Gundam Build Divers: Rise of the Crimson Seraphs
Travis had never really cared much for online games or virtual reality but today was different. After countless hours of begging the young man had begrudgingly accepted his friend's request, if he logged in for a single day his friend would purchase a new Gunpla model of his choosing. Maybe it was a little unfair but he already knew it was going to end in disappointment, anyone that knew him understood being social with strangers wasn't really his thing. Still if a mere day of logging in got the young man a new model he'd suffer through it, sighing when his cellphone rang the blue eyed man pulled it out already knowing who was calling.
"Dude you're super late, don't tell me you've chickened out already?" Travis's best friend questioned making him groan. Usually the young man's friend was the one who ran late, it figured the one day he was on schedule was the very day he wished could be over already.
"Skip our plans and miss out on getting a free model not on your life buddy." Travis replied making his friend start laughing on the other end.
Walking into their arranged meeting spot he couldn't help feeling nervous, climbing onto the nearby escalator he rode it up three floors. Grinning when his friend walked up carrying a Dragon Ball Z backpack it brought up some old memories, it had been a Christmas present and back then he didn't even know anime existed.
Despite only being a year older than his friend the young man was more refined in his tastes, sure he loved anime but every now and then he liked opera as well. James for his part was understanding whenever he asked the older friend to looking into something new, if he didn't like it so be it but the very least he could do was look into the subject.
"Somebody didn't leave home early enough." James explained smiling as the slightly older friend began laughing. Since he'd used that line on him the young man couldn't be too upset, glancing over at his best friend the young man noticed there was something mischievous about his smile.
"Alright jokes aside what's this surprise you keep talking about, I mean you wouldn't even tell me the game's name?" Travis grumbled making it clear he didn't like being kept in the dark, last time his friend pulled something like this he'd been pissed for a solid week.
"Don't worry you're going to love it, still we've gotta make a quick but necessary detour first." Jamey as he preferred to be called explained as the young man sighed.
Despite being friend nearly seventeen years now the older friend still hated it when he pulled this crap, knowing that arguing was pointless the young man simply nodded. Giving him a quick wink the younger friend took off in a sprint, doing his best to keep up it wasn't easy as due to feet issues he wasn't quite as fast.
Several minutes later they finally arrived at the detour in question, gazing at the impressive looking model shop he couldn't help whistling in appreciation. Unfortunately living in a small town out in the country meant he didn't get to visit shops like it very often, gasping at the sight of countless models spread out in every direction it was enough to get him a little misty eyed.
"Okay let's get started with phase one of your surprise, go ahead and pick out any high grade of your choosing." James explained as the older friend stared at him in disbelief, while he'd never turn down a free model it wasn't their original agreement.
"I thought it wasn't until after my first login that you'd pay for a new model?" Travis asked before the younger friend clasped his shoulder.
"It's kinda hard to explain without ruining the surprise but it's part of the game, besides I still owe you for that Zeta Gundam model we lost at my house." Jamey explained as his friend sighed in mock defeat. Actually he wasn't entirely sure it had been lost at their house, it happened so long ago that nobody could be entirely sure what happened to it. Still if getting a new model made his friend happy then it was money well spent, examining the nearby shelves he eventually chose one that made his friend laugh but give a thumbs up.
"Gundam Virsago that's an...interesting choice, you do know it belonged to a villain right ?" A female voice questioned as he looked up and gasped when his arm brushed against hers, unaware they'd been so close he nearly dropped the model. Grabbing onto it with both hands the young man's face was bright red, nothing bad was happening just yet but it wasn't a great first impression.
"Allow me to introduce Cassandra Williamson, her uncle owns the shop and she helps out every now and then." Jamey explained as the red haired woman smiled at them, her dark green eyes were so beautiful they would've given emeralds a run for their money.
"So this is the friend you're always going on about, Jamey says you're a pretty good builder." Cassandra replied smiling as the young man blushed even deeper. Despite having completed a pretty good number of models he didn't consider them anything impressive, grabbing his phone the young man scrolled over to his favorite model he'd built so far.
"Dang that's impressive work buddy, ya know most people don't care for real grades but yours looks pretty good." A new voice this one male and older explained smacking his back. Surprised by the gesture and sudden appearance he dropped the phone, before he could react the woman caught it and offered it to him.
"Uncle that's no way to introduce yourself, what if he'd dropped the model or worse still his phone broke." Cassandra grumbled as the older man sighed raising both hands, despite owning the shop he knew better than arguing with her.
"Sorry about that my name's Carson, well then are you here for game day or just browsing?" Carson questioned as the less experienced gamer stared at him dumbfounded. James had explained the game was popular but wouldn't give him a name, as such the young man didn't know what to expect.
"We're going to be playing after we purchase this model, sadly the model won't be finished today so we'll need a rental." James explained as the shop owner chuckled. Grabbing the model he walked over and placed it on a scanner, watching as the price flashed across the screen he couldn't believe it was so cheap.
"Seems you're in luck kid, we're having a sale on high grades so its a little cheaper." Carson explained as the young man's friend pulled out their wallet. Reaching into the wallet he pulled out a red credit card and passed it over, seconds later the machine dinged and the older man passed the model over to his newest customer.
"Would somebody please explain what the game in question is already, you've been oddly sneaky about it which since your pretty open with details has me worried?" Travis questioned staring at his best friend, they rarely if ever kept secrets from each other. Sure they both kept some matters hidden from each other but they never intentionally deceived the other person, maybe it was because in a lot of ways they considered each other family.
"Okay okay keep your pants on buddy, it's a game that let's us pilot our Gunpla in different missions." Jamey explained smiling as his friend raised an eyebrow questioningly.
Piloting Gundams was a dream of his but that sounded to good to be true, although he'd read something about games that made it possible. Unfortunately he'd been unable to really study it because his small town didn't have any of the meeting hubs, actually calling it small might have been an exaggeration. When he'd last checked its population was only twelve-thousand eight hundred and five, having such a tiny population meant they didn't get fancy model shops like this one.
"Wait a minute how'd you know it was a villain's Gundam, most people only remember the hero from its series?" Travis questioned looking at the young lady who smiled in reply.
"Gundam Double X was a pretty cool series, it's pretty rare you find someone who likes the villain since he was a jerk." Cassandra replied as the young man's eyes lit up. Despite being massive Gundam fans he was the only member of his group that watched it, admittedly it was because of the title mobile suit but in a lot of ways the villain's mobile suit fit him better.
Reality was he couldn't stand the villain but he figured she didn't need to know, most people assumed the villain appealed to him but in reality it was solely his intimidating Gundam that he considered epic. Maybe it was because the Gundam in question possessed a scary outer appearance and devastating power beneath that exterior, everyone loved a hero but they knew a villain meant business and shouldn't be messed with under any circumstances.
"So do you play this game?" Travis questioned looking at the red haired young lady returning her smile, at first she looked confused by his question but eventually she nodded. Walking over to a display case she unlocked it and pulled out a model he'd never seen before today. Dark red with black accents its base was the Unicorn Gundam Destroy Mode, much as he wanted to identify the other pieces they were from a series he'd never watched.
"Allow me to introduce my custom Gunpla, modifying the Unicorn Gundam's base it's reinforced to handle more damage. Adding in the Victory Gundam's beam smart gun and backpack allows for greater mobility, lastly its got a hidden surprise that unfortunately I can't reveal just yet. Combine it all before spray painting it red and white and you get my creation which I've dubbed the Unicorn Blazing Victory." Cassandra explained as both of the young men whistled in approval.
Travis had always wanted to do a custom build but he worried it might be too difficult, straight builds were challenging enough so combining pieces sounded nearly impossible. Still if he ever got around to building one he'd already drawn up some plans, getting the required models would be pricey though if it turned out like he drew it completely worth the price.
"Since today's your first login you'll need to use one of our rentals, once you've designed your own custom Gunpla you can pilot it. As such go ahead and select one you like, just remember its better if you pick a model that you're familiar with okay?" Carson explained opening a nearby case, models of just about every size and shape were spread out before him. Selecting a model that suited his personal tastes wouldn't be an easy choice, several of them appealed to him but after what felt like an eternity he finally selected one.
"Dude quit picking the obscure models nobody knows, the Gundam Virsago is one thing but the Gundam Delta Kai isn't even from a main series." Jamey explained as the entire group started laughing.
Knowing that his friend was still recovering from some mental health issues the laugh was something he'd missed, when he'd gone through similar issues the older friend had been there supporting him. Neither one could make the other's pain go away but this might help, Gundam models were something they both loved which made selecting this game an easy decision.
"Okay maybe it's not a well known mobile suit, but for some reason this unit's always spoken to me." Travis explained before raising the model so he could get a better look at it. Most people didn't really study the MS-V but that didn't make them any less impressive, knowing that unknown mobile suits could intimidate people it was something he'd always loved. Sure he wouldn't be getting people running up to him and begging to know what mobile suit he'd choose but he didn't care, when and if he needed to explain the model he'd do so but it was really meant to symbolize his love for anything off the beaten path.
"Since it's his first time logging in why don't you give him a tour." Carson explained looking at his niece, she loved helping new players to ensure it would be a good experience.
"Are you sure what about the customers?" Cassandra questioned looking around the store, maybe it was because they'd arrived during the lunch hour but it was fairly crowded. Much as she wanted to instruct the new players business came first, as if to illustrate her point two customers walked up carrying models.
"Instructing new players is part of the service we provide and besides Monica well help out right?" Carson asked looking at the young woman currently stocking merchandise, giving her a quick nod that she'd help out the young woman grabbed both men's hands leading them down an aisle.
"I hope you'll enjoy the game, it's so much fun playing it with our customers." Cassandra explained looking at both men with a huge grin on her face, clearly she was very passionate about this game and making sure it was a good experience. Several minutes later they stopped in front of a large back room, reaching into her shirt the young woman pulled out a key card before holding it up for a nearby scanner. Beeping in approval the doors slid open revealing a scene that made her newest customer gasp, seven rows of computers lined the room with all but five of them being used by people of varying age groups.
Making his way over to an empty computer he pulled a chair out and sat down grinning, realizing there was only one program on it he clicked the icon. "Welcome to Gunpla Battle Nexus Online or GBN for short, is this your first time playing?" A computerized female voice questioned as the prompts for yes or no lit up. Clicking on the yes prompt the young man sighed when countless forms appeared on the screen, he understood companies were just covering their bases but did they really need so many different forms.
"When you've finished the paperwork set the model down on the scanner just beneath the screen and dawn the headset, we'll see you inside the game." Cassandra explained before dawning her own headset, glancing over at his friend the young man's headset was already covering their eyes.
Making his way through seemingly endless forms he was surprised by how much information they required, most of it was pretty standard but one question caught him off guard. Clicking the box marked Christian the screen explained that due to it being a game meant for all ages it didn't allow making fun of sex, race, or religion. When he'd finished with the last question it asked for a user name, selecting one he knew his friend would recognize he typed the information in and dawned the headset.
Bright white light filled the young man's eyes causing him to wonder if it was going to blind him, eventually the lights intensity decreased and he could see an avatar in front of him. Selecting his desired options the young man knew it was pretty uninspired but that didn't bother him, clicking the submit button the bright light once again filled his eyes. When it finally began to clear up the young man couldn't believe his eyes, gone was the model shop and spread out before him was an entirely different and majestic world.