David woke in the dark void. His head pounding and heart racing a mile a minute. Everything felt.... funny. Like the world was just ever so slightly off its axis, not enough to matter, but enough to annoy you. Blinking a few times, he sat up to observe the near pitch darkness surrounding him. He could make out the shapes of his friends around him, but not much else. Indeed, the only source of light in this strange, mysterious place was the low glow of a neon green grid that ran underneath them.
Dave rubbed at his eyes, trying to remember what the hell happened. It couldn't be a dream, his head and the massive aches in his back told him that much. Thinking back, he remembered nearly everything about the day. Waking up somewhat early to go shopping for a literal mountain of junk food, instant ramen, and booze. Racing back home to set up the consoles, and other equipment. Installing the numbers of various pizza and takeout places into his phone's speed dial. And then kicking back with a beer as he attempted a 'perfect speedrun' of Metroid Fusion as he waited for the first of his friends to arrive for the weeklong gauntlet of a non-stop, fully-livestreamed gaming marathon. One by one, they showed up and the festivities began.
About 4 hours in, after getting blown out by Jaz in the semi-finals of an impromptu Street Fighter tournament, David noticed an old tv in the corner, and asked around to find out who brought it. Suddenly, the lights went out, and after a few moments of darkness, the CRT turned on. The grey light grew brighter and brighter until, without warning, a vortex of light, color, and misshapen figures surrounded them all and swallowed them up. Dave could remember seeing strange images as he fell, gradually fading away until he hit bottom with a light *thump*
Suddenly aware of how silent it was, David tried to rouse the others.
"Hey, you guys alright? Guys? Damn Toto... I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"
Dave rubbed at his eyes, trying to remember what the hell happened. It couldn't be a dream, his head and the massive aches in his back told him that much. Thinking back, he remembered nearly everything about the day. Waking up somewhat early to go shopping for a literal mountain of junk food, instant ramen, and booze. Racing back home to set up the consoles, and other equipment. Installing the numbers of various pizza and takeout places into his phone's speed dial. And then kicking back with a beer as he attempted a 'perfect speedrun' of Metroid Fusion as he waited for the first of his friends to arrive for the weeklong gauntlet of a non-stop, fully-livestreamed gaming marathon. One by one, they showed up and the festivities began.
About 4 hours in, after getting blown out by Jaz in the semi-finals of an impromptu Street Fighter tournament, David noticed an old tv in the corner, and asked around to find out who brought it. Suddenly, the lights went out, and after a few moments of darkness, the CRT turned on. The grey light grew brighter and brighter until, without warning, a vortex of light, color, and misshapen figures surrounded them all and swallowed them up. Dave could remember seeing strange images as he fell, gradually fading away until he hit bottom with a light *thump*
Suddenly aware of how silent it was, David tried to rouse the others.
"Hey, you guys alright? Guys? Damn Toto... I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"