Hi everyone, cwatson115 here. I decided to make a spin-off of SAO because it has been bothering me for a while so I've made one about these two brothers. I think it's great so far and I hope you like it too. The idea I got for it was amazing, and I hope you guys share my enthusiasm. Please enjoy.
I do not own Sword Art Online
"Yosha! I scored!" Came the shout from a red haired boy as he scored the final goal of the soccer game. The red haired walked over to the sidelines up to a boy in a wheelchair. Upon closer examination, the boy seemed to be in high school. He was fairly tall at about 5'11" and many of the girls would say that he was rather handsome too. His read hair spiked up at gravity defying angles with some spikes going downwards on the side of his head. He had chocolate brown eyes and a warm smile on his face. Some girls walked by and he waved at them, earning blushes and whispers from the girls. However, the girls didn't seem to notice the boy in the wheelchair.
"Did you see me Rei? I scored the winning goal." Said the red haired boy to the one in the wheelchair. The boy had black hair that was in a bowl cut, he wore glasses and had onyx eyes. He seemed sort of depressed like there was a weight pressing down on his shoulders.
"Yes I saw. You did great Honō." Said Rei with a lazy tone that the now identified Rei beamed at.
"I just wish you could have played with me." Honō said gaining an irritated glance from Rei.
"Yeah sure, let me just magically heal my spine that has been messed up since our birth and come play with you." Said Rei in an irritated sarcastic tone.
Though one may not think this upon meeting them, the two were fraternal twins. Rei was the smart one that was considered a prodigy at a young age. He could play Mozart by the time he was five and for a brief period directed local symphonies with music he wrote at the age of 12. Now that he was a second year in high school and age 16, none of that seemed to matter. He was always getting straight A's, but he wanted what his brother had. His brother was amazing at almost every sport and attracted young members of the opposite sex wherever he went, whereas Rei would only get looks of sympathy. Honō wasn't even bad academically as he got mostly A's and B's. It just wasn't fair.
"I'm sorry bro. I know you're frustrated that's why I bought us another VRMMO. Hopefully you'll like it." Responded Honō with a hint of sadness. Rei never seemed to like any of the VRMMO's that he got because Rei said that 'his brain could still feel his real crippled legs.' It tore Honō up on the inside to see his brother in such a state as he was.
The year was 2027. Five years after the Sword Art Online incident, and the government had deemed it safe to play VRMMO's again. There was new head gear as now that looked like sunglasses and were supposedly trapping-proof. However, Rei never got into the whole gaming life because whenever he was running around freely in the game, he could still feel his whole body aching from his condition. He had tried everything to no avail.
"Come on bro, I heard from so many sources that it was the best game they've ever played. It's called 'The Call of Fate' and it's supposed to be sick." Honō said which trying to get Rei excited. Rei didn't really want to play the game. VRMMO's were something that just made his life more depressing than it already was. The only reason he was considering was because his brother had asked him. He and his brother had to stick together because they were the only ones each other had. Their mother had unfortunately died on the day that they were born and their father had died when they were young from cancer. Their relatives were kind enough to buy them a house just outside of Tokyo, and that's where they lived. Speaking of the two twins, Honō was giving Rei a pleading look with fake anime tears rolling down the sides of his face.
"Please." Honō said with a whiny voice.
"Fine," replied Rei which got a cheer from Honō, "But when I say I don't want to play anymore, you have to respect my decision." This got a nod from Honō.
"Gotcha bro." Said Honō with an enthusiastic nod. He grabbed the back of his brother's chair and wheeled him home. They never really took public transportation because Rei liked to move around as much as possible.
As soon as the brothers got home, Honō and Rei ate something before Honō took Rei upstairs and laid him down on his bed. He then brought over the simulation glasses and then went to his own room.
"I'll see you on the other side bro." Said Honō, gaining a small smile from Rei.
"Ok I'll see you over there." Rei replied as he put on the glasses and pressed the button.
Rei was immediately hit by the feeling of moving at high speed with bars of all different colors on the sides of him. He then stopped abruptly in a white expanse. He couldn't see anything for miles except for white.
"Did my gear malfunction?" He asked to himself. However, he didn't expect the answer that came.
"No warrior, you're gear did not malfunction." Said a disembodied female voice.
"Where did that come from?" Asked a surprised Rei who started looking around.
"I am the unit that will start you on your path to greatness here in The Call of Fate." Replied the female voice.
Rei was about to respond, but he could start to feel his real legs. He bent down and grasped his leg, which didn't go unnoticed by the disembodied woman.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
"Yes I'm fine it's just-. Wait how are you responding so easily to everything I'm doing, are you a human?" Rei asked surprised.
"No my code was programmed to be fully responsive to all of the players. So is the code of all of the NPC's in the game." Replied the woman.
"Wow, that's really complex coding. The creator of this game must be a genius at coding." Said a dumbfounded Rei.
"Yes my creator is very intelligent. Now down to business. This game, as you already know is called The Call of Fate. It is a unique VRMMO in that it is not only about fighting, and you can basically do anything you desire, make your dreams come true. Every character is unique and has special abilities. We want every character to be able to get the full experience of a life more interesting than reality. But first you must choose your elements." Said the female voice.
After she made her speech, a panel came up out of nowhere there were circles all over the screen and at the top it said 'Primary element.'
"You're primary element is the main element that you will use in the game. You can upgrade this element with value points which are the currency in this world. With your primary element, you can unlock every path that this element can take. Choose wisely." Said the voice with what seemed to be a smirk which was odd for a disembodied voice.
Rei studied the board and was surprised when he could see a brief description for each element. There were so many to choose from though. There were the main expected elements like Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Lightning, Light and Dark. However, there were so many more than just those elements. There was Illusion and Nature, there were even more obscure elements. However, one really caught Rei's eyes as he read the description.
"I want that one." He said like a little kid in an ice cream shop.
"Ah the Aura element. Interesting choice indeed. Before we proceed to the next step, are you sure this is the element you want," With a nod from Rei she continued, "Now onto your secondary element. Unlike your primary element, you cannot upgrade every path and you can only choose one path that you can upgrade fully." She said as the words at the top changed to display the words 'Secondary Element.'
Rei studied the panel again with calculative intensity. If he was going to play the game, he might as well play it properly otherwise it would be even more torturous.
"I choose the wind element." Said Rei as the woman gave the warning to which he nodded. The panel disappeared, and Rei just stayed there. After a few seconds, there were two tendrils of light that came out of nowhere. One was very thick and blue while the other was slightly thinner and gray. Once the tendrils entered his body, he could feel the power coming from them. Once that was done, the woman spoke again.
"Now before you go any further, I must give you a critical choice which will determine the course of your life in The Call of Fate. Now, do you want to be a warrior or a domestic? Warrior is self-explanatory, but a domestic is basically everything else, you can use your talents and become anything you want, whether it be a doctor or lawyer, you name it and you can do it." Said the disembodied voice.
As the woman was explaining, Rei had already made his choice and chose to be a warrior. After that panel came up.
"Now you will choose your primary and secondary weapons. I believe you are smart enough to figure out what that entails." Said the woman as Rei nodded. When he looked up at the panel, he was dumbfounded by the number of weapons that were available to choose from. It went from swords to guns to even chainsaws. Rei chose the sword category and it split into a choice of what kind of sword. There were long swords, short swords, daggers, two-handed swords, katana's. Rei was starting to get excited and couldn't help but marvel at the amount of detail and effort put into the game so that everyone had their own unique build. Rei chose a regular western-style one-handed sword, and another panel came up for secondary weapon. Rei chose a bow and arrow, and the panel went away.
"Now there is only one more step before you start on your journey," A display bare came up and a keyboard appeared in front of Rei "I just need you to put in your gamer name before you start."
Rei typed in the name and hit enter. The bar overhead displayed the name Zero.
"Ok, now that you have your name down I can give you what you need to start the game. These coupons are for a few things. One is to get the materials to make your weapons, you can choose from a list of common materials. You will be able to change your weapons and even collect your own materials later. There is also a coupon to create those weapons for you. Finally you will be able to start off with 1,000 value points for certain other things you will need and you will also have 5 gems to start off with. Gems can buy you some things that value points cannot get you and one gem is equal to 5,000 value points. Sometimes gems will drop when you are doing certain things. Also you will have a level. The current level cap is 150 and you need to be a certain level to be able to complete some events. If that is all I will send you to the game now."
Que ~ OceanLab vs. Gareth Emery - On A Metropolis Day (Myon & Shane 54 Mashup) ~
There was a counter that started at ten. Rei had never felt this way before, he was actually excited about going into this game. He could feel his legs at the moment, but didn't particularly care. 'Nine' Rei was ready to face this new world and whatever came his way.
'Eight'…
'Seven'…
'Six'…
Rei was starting to get very antsy. He was super excited now.
'Five'…
'Four'…
'Three'…
'Two'…
"Let's do this." Said Rei ready now.
'One'…
All of the sudden, the room transformed and Rei had walked into the most amazing scene he could have ever imagined. He was in a village that looked so quaint and homey, but that wasn't the reason his breath was taken away. He looked out past the village and saw an open field of grass that stretched as far as they eye could see. He looked into the sky and saw a huge planet in it. The planet looked a lot like Saturn and had a ring around it the sun was setting, and part of it reflected off of the planet.
An extreme sense of euphoria rushed over Rei like a wave, smashing into him with a ton of pleasure. Then he realized it. He couldn't feel his crippled legs anymore. The excitement became too much and he just yelled at the top of his lungs out into the open air. A lot of people looked at him, but he was surprised when he saw some of the girls blushing. They were all very beautiful people; he couldn't find one unattractive person in the environment. He looked into a piece of glass and realized that his appearance had changed. Aside from the fact that he could stand, he also realized that he didn't have glasses. His hair was no longer a bowl cut and it came back into a sort of pony tail (A/N: Picture Neji's hairstyle in the chunin exams). This greatly enhanced his rugged features and he realized that he was about the same height as his brother if only one inch shorter.
"Wow this is amazing. I can't believe this. I've only been here a few minutes, and this is already the best game I have ever played. I can't wait to find Honō and talk to him." Said Rei and just like that Honō came up walking behind Rei.
~ End Song ~
"Hey bro." Said Honō which caused Rei to turn around. Rei seemed to look the same as he had before and his name above his head said Blaze.
"What's up Honō, or should I call you Blaze now." Said Rei with a smile.
"Yeah. Isn't this awesome Zero? They even changed our appearance so that we would be in our most attractive look." Said Honō making Rei sweatdrop.
"Why does he look the same then?" Thought Rei, but he brushed it aside.
"Hey, why don't we go over and get our materials and weapons made." Said Honō as Rei nodded and they walked over to the materials store. When they arrived, there was an NPC at the counter who greeted them. She was a black-haired girl with brown eyes and hair that went to her jawline. She seemed to be a little younger than the two brothers though. When she looked up at them, she blushed a little which surprised Rei seeing as she was an NPC.
"How can I help you." She said as the boys handed over the coupons.
"Ok you need materials for two one-handed swords, a bow and arrow, and a pistol. You can choose three things, the metal and two bonus perks." She said as a small panel appeared in front of them. Honō or Blaze chose red iron and durability +50 and also chose fire resistance. For his pistol, he chose Range +50 and piercing bullets. For Rei or Zero, he chose the porous to channel his aura through and Durability +50. He also chose black iron. For his bow he chose wood seeing as that was the only thing it could be made of. He also chose range +50 and Durability +50 seeing as it was made from wood.
"Thank you." Zero said as they turned to leave, but Blaze turned back around.
"Hey, is it possible to call people in this game?" He asked curiously.
"Yes you just have to put in the 4-digit number in the call menu." She said not knowing what was about to happen. But Rei knew, and all he could do was sigh and watch.
"Then can I have your 4-digit number." He said with a smile causing the girl to blush. She looked like she was thinking it over at first, but ended up writing it down.
"Thank you sweetie." He said as she handed it to him while blushing. Zero just rolled his eyes. They turned around and headed out for the blacksmith.
They found the blacksmith who was a gruff man covered in soot stains. They handed him their coupons and he made them their weapons.
"Ok now let's test them on each other." Blaze said.
"Ok then let's do a ranked arena battle." Said Zero surprising Blaze.
"Alright bro you're really getting into this game." Blaze said with a smile as they walked to the arena.
"Alright folks," said an NPC announcer into a microphone, "We have some rookies here that are lookin' to do a ranked match. Surprisingly they're actually twins now give it up for Blaze and Zero." Everyone cheered as the two walked up and got ready.
"Ready...Begin!"
Que ~ Lil Wayne ft. Drake - I'm goin' in ~
Blaze started off as he ran at Zero. He pulled out his red sword and swung it straight down at Zero. Zero blocked and leaned back causing Blaze to slip forward. Zero disengaged the sword and a sky blue light surrounded him. He felt the power coursing through his body as he sent his sword, which was now also glowing sky blue, back at his brother's face who pulled up his own sword to block it in time. However, with the aura powering the attack, it was too strong for Blaze and sent him backwards into the air. Blaze did a backflip in midair and landed perfectly causing the girls to cheer for him.
"Whoa bro don't try to kill me." He said with an incredulous look.
"I wasn't." Said Zero with a smirk.
"Whoa these brothers are intense. I haven't seen very many rookie battles quite like this one." Said the announcer in amazement.
Blaze just ran at Zero and extended his hand.
"Fine, you want to play like that. Then take my Fireball." Said blaze as a medium size ball of fire shot out of his hand at Zero. With his aura coating, he was able to jump above the fireball. But when he looked down, Blaze had his pistol out and it was charged with lightning.
"Take this." Said Blaze as he shot a lightning-covered bullet at Zero who deflected it with his sword. However, the lightning from the bullet touched his arm and even with the aura around it, his arm still went numb. When Zero came back down to the ground Blaze was waiting there for him and used a downward slash. Zero couldn't bring up his right arm to block because it was numb and just waited to be hit until he remembered his other element. He stuck out his palm at his brother.
"Gale!" Zero yelled causing a gray wind to shoot out of his palm and smash into Blaze with enough force to send him flying. Blaze landed on his back about ten feet away just as Zero could feel his arm again. He ran over to Blaze with his aura powered speed and touched his sword to Blaze's neck.
~ End Song ~
"We have a winner folks. Zero!" Said the announcer as the crowd went wild.
Zero couldn't believe it. He actually beat his brother at something physical. This was the most amazing game he had ever played.
"That was awesome bro. I still can't believe you beat me." Blaze said with an enthusiastic smile. Zero couldn't believe it either he was so amazed by the way he felt. He felt more alive than he ever had in real life. However, it saddened him because he knew that the only way to truly live to his limits in this world was to separate from Blaze and take his own path.
"Blaze I-" He was cut short by his brother.
"I know bro. You want to take your own path to truly live in this world. I get it go have fun. I'll still see you when we get home." Blaze said with a smile that had a small amount of sadness, but overall was happy for his brother. Rei had never been very happy in his normal life, so Honō decided to let his brother live his own life. That fight was just one final brother activity before they left each other.
Blaze and Zero both walked out of the Arena together. They hugged each other and said their goodbyes for now. Zero was making his way out of the village. He had decided that he was going to make a name for himself. As he was about to leave, he was knocked over by someone.
"Ow what th-" Zero couldn't finish his sentence as when he looked up he saw the most beautiful girl that he's ever seen. She was about 5'8" and had ice blue hair that went down to her back in a ponytail. She had a very attractive angular face and light blue eyes. However, she seemed to have an irritated look on her face as she talked to him.
"Hey watch where you're going!" She said which caused Zero to get a tick mark.
"You were the one that bumped into me." He replied back at her.
"Look I'm sorry. I'm just looking for my sister." She said with a worried look. She went to leave, but Zero called for her.
"Hey wait, I'll help you find your sister." He said gaining her attention.
"Fine let's split up. This is what my sister looks like." She said showing him a picture of a little girl she looked like a smaller version of her sister, but the hair was darker blue that only went down to her shoulders. The girl started to leave again, but Zero stopped her again.
"Wait, what is your name?" He asked the girl.
"It's Yuki." She replied as she turned and left.
Zero started walking around and looking in different shops and buildings. He couldn't seem to find her anywhere and started to get frustrated. As he was about to give up, he saw a little girl at the edge of the village that looked just like the girl in the picture. She looked a little older than the picture and to be about 13 or 14. He walked up to her and spoke.
"Hey your sister Yuki has been looking for you." He said as the girl turned around to face him. She was surprisingly good-looking too even though she was only about 14. She seemed mystified though.
"Yeah sorry this creepy old man told me to stand on the outskirts of the village and look at the sky. He said something amazing would happen at 5:00 PM." She said as Zero checked the time and saw that it was 5:00 PM exactly. All of the sudden, the sky turned black and a giant screen appeared in it. There was a man in a dark purple hood on the screen.
"Greetings everyone. I have some exciting news," he said getting everyone's attention, "You are all dead. This is no joke as I have used my master coding skills to essentially transfer your souls into the game. Your real bodies are no longer alive and I have seperated the game from main servers so that other master coders can't release you. You will continue playing the game as you are supposed to and just know if you don't I will delete your soul from the game. Unlike Sword Art Online, there is no way you can end this. Good luck." He said before the screen disappeared. Everyone went into panic except for the NPCs as they were already stuck. However, Zero was exhilarated. He couldn't believe that he could live on now without worrying about his legs. He was so excited that he didn't notice when Yuki walked up to him.
"Can you believe this? We have to live our whole lives here forever." She said and was surprised when he turned around with a wide grin on his face.
"I can't wait to get started."
Ok guys that's it for this chapter. It has probably been my longest story chapter ever written and I hope you like it as much as I did. Please review, fav, follow or anything because that will probably be fuel to keep this story going. The next chapter will be a little bit of a time skip and we will meet more pivotal characters to this story. If you haven't figured out already, Zero or Rei is the main character. Also, I will be calling people by their gamer names and not their real names. Stay tuned for the next chapter because if I get good feedback, I will write it soon.
- Peace out
