in their early twenties. One had long dark reddish hair that fell midway down her back, and the other's hair was sandy brown and hung just past her shoulders, with part of it tied up in the back with a blue ribbon. The brunette looked to be about 5 and a half feet tall, and the redhead was an inch or two taller. Both were wearing the basic clothing options that players start out with in Sword Art Online. The redhead was wearing a white tunic and beige pants with brown calf-high boots. The brunette was wearing a tight-fitting black shirt with short sleeves, with a bright blue skirt and black knee-length boots. Both had small pieces or armour visible strapped on over their clothes. The brunette carried small sword, the basic beginner sword, while the redhead carried an axe.
The two new-arrivals stopped and stared at the two boys as if unsure how to proceed. "Hey." The brunette finally said, "Where are you guys headed?"
"Uh, and why are you wearing that?" Asked the redhead, looking at Staan’s now male form wearing a navy blue skirt and white and blue striped tank top. The question caused Fife to burst into a fresh fit of laughter while colour once again rose in Staan’s cheeks.
< = = >
They had stumbled upon the group of guys Suki had seen earlier just outside the West gate. The two boys had apparently stopped just outside the gate, and the boys now turned to face Suki and Mila as they drew up just a few meters away. Suki hadn't gotten a good look at the two players before, and now studied them for a moment. They were both tall, one she guessed to be just under 6 feet tall, and the other about an inch or two taller. The shorter of the two appeared to be around Suki and Mila's age, and was lean, almost skinny, with blonde hair that was shaved on the sides and long on top, slicked back along the top of his head. He had a clean shaven face and clear blue eyes that peered back at her warily. The taller player looked to be a few years older and was larger in build, with a shaved head and a full beard of brown hair. He wore a navy blue shirt with short sleeves, black trousers and black boots, with mismatched pieces of armour overtop. The blonde player was wearing...a skirt?
"Hey." Mila said, breaking the silence that had fallen over the group as Suki studied the duo. "Where are you guys headed?"
"Uh, and why are you wearing that?" asked Suki, causing the taller of the male players turned to look at his friend and burst out laughing.
"Shut the hell up, Fife!" Snapped the blonde player, his face contorted with rage.
"I'm sorry man, I can't help it! It's goddamn hilarious!"
"You should watch your language," Suki remonstrated, directing a stern stare at the bearded player that the blonde one had called Fife, "there's kids who play this game."
"Well, considering we're now trapped in this game and there's a very real risk of actually dying, I think them hearing me use some harsh language is the least of our worries." Fife countered, his tone sounding oddly upbeat given the subject they were discussing.
“Dude, how are you cracking jokes? Brandon is dead!” The blonde player yelled at his friend, his face turning a violent shade of red. “We saw our friend disappear! He’s gone! How are you so calm right now? If what Kayaba said is true…”
“Then he’s dead IRL too.” Fife finished the thought, his eyes locked on his friend. The cold, matter of fact tone he used to address the blonde player cause a chill to run up Mila’s spine. “And there isn’t a damn thing we can do for him,” Fife continued in the same tone, “he’s gone. We need to concentrate on our own situation right now.”
“Seriously? Our friend is dead!” Scott yelled, hands clenching into fists as he took a step forward. The anger was plain on his face behind the tears that streamed down over his cheeks. “We watched him disappear, and now we’re told he’s dead, and you’re acting like nothing happened! How can you be such a goddamn heartless bastard?”
Mila was beginning to worry that the two were going to come to blows, her eyes wide with uncertainty as she looked on at the unfolding scene. The one called Fife was calm, eerily so if what the blonde player said was true. To see someone you know die and yet remain so calm seemed unnatural to Mila. The brunette cast a sideways glance at Suki, who watched the scene playing out before them with a look of unease that Mila was sure mirrored her own.
< = = >
Fife understood where his friend’s pain was coming from. Staan had been close with Freeman and was not taking the loss well. Fife had a tendency to be cold and unfeeling, both in game and IRL, an unfortunate result of his time working as a paramedic before he’d moved to Japan along with Staan and Freeman to teach English. Staan was well aware of the fact, though at this moment it didn’t prevent him from hurling abuse at Fife and cursing him.
“Shit, you’re a real bastard, Fife. I can’t believe you!” Staan raved, spittle flying form his mouth as he screamed at Fife. “You really are messed up, you know that? You’re an evil bastard.”
“Um… there’s more players coming. Maybe we should get going?” There words came from a female voice, causing Fife and Staan to turn and face the pair or girls who had joined them outside the safety of the Town of Beginnings. It was the redhead who spoke, staring at them with an intense expression on her face. “If we’re outside the town, doesn’t that mean that other players could potentially attack us? I know there’s a word for it…”
“PKing.” The brunette spoke up, nodding in agreement. “Suki is right. We should get moving and put some distance between us and the other people, just in case.”
“Sorry,” Fife spoke up, looking from one girl to the other. “But who are you?”
“I’m Mila.” The brunette answered, speaking in a surprisingly matter of fact tone considering the verbal attack she’d born witness to. “And this is my friend Suki.”
“And why do you want to come with us?” Staan asked, his eyes still burning red with tears and with suspicion ringing heavy in his tone.
Suki gave Staan a stern look, crossing her arms and planting her feet in a no-nonsense stance. “If we’re really stuck in this game, and if the risk of death is actually real, then there is strength in numbers.” She said, speaking as though explaining the thought to a petulant child. “That being the case, it would make sense for us to team up. The more people we have, the easier it will be to deal with monsters and stay alive.”
“She has a point, Staan.” Fife admitted, glancing at his friend before returning his attention to the two girls. “Do you two have much experience with MMOs?”
“I do!” Mila, the brunette, said as she raised her hand and grinned. “Suki has a little, but mostly she just plays so I’ll stop bugging her.”
“Oh, so you two are friends IRL then?” Staan asked, shaking off the pouty look he had been wearing following Suki’s lecture. “Us too. The three of us…” Staan cut of mid sentence as he realized the third person he had been referring to was now dead, having disappeared before their very eyes just before Kayaba’s announcement. When he continued, it was in a quieter tone, his voice shaking a little with emotion. “We were all friends. We work together too, teaching English at a private school.” Fife grunted in confirmation, glancing at his friend with worry.
“They’re right, Staan.” Fife said softly, knowing his friend was in a fragile state. “We should get moving.” He shrugged, still looking at his friend. “And they have a point. Teaming up with them would make sense.”
“Strength in numbers and all that.” Stann muttered, nodding. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”
“Ok, then it’s settled!” Mila said, her voice trying to be cheery but still sounding uncertain as she opened her player menu with a swipe of her hand. “I’ll send you guys a party invite.”