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A World of Swords
(Anime Ep. 1, Part 1)
Note: When available, this story will follow the dialogue from the anime. For canon events not covered by the anime, it will take explanations from the light novels and try to adapt them into conversations.
"Pikachu, I choose you/Pancham, come on out!" Ash and Serena announced together. Pointing at the charging boar, they instructed, "Iron Tail/Stone Edge!" Immediately, Pancham slammed its fists into the ground, summoning spikes of stone in a line heading towards the charging enemy, the last of which flung it into the air. Pikachu then used the spikes as stepping stones, vaulting above the boar and slamming an Iron Tail down on top of it.
As it crashed down onto the ground, the green bar underneath its cursor decreased rapidly, halting only a few pixels away from empty. Realizing its predicament, it changed tactics and charged for its closest opponent: Ash. He reacted on instinct, dodging sideways, dropping low and sweeping its legs out from under it like he had seen Fighting-types do on TV. The resulting faceplant drained the last dregs of its health, and it shattered into polygons. A window labeled Results then appeared in front of him, telling him that he had received EXP Points and some form of currency.
His confusion must have been evident, because after returning Pancham, Serena turned and asked him, "What's the matter, Ash?"
Locating a checkbox that said [Make window visible], he selected it and showed her. "I get the feeling we ended up inside some kind of "what-if-Pokémon-didn't-exist" fantasy videogame."
She processed his statement in grim silence, mind whirling at a hundred miles an hour. "If that's true, then wouldn't people get suspicious if Pikachu followed you around?" she asked, trying to imagine how it could have happened.
"That's a good point. Pikachu, you mind staying behind those rocks while we figure out what's going on?" Pikachu saluted and went to sit behind them – and just in time, as two other people jogged into the field immediately afterwards. The one in the lead, who looked somewhat like a manga protagonist, had an aura of familiarity about his movements, as if he had been around for a while. In contrast, the one dressed like a samurai seemed like he was still getting used to his body.
"Hey, Kirito?" he asked, looking in their direction. "I thought you said nobody was going to be here yet. So how did those two players get here so quickly?"
"I think the game dumped us here because of a glitch – we both logged in through the same computer." Ash interjected. "Was it supposed to start us out somewhere else?"
There are always bugs on release day… it's a fact of life. Kirito thought, chuckling. "Looks like you're not the only newbie I'll be tutoring today, Klein. If they dressed their avatars in regular clothes and haven't been to the Starting City yet, they're gonna need to know how to fight just in case they run into any monsters on the way there." Opening up a trade window for each of them, he placed a basic one-handed sword in each Offered Items slot.
Ash opened his menu, grateful that it opened in the same way as Clemont's program, and looked in his inventory to see if he had anything to offer in return. Unfortunately, all he saw was his Pokéballs – and he didn't want to give those away.
"Don't worry about paying me back." Kirito told him. "I was given extra cash as a beta-test reward, and you guys need protection more than I need backup swords."
"Thank you very much!" Serena replied, bowing in gratitude. "I'm sorry for any trouble we may have caused."
Kirito waved her off. "It's no trouble. And this way, even if this bozo doesn't learn, I still have a chance to say I can teach properly," he ribbed, elbowing Klein good-naturedly.
"Hey, not cool, man! If you keep doing that, I'll run out of HP before I get to a real fight!"
"Doofus – I didn't hit you hard enough to cause any damage. Plus, there's a boar right over there. How about you show me what all you know, and then I'll give you pointers?"
"All right!" Klein fist-pumped, turning to the now-armed Ash and Serena. "Prepare to watch a master swordsman at work." he told them, and then charged towards the boar, swinging wildly.
*THWACK*
He almost immediately flew backwards, clutching a very sensitive area and causing Ash to wince. "Right in the nuts…" he moaned, curling up in a fetal position. "Kill me now…"
"Come on, seriously?" Kirito deadpanned, expression not having changed. "You can't feel any pain."
Realizing that was, in fact, the case, Klein stood back up. "Oh yeah, you're right. Sorry, habit."
"He gets kicked down there that often?" Serena murmured.
"Kinda reminds me of my old pal Brock and his Croagunk." Ash responded. "I wonder if he's just as crazy about girls as Brock was…"
You recognize that, but you can't ever seem to notice… *sigh* Never mind. Serena turned her attention back to Kirito, who was explaining Sword Skills to Klein.
"If you do your initial motion right," he lectured, picking up a rock from the ground, "and activate a Sword Skill at the right time…" The rock in his hand took on a pink glow as he held it in a throwing position, nailing the boar solidly when he released it. "…The system guarantees you'll pretty much always hit your target."
"Initial motion?" Ash questioned from the sidelines, his full attention on the ongoing battle.
"Here's an easier way to look at it. Right after you start your move, wait for a little bit. When you feel the skill start to activate, drive it home." Kirito clarified, while keeping the boar's attention on himself to let Klein make the connection.
A few seconds later it clicked, and Kirito smirked when he saw Klein get into a striking stance, the blade over his shoulder beginning to glow. He redirected the boar towards the aspiring samurai, who brought the sword down in front of himself and leaped at it, his sword striking it as they passed each other.
A couple of seconds passed, Klein and the boar both slowing to a stop.
The boar then erupted into polygons, causing Klein to erupt in an enormous cheer, accompanied by Ash and Serena.
"Congratulations, that was nice." Kirito complimented him, giving him a high five. "But that boar's about as weak as slimes in other games are."
"Holy… you gotta be kidding me! I thought that thing was, like, a mid-level boss!" Klein complained, only to be met with a sarcastic "as if" from the beta-tester. He groaned, preparing to make another good-natured dig at the game, but was interrupted by the sound of the System Assist from the direction of the peanut gallery.
"Whoa, awesome!" Ash yelled, jabbing at thin air with a Sword Skill.
"Addictive, isn't it?" Kirito chuckled.
"I'll say," Klein answered, testing out different strikes himself. "So these skills – there's a ton of 'em, like blacksmithing and stuff, right?"
"Uh-huh. I heard the game has an unlimited number of them – all except for magic, though." Kirito answered, causing Serena to perk up as she realized she wouldn't necessarily be required to battle.
"A fantasy RPG without magic? Pretty bold choice, if you ask me." Klein commented before whooping in exhilaration again.
"It's kind of fun to move your body as you fight, isn't it?" Kirito asked, remembering his own initial excitement. His question was met with an enthusiastic "yes" from the two guys and an I-get-how-you-feel-but-it's-not-my-cup-of-tea "I guess so" from Serena. "Don't worry," he encouraged her. "If you don't feel like fighting, you can always choose one of the non-combat trades like Tailoring, Blacksmithing, or Cooking. But anyway, you guys ready to move on?"
"Yeah! Let's keep going until we get to the end!" Ash replied, subtly signaling Pikachu to follow them as they began walking.
Serena grabbed his arm as he walked past. "But what about getting out of here?" she whispered to him.
"I didn't see a logout button in the menu, so I guess we're gonna have to wait for Clemont to get us out from the outside. But remember what I told you when we were stuck in that crevice and I had hurt my foot? No experience is worthless, so let's enjoy the time we have here."
As the sun set over the physically-improbable landscape, the group sat on a cliff gazing out at the hourglass-shaped plateaus nearby. Kirito and Klein were discussing the beta-test, which the two Pokémon trainers did not comment on in order to avoid suspicion.
"Man, this scenery is amazing!" Ash remarked. "Even if nothing else happens, I'd say seeing this is worth having come here."
"You're right. But you know what makes it even better? Being able to watch it with someone." Serena replied in a spurt of uncharacteristic boldness, taking a massive gamble and hoping that he would notice the subtle stress on the second-to-last word. If he did, however, he misunderstood.
"You're right – it's kind of rude to be sitting apart from our hosts." he said, standing up and walking back over just in time to catch the tail end of one of Kirito's speeches.
"…In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. And even though it's a virtual world, I feel more alive in here than I ever did in the real one. Anyway, you wanna go do some more hunting?"
"You know it!" Klein replied, before a chagrined look set in. "But the thing is…" The sound of two people's growling stomachs interrupted the formerly tranquil atmosphere. "…I'm really hungry. I have to log out."
Kirito chuckled. "Heh. Too bad the food you eat here only satisfies your hunger virtually."
"Yeah, for reals – that's why I ordered a pizza for 5:30!" Klein announced triumphantly.
"Wow, you're so prepared." Kirito snarked. "I assume you two also have dinner plans?"
"Yeah, I think Mr. Rosenfeld is cooking dinner since we're in here and Clemont and Bonnie are busy." Ash answered.
"Oh, are those your siblings?" Kirito asked Serena.
She opened her mouth to deny it, before realizing that with as close as the group had become they might as well be. "Not biologically; but pretty much, yeah." she answered, unaware that she had just touched on a sensitive topic.
"I see…" Kirito trailed off, his carefree mood having been shaken. He was interrupted from the thoughts about his own "foster" sister by Klein inviting him to hang out with some of his other gaming friends later. Klein must have seen his hesitance, quickly adding that he didn't have to if he didn't want to. "Yeah, sorry. Thanks anyways."
"No way – we should be doing all the thanking!" Klein rebutted.
"Yeah, thanks again for everything." Ash and Serena chimed in.
Kirito smiled. "If there's anything else you guys wanna know, just message me."
"Sweet – I'll do that." Klein shook Kirito's hand and then turned around to log out, only to quickly become confused. "Huh? Where'd the logout button go?"
Deciding that it was safe enough to reveal now that someone else had the same problem, Ash said, "It's not showing up for me either."
*sigh* More bugs… Kirito thought, opening his own interface. "It should be at the bottom of the main menu…" he began, only to gasp when the regular space was blank.
"See? Not there." Klein affirmed. "Ah well, today's what? The first day out of beta? There's bound to be some bugs. I bet the server people are freakin' out right now."
"Speaking of freaking out, didn't you say you had a pizza coming at 5:30?" Ash asked, looking at the clock in his Heads-Up Display. "It's 5:25 right now."
Klein immediately started freaking out, only to be interrupted by Kirito asking if he had contacted the GM. "Yeah, I did that – but nothing's happening. He's not picking up. Are either of you guys having any luck?"
Ash looked over at Serena, whose face was becoming increasingly concerned as she tapped at the help icon on her menu. "None of our help requests are going through either. Is there some sort of emergency logout procedure we could try?"
Kirito considered the question before stiffening up in shock. "No. Whenever a player wants to log out of SAO, the only way they can do that is by going through the menu." Klein wouldn't accept that, and resorted to yelling different "cancel" commands at thin air. When none of them worked, he sighed. "Told you so. And there was no emergency logout in the manual either."
"No way, you're kidding." Klein protested weakly. "I know, I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head!"
"But doesn't it disable your real-life body for safety purposes?" Serena asked, hoping that the question wouldn't cause more issues than it prevented due to hardware differences. "I don't think you can just pull it off like that…"
"Seriously?" Klein responded angrily. "So now we gotta wait until someone gets around to fixing the bug?"
"That… or until someone in the real world comes along and takes the NerveGear off us." Kirito amended. "That's it."
The news did not cheer Klein up. "I live alone," he stated. "I know you two said you're diving in a place with other people around, but what about you?"
"I've got a mom and a sister, and I'm pretty sure they'll notice by dinnertime and come looking –" Kirito was interrupted by Klein grabbing his shoulders and asking him a torrent of questions about his sister and her interests.
"Yep, he's definitely a lot like Brock." Ash commented under his breath as Klein got kneed below the waistline again.
"Get serious." Kirito said sternly. "Don't you think this is weird?"
"Yeah, totally. But it's just a bug..."
Kirito didn't buy into that explanation anymore. "This isn't just a bug. If we can't log out, it's gonna cause some serious problems for the game." Another thought occurred to him. "I wonder if the developers even know what's happening – 'cause they could just shut down the server and log everyone out. But why haven't they made an announcement?" As if the game was trying to prove him wrong, the bell in the Town of Beginnings began ringing, signifying something important.
"I guess we're about to find out." Ash commented as the world faded to white.
Omake: In which Density Leads to Stupidity
"Man, this scenery is amazing!" Ash remarked. "Even if nothing else happens, I'd say seeing this is worth having come here."
"You're right. But you know what makes it even better? Being able to watch it with someone." Serena replied, hoping that he would notice the subtle stress on the second-to-last word. If he did, however, he misunderstood.
"Good point – everybody come on out!" he yelled, releasing his Pokémon to watch the sunset with them.
Kirito and Klein immediately stopped what they were doing to stare as a frog with a scarf and pince-nez made of bubbles, a luchador-patterned hawk with fists on its wings, a Japanese Robin the size of said hawk, and a vaguely dinosaur-shaped gooey blob appeared with a visual effect similar to equipping items. Even more strangely, the cursors above their heads were greyed out, just like the forum rumors during the beta had said about Tamed Monsters.
"You have got to be joking…" Kirito managed to comment when he saw the robin cloak itself in fire and the frog slice a rock in half like a ninja, while Serena merely facepalmed because Ash had blown their secret wide open. "Something is really wrong with this picture."
Note: Another dense misinterpretation of Serena's intent that would have taken this story in a *whole* different direction.
Also, credit to Fanfiction author I Am Lu (writer of The Ash Connection) for popularizing the use of voice actors' last names for the characters without official surnames. I hope you don't mind that I borrowed the idea.
