Gundam SEED Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam: Virtual Battlefield ❯ Chapter 1: Newcomer ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Newcomer

 

Sam pressed his face against the glass of his local MOBILE Avatar shop, The Gamer's Retreat. His eyes wondered around the different Phase 1 avatars on display, as well as images of Phase 2, 3 and 4 ones. He wondered what Phase 5 avatars looked like, but as of yet, all news about the players who had them were suppressed. `All will be revealed during the preliminaries.' Or so the news conference with the International Gaming Institution said.

 

The usual smiling face of the shop's owner, Mr Kanin, drew Sam's attention away from the little holographic displays. He was a retired technician who used to work with Zeonic Electronics. At the time of the downfall of Zeonic, he was around fifty years old and no one wanted to employ him. So he opened up shop in the middle of town of his hometown, Uckfield. Despite being inside a small community, his shop has been the daily pit stop for the children and adults alike. At times, it seemed like The Gamer's Retreat was what kept the small town businesses alive since it attracts so many people away from the large supermarkets a few miles from the quaint town.

 

Sam stepped into the shop and instinctively removed his cap and dropped it into his empty paper round bag. The shop was small but the walls were lined with cards, models and posters. Images of MOBILE Avatars were obviously the main focus of the posters but others showed DC comic characters and old anime cartoons. It seemed like a place where one could just geek out without fear of intimidation.

 

“See anything you like, Mr Hunts?” Mr Kanin asked as Sam stepped up to the counter and peered into the vast foray of avatars for what seemed like the thousandth time, “Oops, I'm sorry. I forgot about your parents.”

 

“It's alright.” Sam shrugged, returning the smile that Mr Kanin had always extended despite the fact that he has yet to buy anything major in the store. He had purchased the odd comic book that was on offer at The Gamer's Retreat, but what he wanted from that shop was a MOBILE Unit and avatar to call his own.

 

Mr Kanin reached down into the display case marked `NEW!' and retrieved a card and placed it into holographic transfer module on the table. An image of a grey bird-like avatar appeared on the screen.

 

“Since your birthday is next week, I'll show you something cool. This is ZAFT Incorporated newest addition to their Phase 1 line-up, the CGUE. Although whether the rumours were true about the thing being programmed using stolen code, I don't know, but it looks cool, right?”

 

Sam nodded, but another avatar kept drawing his attention. Mr Kanin noticed the glint in the thirteen-year-old boy's eye. Picking up the card, he removed the CGUE and placed it in. The new avatar appeared on screen. Its huge shoulder thrusters, shield and bazooka filled the entire display. Sam's jaw literally dropped when he saw it.

 

“The EFF's GP02. Be careful. What it makes up in power and defence, it misses out on speed and manoeuvrability. The thing is bad for single play, but good for team play.” Removing the GP02, he inserted another avatar into the display, “If you want good looks and single play, the GP03 is your friend. Good speed, manoeuvrability, power and defence. Of course less so than the GP02, but more balanced. Plus its rumoured that EFF Corporation just released an ultra rare MSV part that triples this unit's power.”

 

A ringing in his pocket torn Sam's eager eyes away from the screen. He thanked Mr Kanin for his time and went outside.

 

“Yes…yes…no…I'll pick some up on the way home…about five minutes…ok…I'll be careful, mum…see you then.”

 

Sprinting down the road, Sam headed towards the local corner shop.

 

-----

 

Sam's family was one that was living with current technology. If something was developed, either his mother or father would buy it and find a use for it around the house. His father was one of the lower managers at the IBM centre just outside of town and his mother was a computing teacher in the local sixth form. This fact had always made Sam somewhat uncomfortable, as he was one of the shrinking minority of students who did not have a MOBILE Avatar.

 

Holding the plastic bag in his hand, Sam walked through the park opposite his house. In the playground, near the small pond, a group of children his age gathered around a large dome-like plate planted deeply into the ground, a MOBILE Arena. The teenagers were shouting excitedly at the holographic map and two small MOBILE Avatars currently battling it inside it. Sam stepped up to the edge of the arena and saw a GM III trying to slash at a grey crab-like mobile armour with its beam sabre but was countered by a beam sabre in the mobile armour's claw. The two players had VR headsets over their heads and were manically mashing the buttons on their MOBILE Units. A lucky shot from one of the crab's remote pods tore off the GM's beam sabre arm and continued to cut up the remaining unit that resulted in a brilliant flash and the message “PROTO-CHAOS: WINNER!”.

 

The boy on Sam's right took off his VR glasses and punched the air. He had an air of superiority and high class about him. The girls who were watching swarmed around him as soon as the match finished, all of them giggling and complementing him on a great win.

 

“Ladies, ladies! Steven was good, but unfortunately, not good enough.” He turned to the boy on the opposite side of the large MOBILE Arena, “You're gonna need more than just flash bangs and dummy balloons to beat my Proto-Chaos. Ladies, let's…Oh, look who it is: Sam the Loser.”

 

Sam blushed as the entire group turned their attention to him. The boy made his way out of his posse of fangirls and strutted over to Sam.

 

“So, have you got an avatar yet?”

 

“Yes.” He lied.

 

“So you're here to challenge the Master?”

 

Sam laughed, “You? A Master? I've seen better. Even I could beat you with my new Phase 1.”

 

“Ha! You? Not bloody likely. I'm the best here. Isn't that right, ladies?” He cocked his back to the girls behind him.

 

“You tell him, Jack!”, “Don't let him say stuff like that, Jack!” and “Get lost, Sam!” They shouted while Jack's original opponent slinked off home.

 

“Well, how about it? If you got the guts, lets go. That is, if you actually have an avatar or have you been bluffing?”

 

Sam began to sweat. He had hoped that his little speech didn't lead to this. He has to now either admit that he was lying about having a MOBILE Avatar or just run away. Both ways will lead to him being completely and utterly humiliated, yet again. He had always hated how Jack looks at people. Jacks eyes would shift about, checking out the person he was talking to, probing for weaknesses to exploit and to intimidate his opponents. He would have made a fine police interrogator.

 

Just as Sam was about to open his mouth, he heard a female voice behind him.

 

“You don't have to fight with Jack.”

 

He turned around and saw the beautiful features of his neighbour, Julie. The summer dress she wore and large straw hat brought out her developing figure and cute face with her auburn hair blowing about in the gentle breeze. Despite her looks, she was the most athletic girl in the school with the grades to match. She, too, was in the minority of MOBILE Avatar-less people in the school, which was why Sam and her became friends in the first place.

 

“So you decided to let your girlfriend fight your battles now?” Jack mocked.

 

“She's not my girlfriend!” Sam clenched his fists but Julie put her hands on his shoulders. He knew instantly that she would handle this.

 

“I just hope you and your little fanclub knows that Sam isn't in to Pokemon.” She said, and smiled when she saw Jack's eye twitch, “Sam doesn't have to prove anything because he is mature enough to know that playing with these little avatars will not get him anywhere in life. Come on, Sam, let's go.”

 

As Sam and Julie turned to leave, Jack shouted, “I hope you enjoy your Gold Astray, Julie!”

 

Sam looked at the girl next to him in shock. She was the last person he thought would have bought a MOBILE Avatar. He looked at her, wanting to be reassured that it was a lie. There was nothing.

 

On the way home, Sam finally decided to break the silence.

 

“When did you get it?”

 

“Tuesday. My uncle went to Japan and bought me a MOBILE Unit.”

 

“How is the thing?”

 

“Useful as a small PDA. I kinda like the little Astray jumping around on the screen as I use the day planner options. Don't really like battles.”

 

Sam sighed and smiled. The neighbour that he knew was still here.

 

“Care to give me a look?”

 

She took out her MOBILE Unit from her purse and handed it to Sam. It was a small and rounded device roughly the shape and size of a PS2 controller. There was a large screen with multi-coloured buttons around the sides. Three slots at the top of device allowed the MOBILE Avatar card and other item cards to be slotted in during battle. Clicking on the on-button, the screen came to life with the words, “Fighting for the good of Gaming”, something that Sam had never seen before. Ignoring that, he watched the Gold Astray jump up from the bottom of the screen and began to prance around the applications that came with the MOBILE Unit.

 

“Nice.” He said, handing the Unit back to Julie wishing that he had one.

 

-----

 

It was week later at Sam's birthday party with his parents he soiled himself. He felt the wetness in his loins but did not care. He got a MOBILE Unit.

 

His parents told him to change into some new underwear before coming back downstairs to see what avatar that he got. Both of them smiled broadly as they watched their son sprint upstairs and slam his room door. They always wanted to buy an avatar for Sam, but they felt that he was too immature to handle one when it became popular four years ago. So, in Sam's best interests, they decided to wait until Sam exhibited signs of responsibility before buying. When they saw their son finding a paper round job by himself and joining many societies in middle school, they knew that he be trusted with one.

 

When he rushed downstairs again, Sam ripped open the thin package that contained the data card for his MOBILE Avatar. Finally reaching taking the wrapping paper off, he held up the white card up. The words RX-72-2 GUNDAM was etched onto the back of the card with the legendary white, large headed and red goateed avatar drawn elegantly on the front.

 

“Now listen son,” Sam's father patted him on the head, “You earned this with hard work and determination. You've shown to us that we can trust you to play this game responsibly, but under one condition.”

 

Sam knew it, there had to be strings attached.

 

“Beat the stuffing out of the Hendrix's son.” He said.

 

“You mean Jack?” Sam looked at his father in surprise. He nodded.

 

“That kid's dad's always dragging me over to see his new gadgets at work. I can't stand it. For once I want to see him humiliated so that I can gloat over his face at work.”

 

“Honey…”

 

“Then I'll show everyone that I am the best! I have the best gadgets, I can use my son to prove it!”

 

“Honey…”

 

“He'll pay for his past transgressions against the true master of technology! I am the master of technology at IBM! THEY'LL PAY! NO ONE WILL STAND IN MY WAY!”

 

Sam's mother walked over to his father and slapped him around the back of the head.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry,” He said, rubbing the spot where the stinging correction slap from his wife hit.

 

“How am I supposed to beat his Phase 3 avatar with this?”

 

His father put his hands on Sam's shoulders, “If you believe in yourself and your abilities, you can even beat that boy's Phase 3 avatar with your Phase 1 avatar. Believe in your fighting spirit. Plus a bit of strategy won't hurt. Remember that nothing is invincible.”

 

Sam nodded with a gigantic grin on his face. That night, Sam barely got a wink of sleep as he planned for his revenge.

 

-----

 

“Hey, Jack!” Sam found him sitting on a bench in the park with his female friends eating a Big Mac.

 

The teenager turned around and saw Sam clenching a MOBILE Unit in his hands. He smiled and knew what Sam wanted. He took a bite out of his burger before replying.

 

“So the boy who did without finally got one. I guess you want to challenge me with your little Phase 1 avatar right?”

 

Sam nodded, “I'll prove to everyone that you are not as invincible as you think you are.”

 

“So you think you can beat my Proto-Chaos with a Phase 1 avatar?” Jack chuckled, “And you have a special tactic just to beat me, right? Alright, I'll do it. I don't want to see you humiliated even further than you already have up till now, but if you insist.”

 

The two of them stepped up to the MOBILE Arena in the park and plugged their Units into the slots. When they agreed on the terrain, the dish in the centre instantly activated, providing the spectators with a view of a giant asteroid field.

 

“An RX-72? Oh, god, this will be good.” Jack laughed.

 

“Oh just bring it on.” Sam said with confidence.

 

“Don't do this. You have nothing to prove to him.” Sam heard Julie's voice beside him.

 

“So you don't think I can win this?” Sam said while fumbling around with the VR glasses, “Just leave me alone. I know what I'm doing.”

 

Julie frowned and gave up, “I won't be there to help you if you lose.”

 

Sam remained silent until Julie left and stood with the crowd.

 

`MATCH START!'

 

The VR glasses interior displayed the back of his RX-72 in deep space with a red box indicating the Proto-Chaos. The HUD readout said it was about 10000 metres away, but that distance was meaningless since the Proto-Chaos could probably cover that in 45 seconds. Sam's Gundam only had the dense asteroid field for cover. Taking position behind one of the larger chunks of rock, the RX-72 drew its fixed beam rifle and brought out a flash-bang.

 

He watched on the on-screen radar as the Proto-Chaos closed in, either dodging or taking out any asteroid in its way. Sam counted down from 5000 metres to 1000 metres before firing his beam rifle into the asteroid he was hiding behind. The large piece of rock instantly split into hundreds of tiny fragments and sprayed everywhere. The Proto-Chaos swatted the pieces away with its claws but as soon as it touched one of the rocks, it flashed and exploded.

 

Taking the opportunity, Sam spun around from another asteroid and emptied his beam rifle at the Proto-Chaos, making sure that every shot hit. But when Sam had finished, the HP that displayed above the Proto-Chaos was only at 80%.

 

“What the?! Those shots should have at least taken your HP down to 60%!”

 

“Beam coating, boyo.” Jack said smugly.

 

Clenching his teeth, Sam slotted a red coloured card into his MOBILE Unit and charged his RX-78 towards the Proto-Chaos. The RX-72 threw away its beam rifle and a linear gun appeared on its shoulders. Taking aim, three shots flew out of the barrel and collided with the fuselage of the large crab mobile armour.

 

“5% is nothing compared to what I can do to you!” Jack laughed sinisterly as the Proto-Chaos' four mobile pods shot out from its body and weaved their way towards the RX-72. The Gundam made a dash for the nearest asteroid for cover but the pods opened up their missile hatch and blew the rock to pieces, the shockwave flung the Gundam into a nearby asteroid, decreasing its HP by 10%. Regaining control, Sam fired four more rounds from the linear gun before throwing one of the last two flash-bangs in the Proto-Chaos' general direction.

 

Come on, there's gotta be a way to beat him.

 

Just as the RX-72 moved, four beams came from above and below with two directly impacting on its main body reducing its HP to only 40%. Still recovering from the explosion, a giant claw grabbed hold of the Gundam and began to squeeze. Sparks flew everywhere and Sam could only watch as his avatar straining to get out of the deadly hold without any success. He heard Jack laugh when the Gundam's HP drain to zero and exploding in a large fireball.

 

“PROTO-CHAOS: WINNER!”

 

Sam tore off the VR glasses and unplugged his MOBILE Unit from the stadium. He hurriedly stuffed the item and one-use weapon cards into his pocket and tried to leave but Jack and two of his larger friends blocked his way.

 

“Where do you think you're going?” The two large friends held Sam down on the ground while Jack went about in his pockets and taking out all of the cards that he had, “Item…one-use…one-use…ooo, an option part. I'll be taking that.”

 

“No…!” Sam squirmed under the tight grip of the two teenagers but couldn't wriggle free. The other spectators had dispersed but he saw Julie was still there. His eyes pleaded for her to come over and help him, but she just watched.

 

When Jack had taken the cards that he wanted, he tossed the rest on the ground, “Let's go lads. I hope I didn't mess up your boyfriend too much, Julie. Heh heh heh.”

 

When the three of them left, Sam sat up and looked up at Julie. He tried to avoid her eyes. He dusted himself off and picked up his remaining cards.

 

“You know you deserved that.” She said with her arms crossed.

 

“Yeah.” He dusted the dirt off of his black t-shirt.

 

Julie walked over, giving up her tough body language and helped him get some dirt off his back.

 

“So what are you going to do now?”

 

“Gonna head to the Retreat. I have some things I want to ask the old man.”

 

-----

 

On the computer monitor inside his room, a man sat and watched the match between the Gundam and Proto-Chaos. There were lines of code running down one side of his screen while the battle was displayed on the other. His eyes followed the code until one line caught his attention. Springing into action, he began to furiously tapping on his keyboard, adding a program onto the coding that he saw.

 

“That Proto-Chaos will be mine.”