The spacious living room of the large house thudded loudly at the sound of footsteps running back and forth frantically, preparing for what was to soon come.
"Countdown's starting!"
"Isn't Yurishizu here yet?"
"Let her be—she said she had something to do."
Below all the ruckus in the basement was a white-haired girl, isolating herself in a large room with various computers and wires sprawled everywhere. In her hands was a white helmet, which she balanced carefully in her thin, pale fingers for a brief moment. Its name, AutoClear, was imprinted in a small black font on the right side of the helmet.
"Ten!"
"But don't you think we she call her though?"
Yurishizu took a deep breath and put it over her head. Who cared if she missed the countdown to end the first half of the century? It was just a number, after all.
"Nine!"
"Like I said—let her be. Onee-san doesn't care much for these things anyways."
"Eight!"
"Where is she?"
"Seven!"
"Probably in the basement."
"Six!"
"Isn't your older sister super hot, Chou?"
"Five!"
"She is! I saw her once last year!"
"Four!"
"Guys… shut up."
"Three!"
"Yeah, way to start off the new year you idiots."
"Two!"
"Not yet! There's still a second left!"
"One!"
Yurishizu closed her light-yellow eyes, letting the darkness engulf her. Then, a flash of white burst onto the screen with a series of logins and passwords milling about. She could feel her clothes disappearing, soon being replaced by a white blouse with a black skirt and black boots. Her hair was tied into a loose braid, and her bangs were clipped to the side by a pretty turquoise flower.
She heard one last thing before the system completely overtook her senses.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"
Yellow eyes flashed open. "Login complete. Link start!"
The musty smell of her large basement at home was soon replaced by the smell of the salty sea. Cheers to celebrate the new year were soon silenced by the seagulls circling the large harbours of the megacity, Porthaven. Giant buildings seemed to touch the sky, and small ships roamed the straights.
What caught her eye wasn't the vast landscape, however. Tiny black dots raced in the sky off towards the distance. From the sea it may have looked like a giant bird, but if one ventured closer to it…
Robots. Called 'Mechas' in this world, were the primary source of fighting and travelling. People often attempted to venture far with them but soon ended up coming back to Porthaven for various reasons.
The logo of the game, Maverick Mecha Online, often abbreviated to Machaon (MaChaOn), flashed in the sky before her. A female voice echoed far off into the distance.
"Welcome to: Maverick Mecha Online, Hanamura Yurishizu. Current status: level twelve. Current location: floor one, Village of Beginnings: Porthaven. Day two-hundred and eight of playing."
The screen turned into darkness once more for a brief moment, but soon switched off into her in-game home.
It was a two-floored apartment, decorated with many furniture to make the place seem cozy and warm. The TV and sofa set were in the centre of the living room, and two stairs above it led to the spacious kitchen and large table, even when she was the only person living here. There were seven rooms in total, one on the first floor and the remaining six upstairs, completed with five bathrooms and a wide balcony.
The apartment costed a fortune, but she was one of the better-off characters in Machaon—with the ridiculous price of having to buy parts for the Mechas to maintaining a home, most players found it difficult to earn any sum of decent money—but Yurishizu was doing well. It was equally hard to level up in this world, but she'd managed to reach level twelve by spending two years in the game.
Today was the second anniversary of Machaon, and there had been a special announcement that all the players logging in on January 1st, 2050 within the first minute of the New Year in GMT +9 would receive a special gift. This was the first of some sort of event in this world—there wasn't anything like this on its launch date nor in 2049. She expected there to be quite a crowd in Porthaven.
Indeed, when she opened her apartment door to lean on the balcony, the normal buzz of the town was amplified by quite a bit. She could see the plaza far off into the distance where a timer hovered in the sky, counting down the last few seconds before the end of the minute.
"Login will be temporarily shutting down in twenty seconds," a voice rang. Yurishizu nodded in understanding. Perhaps they'd let people log in once more after the secret gift had been handed out.
The white-haired girl debated on what to do after the event ended. Once she got her secret item, she'd probably return to the real world where she'd spend the rest of the New Years with her younger brother, Chou, and his friends. Even though she loved video games, there wasn't anyone she loved more than her younger brother. Shaggy light-brown hair with yellow eyes that were shades darker than her own lemon chiffon ones with the mildest and sweetest personality she'd ever seen, Chou was popular amongst many people, unlike herself who was on the borderline of antisocial and cold. Chou worried about her a good bit even though he was only fourteen—four years younger than she was.
Chou's fine… his friends, however… Yurishizu sighed. Maybe going home right away wasn't so great of an idea. She'd stay on Machaon for a few more hours—play with some robotics parts a bit at the warehouse down at the port, and maybe fly her new Mecha for a few test runs…
"Login has been shut down. Commence The Bloody Half-Century event."
Yurishizu looked up to the clock in surprise. The Bloody Half-Century event? That's a weird name…
A screen suddenly popped in front of her; it was a close-up of the clock in the plaza. Just when she was about to wonder why it appeared, a huge gust of wind blew across the entire town, almost sending her flying. She attempted to shield her face from any incoming debris, but soon realized that she didn't have to, because everything had been completely frozen.
A pair of seagulls in the sky were still, in the middle of flapping, and the petals of a flower that should've whipped past her stood frozen midair in front of her. She reached out in an attempt to touch it, when the world suddenly flickered into a dark red.
"Welcome, players of Maverick Mecha Online," a male voice said. She looked around to find the source of the voice, but with no avail.
The clock in the centre of the plaza disappeared with a bit of static and instead, changed to show the bottom half of the face of a man.
"I am the creator of this world, Kirigaya Kazuo."
The world stared at their screens in awe—this was the Kirigaya Kazuo, the man who'd never stepped in front of a camera in all his life despite being hailed as the world's greatest programer who'd managed to rack up a fortune when he was just a small child.
"We will begin today's special event—one I'd like to call 'The Bloody Half-Century'. I'd also like to thank each and every one of you for buying this dumb game, and trapping yourself into this stupid world when you should know how dangerous it is."
Yurishizu raised an eyebrow. Did he just call his own game and systems dumb? She felt slightly offended—even with her prodigal engineering skills, she'd never been successful in recreating a AutoClear nor a HIT—a Human Implant Tracker, something the late Kirigaya Kazuto created before passing away.
Kazuo continued. "All gamers know of the iconic Sword Art Online incident back in 2022, no? It was the first game for the NerveGear, where it trapped 10,000 people and killed those who had their systems forcibly removed from them, or if they died in a game. Around four-thousand died, making it a 40% causality rate."
His mouth curled upwards into a sinister smile. "My father, The Hero, Kirigaya Kazuto loved games and was fascinated by them. He saved the new world of gaming multiple times—in Sword Art Online, Alfhiem Online, in Gun Gale online, and in Alicization. But the shock from these games soon killed him—my poor father and my mother, when they were young. So what did games leave me with? Nothing. And you… the 5 million idiots I've gathered will be the price to pay for them."
Yurishizu's thin fingers clasped around the balcony with such strength her hands start to shake. She'd seen videos of what happened with SAO—survivors attempted to recreate the entire incident, and many videos of it circulated the web these days. Would Kirigaya Kazuo… really attempt to copy the crime?
"Maverick Mecha Online…" he started again. "Many of you are probably wondering why it's so hard to gain money and level up, or what the entire point of Mechas are. That's because you see, the part-time jobs you work in this world aren't supposed to let you raise huge amounts of money, nor are Mechas supposed to be used for 1vs1 duels. No… this world is a battlefield. I will tell you what the entire point of playing Machaon was supposed to be about."
The endless crowd at the plaza murmured amongst themselves in fear. Could the AutoClear kill them? But they made sure after the SAO incident that you wouldn't be able to kill people, right?
"Ten years."
His voice caught the attention of everyone standing in the plaza.
"I will give you ten years to conquer this world. My forces currently dominate the vast majority of this world. Your duty is to defeat my empire within ten years. Although I have many foot soldiers, there are also capable pilots that are able to fly the Mecha."
Ten years? Yurishizu thought to herself. How big is this world if we need ten years?!
"If nobody is able to kill me within the next ten years, I will kill you using the HIT implant in your real bodies. And not just you—your friends, family, and everyone that's dear to you."
The plaza was completely silent for a moment. A scream could be heard off in the distance, starting a domino affect.
"Are you kidding me?!"
"Ten years?"
"I can't log off!"
"It's like the Sword Art Online incident…"
"So we have to somehow manage to kill this lunatic in ten years?"
"A Mecha War?"
"Momma, I'm so scared…"
Yurishizu's eyes widened. Unlike SAO, which had been dominated by diehard gamers or beta testers, Machaon was widely popular with people of all ages—young, old, novice, and experienced. And after two years of gathering critical acclaim, Machaon had a daily use of around 4.5 million players. Most people did not play games on New Years, but Kazuo's lure with the 'secret event' had managed to get 5 million people online.
"Let me summarize," said the programmer. "In the case where the AutoClear is forcibly removed from your body, you will die. In the case where you die within the game, you will be sent back into the real world without your memories. In the case where you don't complete the game within ten years of today or everyone dies, I'll kill you and everyone important to you. The HIT chip will kill the user if it is surgically removed starting from today. The goal of this game is to conquer the world with whatever method you so desire. Each floor has an empire under siege. On the hundredth floor, I will be commanding. If even one person can kill me, the game is over and I'll set everyone free."
This can't be happening…
Another screen appeared beneath the hologram—a set of numbers. 4,999,763.
"237 people have either died or lost their memories," he whispered. "You can choose to attack on your own, or you can team up and create your own army. I don't really care," he said. Another sinister grin appeared. "But just to make up for the next few years of your life, I'll let you have a one-minute video chat with your loved one. Have a happy new year, and see you within the next decade!"
With a wave of his hand, the image disappeared, and the clock came back, signalling 12:08.
Seven minutes.
Kirigaya Kazuo changed the lives of five million people within seven minutes.
The screen in front of her suddenly flickered onto her living room where her younger brother, Chou, sat with four of his friends. Potato chips were everywhere, and plates of cake were sprawled on the plush carpet. Party streamers hung on the clothes of the five boys, as well as all the furniture of their home.
Chou recognized her first.
"Onee-san?!" He exclaimed. "Guys! My sister's on TV for some reason…"
It took Yurishizu a moment to realize that she was being broadcasted right now, most likely only to her television. Everything, whether it be microchip implants, to gaming systems, to TV's and phones were connected these days. She wouldn't be surprised if Kazuo somehow managed to connect Machaon with her television.
"Chou!" She cried out. "Chou, can you hear me?"
Her younger brother blinked. "Uh… yes? Where are you right now? How can you see me?"
"Chou, listen," Yurishizu said, blinking back tears. "There's been a copycat crime, close to one of SAO. I only have a minute to talk to you so I won't explain everything, but if you remove the AutoClear of somebody's head, they die. If we die in this world, however, we can wake up but we lose our memories. I know it's a lot to take in, but there's probably going to be lots of press cover on this so I won't go into details. But Chou—I might be stuck here for a while. I don't know how many years, but if we don't finish this game within ten years, the microchip inside of us will kill us all. And don't try to surgically remove the HIT Chip either—Kazuo warned us that it would be futile. And—and I have so many things to say but I don't know what—"
"Wait, hold on onee-san, this doesn't make any sense! Slow down."
"Chou, I love you and I'm so sorry that I may not ever be able to say this again. I'm so sorry that I won't be able to watch you grow up and take care of you, and I'm also sorry that you may be haunted by this for the rest of your life—"
"What are you talking about, you have to explain!" he cried.
"I only have a minute with you left!" She exclaimed, tears finally streaming down her eyes. "Do you understand me Chou? I love you, and I'm sorry."
Her younger brother slowly reached forward towards the television. In the corner of both screens, they saw the last fifteen seconds ticking down.
"W-what am I supposed to say?!" He cried. "I love you too, onee-san, and don't be sorry because even though I don't really get it I know it's not your fault. Don't worry about me because I'll grow up just the way you would've wanted me to, and I'll wait for you no matter how many years it takes—"
"I'll only live on in your memories now," Yurishizu whispered, looking at the timer ticking down reproachfully. "Chou, I can't say it enough. I love you… I love you, I love you, I love you…"
"YURISHIZU!" Chou screamed, reaching forward, tears streaming from his eyes. The girl also extended a hand, but it was futile. Just as her hand touched the screen, it blackened out. The timer in the corner blinked '0'.
The exciting buzz of Porthaven that she heard not even ten minutes ago was replaced by sounds of people crying or moaning in anguish.
This can't be real… can it?
—
Yurishizu changed into a baggy white shirt with black leggings. With a cup of coffee in her hands, she wandered over to her red velvet sofa and sat down, opening up the menu window.
The logout button had indeed, disappeared.
She pulled her white bangs back, chuckling softly at the ridiculousness of it all. It was the perfect copycat crime, and five million people had fallen for Kirigaya Kazuo's trap. What had everyone been thinking… with the rapid growth of the electronic industry, it was getting harder and harder to completely secure virtual reality worlds, making it simultaneously easier for geniuses like Kazuo to bypass the systems. Even with the tragic endings of SAO, ALO, GGO, and Alicization, people still continued to risk their lives to play these games.
And now they'd have to pay for their ignorance.
The yellow-eyed girl didn't have the courage to go outside. Mobs were everywhere, and she wouldn't be surprised if people died tonight. Whether it be murder or suicide… the result was going to be the same anyway.
But then again, unlike SAO, Kazuo gave them a choice.
They could kill themselves and return to the real world or they could continue to fight for the next few years in an attempt to kill Kazuo. But 100 levels… somebody would have to do it.
Yurishizu was a closet gamer. In the real world she was known to be an ordinary office worker who overlooked sales and managed small mechanic businesses. She started working straight after high school—she saw no point in going to university when it was obvious her father recognized her prodigal talents—he would pass his company down to her if she proved herself worthy.. But she didn't miss her parents too much—they only saw her as a tool they could invest in anyways.
She often wondered how somebody like Chou ended up like the person he was today. Yurishizu was a copy of her parents—white hair from her mother, yellow eyes like her father, although hers were several shades lighter. She'd only met her mother a few times, and her father even less. When she was younger, nannies would baby her and Chou, but when the two entered high school, she'd refused and proceeded to live on her own with her younger brother. Often times she was regarded as cold, antisocial, and more often than not, in a foul mood. Chou was almost the opposite of her. He inherited his yellow eyes from his father, and light brown hair from his late mother, but that was where the resemblance stopped. Chou was warm and kind to everyone, and in a way, was naiive to the world casted upon him. He never bragged or used his wealth to higher his status unlike Yurishizu who worked herself to death to impress her parents. The girl could only guess that his sweet temper came from his mother who passed away before her father remarried her mother..
But years of hard work didn't matter now did it? Not when she was stuck in a game for who-knows-how-long.
Yurishizu knew that it wasn't like her to step up—on the rare occasion that she did, it was only for her father's company, and that was only to impress him.
Mom, I'm so scared…
It was different now. The lives of children were at risk. Somebody would have to do it.
Even if she wasn't going to be fighting in the front lines, she'd offer some assistance. Although she looked delicate for a woman who was around 5'6", she knew her engineering skills were a force to be reckoned. She could help out with creating new Mechas.
Setting the coffee down on the table, she opened the closet to get out a black trench coat, and long black boots. Putting them on silently, she opened the door to her apartment and peeked outside. The sky had turned into a dark mass of clouds, with snow gently falling down.
Some people remained at the plaza in awe. Off to the distance, a fire was brewing from an angry mob that had ransacked a fruit shop. She could hear the sounds of children crying, oddly reminding her of the way Chou used to when they were younger.
YURISHIZU!
She'd never seen her younger brother like that. That desperate look in his eyes, with angry and upset tears all rolled into one. He must've felt so confused and helpless at the same time. Just thinking about it made tears well up in her own eyes. Before they could fall though, she wiped them off her sleeve. After taking a few deep breathes, she made her resolve.
It was time to go visit Dock Seven.
Ugh, okay before I begin my A/N I'd like to officially welcome you to my new FanFiction, Maverick Mecha Online.
I hate how this chapter turned out because it's my first time writing since summer break started and the rustiness is so obvious. The pace is wrong, the dialogue is wrong, and the grammar... but if you somehow managed to struggle through this, I applaud and thank you at the same time.
I started rewatching SAO on a whim like, three days ago, and I've always hated the series due to its rushed pace. It saddened me because SAO truly was unique in its own right, and I felt that the author could've taken it on so many different levels but didn't. I'm going to try recreating the series with a whole new cast and setting, and I hope you'll stick around to reading it.
Story Notes:
-Machaon: pronounced Ma-ka-on
-Yurishizu: comes from the Roman name Ulysses (inspired by the Ulysses butterfly)
-Chou: Japanese name meaning butterfly (yes, I know that it's feminine)
-Kirigaya Kazuo: son of Kirigaya Kazuto and Yuuki Asuna
-AutoClear: gaming system like NerveGear
-HIT: Human Implant Tracker (groundbreaking form of technology created by Kirigaya Kazuto)
-Kazuto and Asuna have both passed away
-The Bloody Half Century is supposed to be a copycat crime of SAO with its own twist that I won't explain yet
-Porthaven is a futuristic megacity that is sheltered between the sea and the mountains
-Machaon was released on Jan 1st, 2048
-Mecha are giant fighting robots one can build
-5 million might be a bit excessive, but I got the number from Minecraft (1 million people/day not during peak season, multiplied by the idea that almost everyone has an AutoClear in this future)
Sorry for the long A/N. I have more to add on but they'll probably be explained as the story goes on, so I'll stop for the time being.
-J