Before I get started with the actual story, let me tell you another: I'm a crossover fanatic. Most of my works bridge things, always with my own little twists, and after having already getting something on our sister site, I figured I might as well tip my hand and write a pure crossover thing. So, with that in mind, let's get started with...A PROLOGUE!
*Ring ring, ring ring* *Click* "Hey, Kyle, you there?" a voice asks.
He sleepily stumbles from his bed, grabbing the small rectangle. "I am now, Judas. What's going on?"
"Me and the gang are thinking about buying that new Wizards of the Coast game, Skybound, and I was wondering if you wanted me to get you a copy," Judas answers, "Whaddya say, bro?"
"Sure, man, I love free stuff," the other boy smiles, wiping the sleep away with a coffee-brown arm.
The caller laughs. "Typical Kyle. Anyway, I'll have it by 3; think I can stop by to test it? My GameBrain broke on me, and we're all playing around then."
"No problem, Judester. See you then, I need to get some tea."
"Alright. Later."
Kyle closes the call, then heads downstairs, hoping to find his teacup where he'd left it. Lately, something had gotten the idea to move it around at night, and even after calling the police and the local exorcist, nothing had changed. Grabbing it off the kitchen counter, grateful for the break, the eighteen year old starts a kettle and goes back upstairs for his sister.
A voice at her door tells Laura she'd better shut the screen of her computer down, fast. "Laura, you up?"
"Yeah, I just got up," she lies. Kyle ought to know by now she never slept, in part thanks to her friends and in part the coffee machine and mini fridge by her desk, but old habits die hard for the fourteen year old.
"Sure you did, sis," comes the other side of the threshold, "Anyway, Judas is coming at 3, which means I'm heading to McDonalds for breakfast. You dressed to get some fast food?"
A moment passes, accompanied by manic shuffling from behind the wooden barrier. Kyle backs up to allow Laura onto the balcony. "Let's go, I'm starving. Can I get fries?"
"Why not? It is your birthday, after all," he smiles, ruffling her crimson-streaked locks, "Now let's hurry, we've only got an hour before he gets here with Skybound. Now where did that wind put my keys?"
Meanwhile, Judas, a St. Louis Cardinals cap bouncing on his closely-trimmed head, heads for Walmart, a stack of twenty-dollar bills in his pocket. He had already arranged to meet the others outside and pay for their copies, and since it was Laura's birthday knew he might as well get her a copy for her laptop. Why she still used that dinosaur was no mystery to Judas - it used a separate Gamma-Net connection, meaning she didn't have to keep her history - but it was impressive that even in 2021, such things still were used instead of the GameBrain.
Judas sees his girlfriend Sofia first; a quick exchange of saliva later, and the two are walking arm-in-arm to the electronics section, browsing for a small group of just-graduates.
"How was Phoenix?" the Mexican beauty on Judas' arm asked, "I missed you these past few days."
"Babe, we talked every night for hours, you know how it was - my parents want me to move back in with them, but they don't have the guts to withdraw my allowance, and at least one of my sisters is pregnant. Again."
Sofia flashes a knowing grin, a single curl bouncing into her beloved's neck. "I'm still surprised you keep leaving Dallas whenever they ask; seems like it'd be easier just to let the old farts rot, you know?"
"If he did that, then he'd lose his free tickets to Six Flag every year," a carrot-topped boy with a Canadian accent remarks from behind them. The two jump at the sound of Carson's voice, but quickly turn on him with joking punches. Shortly thereafter, they're joined by Lisa, Louisa and Jack, and they make their way to the Skybound display.
"I thought more people would've shown up by now," Jack wonders aloud, "Didn't they get the memo? 'Best game ever, coming out today'?"
Lisa shrugs. "They may have already gotten a copy. I heard the store was swamped around 3 am."
"Good thing they cleaned it up before we got here; I'd hate to get these shoes water-logged," her twin sister says. It was a popular theory that Louisa and Lisa were actually once Siamese twins, connected at the brain, but were separated unevenly.
Carson starts to glance around the various displays. "Where's Kyle? Didn't you tell him-"
"He just got up, Carson - I say he's getting breakfast," Judas answers with an edge.
"Okay, okay, sheesh," the Canadian mumbles, "Just asking where a friend is...hey look, Skybound!"
They make a mad dash to the counter, pushing Judas ahead of them like a convicted medieval criminal. A confused clerk takes his cash and tosses packages into the small crowd, handing Judas the last three, before taking off for a lunch break. The graduates scatter, migrating towards their various vehicles, and Judas drives to Kyle's house. Strange clouds are forming on the horizon...
Kyle comes to the door, a Jace Beleren T-shirt and skinny jeans barely on him. Laura, already in the living room, is readying the Game Brain, hooking up a trio of helmets to the chrome contraption. Judas hands his friend their copies (he'd gotten two for Laura so she could play with them) and takes his out of the package, reading the box methodically.
"What is this game supposed to be about, anyway?" Laura asks, handing the charitable lad a green and gold helm.
"It's an open-world Magic the Gathering game, like an Elder Scrolls game," Judas explains to her, donning his controller, "The character building is mostly random, and the game is constantly moving even when we aren't playing. Other than that, I really don't know what to expect."
Kyle takes a seat on the reclining chair next to Laura, already wearing his hat. "Just heard from the others; they're waiting on us at the moment. Fire it up, Laura."
There's a brief flash, followed by some loud buzzing. Then, they hear a series of explosions from all around them. It seems so real...
The next thing they realize is that their helms have been destroyed; apparently, the game was a LOT more interactive then it'd been given credit for. Just as they're about to start reaching a conclusion, however, they all fall to the floor, unconscious.
These are the events that led to the end of the world, April 13, 2021.
