Sword Art Online. The world's very first VRMMORPG, created by Kayaba Akihiko. Through the use of headgear known as the NerveGear, players can become fully immersed in this game, having all senses and movement transferred into the online world. This game of 100,000 players took off instantly. However, it wasn't long before players discovered one problem: There was no way to log out of the game. Players were trapped inside the virtual world, until one could clear all 100 floors of the floating castle, Aincrad. If someone was to die in game, the NerveGear would fry their brain, killing them in reality. Now, players band together in order to fight monsters and move up through the castle. One guild, the Black Cats of the Full Moon, is about to have tragedy befall their ranks... However, one twist in events will majorly change the future of SAO...
(Hey guys, Axel here. This is uh... Something new for me, heh. I've never really released anything I've written on the internet before... But that's going to change today. So, this might not make complete sense if you haven't seen SAO before, which is why I gave that brief introductory paragraph. Basically, this is my take on it. What if one event had been altered? What major scale changes would that cause? That's kinda what I was going for here. This is a prologue of sorts for now, I'll put more up when I get the time. Also, parenthesis and red text indicate an author's note. Now then, with that out of the way, let's get this show on the road!)
Prologue: Black Cats of the Full Moon
Kirito walked with the rest of the Black Cat of the Full Moon members, sharing their excitement. "Today's gonna be the day! We'll finally be able to buy our own house! Just think about it, a nice place to stay... I can't wait!" One member, Tetsuo, exclaimed.
"Heh, calm down... I'll go put the request in right now!" The guild leader, Keita, told the rest.
"Great! Hey, while you do that, we're gonna go raid a dungeon. We need something to do while we wait, right?" Sasamaru told Keita.
"Wait, dungeon raiding? Heh... I suppose I'll come along, too! After all, it shouldn't take too long to get the house, I can do that after! We might even get some more money for anything else we'd need! Also, we're a guild! We've got to stick together!" Keita decided. "Here, I'll put the money for the house in the guild inventory!" He told the others.
"You're right! Come on Sasamaru, we can't go anywhere without our leader!" Ducker teased Sasamaru, which led to those two, Keita, and Tetsuo laughing in unison. Kirito and Sachi both smiled, staying back a bit. The rest of the guild members were all offline friends who managed to get the game together. Kirito, however, was asked to join after he saved them from a near-death incident. Kirito was a beta tester, but avoided telling anyone. A majority of players thought of beta testers as the scum of the game, due to having previous experience in Aincrad, leading to special information which usually wasn't shared with the regular players. Kirito was also a much higher level than his friends, another thing he tried not to say. He thought they would think of him differently if they found out...
"Kirito... Are you prepared for the dungeon?" Sachi asked her friend. Kirito had been comforting Sachi for a long time now. In fact, he'd developed feelings for her over the course of his time in the guild. He hadn't officially admitted it yet, but given how close the two were, they might as well have been in a relationship.
Kirito smiled. "Of course! How about you? We might need to put your training to use in there!" He questioned Sachi. He trained with Sachi on occasion, since she had some doubts about her combat abilities. Sachi nodded. Before she could reply, the group reached the entrance to a cave.
"Here we are! Let's go!" Tetsuo shouted, running into the dungeon. Kirito sighed, and Sachi giggled at his excitement. The rest of the guild followed Tetsuo inside.
After walking through for a while, the group came across a room branching off from the path. The interior was fairly small in size, and contained a single treasure chest. "Alright, treasure!" Sasamaru exclaimed, and ran in, quickly followed by Tetsuo. Kirito, however, recognized this room. It was a trap room, filled with monsters. Teleportation crystals wouldn't work inside; they almost always lead to death. He couldn't warn the others in time. Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker were all inside.
"Stop! Don't go in, it's a trap!" Kirito shouted as Keita walked in. Sachi, who was just now beginning to enter, felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that Kirito was trying to stop her from entering. Suddenly, the wall closed in. Sachi was inches away from stepping into a death trap. The two stood outside, gazing in fear at the door. The pained screams of their fellow guild members could barely be heard, muffled by the walls. Sachi slowly fell to the ground, tears in her eyes. Kirito pounded a fist on the wall, fighting back the urge to cry. He couldn't save them in time. It was his fault that they'd died. There was no way to escape the room... The Black Cats of the Full Moon had been slain. Only him and Sachi remained.
The next day, Kirito and Sachi sat in their new house. A depressing atmosphere still hung in the air. Kirito decided to finish what the guild had wanted, and buy a house. Even if it was just for himself and Sachi, it would still suffice. It wasn't notably large; Kirito didn't spend all the money, that way they had extra for suppies. Kirito blamed himself for the death of the other four. Had he spoken up sooner, he could have at least saved one more. "Kirito..." Sachi broke the silence. "Thank you... for saving me." She thanked her best friend.
"You're welcome, but... The others, they're gone because I was too late..." Kirito muttered, mad at himself for screwing up like that.
"Kirito, don't blame yourself... You couldn't have told how dangerous it was at the time." Sachi tried to cheer Kirito up. "The others wouldn't want us to be held back... They'd want us to win this game, right?" She asked. "Promise me... We'll meet on the other side when this is over." Sachi stood over Kirito, forcing a smile. She was still saddened by prior events. However, she wanted to be able to move on. "The Black Cats of the Full Moon... We won't let bad luck fall over us ever again!" She promised Kirito.
"Right... We'll meet in real life when this mess is over. We'll know each other for who we truly are." Kirito promised, standing up. He hugged Sachi. "Thank you, Sachi... You reminded me, I still have more to fight for. I can't give up now. Keita and the others wouldn't want that!" He managed a grin.
Sachi blushed, then hugged Kirito back. "Yes. The Black Cats still live on... Even if it's only two of us. We'll still stick together." She smiled. The two looked out the nearby window. The two made a silent vow. They would both clear the 100 floors together. No matter what, they would make it out...
(Well, that's it for now! Sorry if it's not too good, I honestly rushed it a bit since I wanted to get at least a preview up today... I'll get to work on the first chapter as soon as I get the time! So, see you guys then!)
Sword Art Online. The world's very first VRMMORPG, created by Kayaba Akihiko. Through the use of headgear known as the NerveGear, players can become fully immersed in this game, having all senses and movement transferred into the online world. This game of 100,000 players took off instantly. However, it wasn't long before players discovered one problem: There was no way to log out of the game. Players were trapped inside the virtual world, until one could clear all 100 floors of the floating castle, Aincrad. If someone was to die in game, the NerveGear would fry their brain, killing them in reality. Now, players band together in order to fight monsters and move up through the castle. One guild, the Black Cats of the Full Moon, is about to have tragedy befall their ranks... However, one twist in events will majorly change the future of SAO...
(Hey guys, Axel here. This is uh... Something new for me, heh. I've never really released anything I've written on the internet before... But that's going to change today. So, this might not make complete sense if you haven't seen SAO before, which is why I gave that brief introductory paragraph. Basically, this is my take on it. What if one event had been altered? What major scale changes would that cause? That's kinda what I was going for here. This is a prologue of sorts for now, I'll put more up when I get the time. Also, parenthesis and red text indicate an author's note. Now then, with that out of the way, let's get this show on the road!)
Prologue: Black Cats of the Full Moon
Kirito walked with the rest of the Black Cat of the Full Moon members, sharing their excitement. "Today's gonna be the day! We'll finally be able to buy our own house! Just think about it, a nice place to stay... I can't wait!" One member, Tetsuo, exclaimed.
"Heh, calm down... I'll go put the request in right now!" The guild leader, Keita, told the rest.
"Great! Hey, while you do that, we're gonna go raid a dungeon. We need something to do while we wait, right?" Sasamaru told Keita.
"Wait, dungeon raiding? Heh... I suppose I'll come along, too! After all, it shouldn't take too long to get the house, I can do that after! We might even get some more money for anything else we'd need! Also, we're a guild! We've got to stick together!" Keita decided. "Here, I'll put the money for the house in the guild inventory!" He told the others.
"You're right! Come on Sasamaru, we can't go anywhere without our leader!" Ducker teased Sasamaru, which led to those two, Keita, and Tetsuo laughing in unison. Kirito and Sachi both smiled, staying back a bit. The rest of the guild members were all offline friends who managed to get the game together. Kirito, however, was asked to join after he saved them from a near-death incident. Kirito was a beta tester, but avoided telling anyone. A majority of players thought of beta testers as the scum of the game, due to having previous experience in Aincrad, leading to special information which usually wasn't shared with the regular players. Kirito was also a much higher level than his friends, another thing he tried not to say. He thought they would think of him differently if they found out...
"Kirito... Are you prepared for the dungeon?" Sachi asked her friend. Kirito had been comforting Sachi for a long time now. In fact, he'd developed feelings for her over the course of his time in the guild. He hadn't officially admitted it yet, but given how close the two were, they might as well have been in a relationship.
Kirito smiled. "Of course! How about you? We might need to put your training to use in there!" He questioned Sachi. He trained with Sachi on occasion, since she had some doubts about her combat abilities. Sachi nodded. Before she could reply, the group reached the entrance to a cave.
"Here we are! Let's go!" Tetsuo shouted, running into the dungeon. Kirito sighed, and Sachi giggled at his excitement. The rest of the guild followed Tetsuo inside.
After walking through for a while, the group came across a room branching off from the path. The interior was fairly small in size, and contained a single treasure chest. "Alright, treasure!" Sasamaru exclaimed, and ran in, quickly followed by Tetsuo. Kirito, however, recognized this room. It was a trap room, filled with monsters. Teleportation crystals wouldn't work inside; they almost always lead to death. He couldn't warn the others in time. Tetsuo, Sasamaru, and Ducker were all inside.
"Stop! Don't go in, it's a trap!" Kirito shouted as Keita walked in. Sachi, who was just now beginning to enter, felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see that Kirito was trying to stop her from entering. Suddenly, the wall closed in. Sachi was inches away from stepping into a death trap. The two stood outside, gazing in fear at the door. The pained screams of their fellow guild members could barely be heard, muffled by the walls. Sachi slowly fell to the ground, tears in her eyes. Kirito pounded a fist on the wall, fighting back the urge to cry. He couldn't save them in time. It was his fault that they'd died. There was no way to escape the room... The Black Cats of the Full Moon had been slain. Only him and Sachi remained.
The next day, Kirito and Sachi sat in their new house. A depressing atmosphere still hung in the air. Kirito decided to finish what the guild had wanted, and buy a house. Even if it was just for himself and Sachi, it would still suffice. It wasn't notably large; Kirito didn't spend all the money, that way they had extra for suppies. Kirito blamed himself for the death of the other four. Had he spoken up sooner, he could have at least saved one more. "Kirito..." Sachi broke the silence. "Thank you... for saving me." She thanked her best friend.
"You're welcome, but... The others, they're gone because I was too late..." Kirito muttered, mad at himself for screwing up like that.
"Kirito, don't blame yourself... You couldn't have told how dangerous it was at the time." Sachi tried to cheer Kirito up. "The others wouldn't want us to be held back... They'd want us to win this game, right?" She asked. "Promise me... We'll meet on the other side when this is over." Sachi stood over Kirito, forcing a smile. She was still saddened by prior events. However, she wanted to be able to move on. "The Black Cats of the Full Moon... We won't let bad luck fall over us ever again!" She promised Kirito.
"Right... We'll meet in real life when this mess is over. We'll know each other for who we truly are." Kirito promised, standing up. He hugged Sachi. "Thank you, Sachi... You reminded me, I still have more to fight for. I can't give up now. Keita and the others wouldn't want that!" He managed a grin.
Sachi blushed, then hugged Kirito back. "Yes. The Black Cats still live on... Even if it's only two of us. We'll still stick together." She smiled. The two looked out the nearby window. The two made a silent vow. They would both clear the 100 floors together. No matter what, they would make it out...
(Well, that's it for now! Sorry if it's not too good, I honestly rushed it a bit since I wanted to get at least a preview up today... I'll get to work on the first chapter as soon as I get the time! So, see you guys then!)
Edited by VIIIAxel