This choice: Wait, what was...'Hybrid' Mode? • Go Back...Chapter #7Pet Simulator: Hybrid Mode by: Mr.Domino   The group was about to vote on whether or not to play the Pet simulation in either Traditional or Immersive mode when Eugene spotted the small screen on the side of the game's console blinking slowly.
"Wait, hold up" The geek said, peering in close to read what was being spelled out across the wall of tiny red bulbs behind the dark plastic.
"Whatcha doin' Genie?" Lindsey asked, wiggling around and peering in over Eugene's shoulder and causing the dork to stammer a nervous non-explanation, "Huh, I wonder what 'Hybrid Mode' is?"
Judy and Peter looked at each other. Judy REALLY wanted to see if the game was like Nintendogs...But honestly at this point the amount of technical mumbo-jumbo and ALL of the different options the game was providing was starting to get a little too much, even for the normally patient goth. She stifled a companion yawn to Peter's own, if this didn't start going anywhere soon, well, there were other things that the couple could be doing. It was fun trying to ship Lindsey and Eugene but at this point she felt like they could possibly just leave and let the two be nerds over the analog monstrosity that was sitting on the common room's table. But she didn't want to give up just yet.
"Eugene, did the rules say anything about this 'Hybrid Mode'?" Judy offered, trying to be helpful before her patience ran out, pointing a purple tipped fingernail towards the equally huge box the game had come in.
The overweight general studies focused nerd followed Judy's finger and gaze over to the box, and after a moment of just staring at it, suddenly realized what his top-heavy friend was trying to get him to do. "Uh, let me check".
The box itself was largely empty and blank, the only part that seemed to have any print was the underside of the box lid where the rules for the Traditional and Immersive modes were printed...But near the bottom, past the scratched and faded part was a tiny section that Eugene wasn't entirely sure had been there when he had first opened the box. But nevertheless he flipped the box over into the light, squinted his eyes and began reading.
"Hybrid Mode: Some game types come with a Hybrid Mode option. Hybrid Mode combines aspects of both Traditional and Immersive modes together. Hybrid Mode requires a minimum of two players, to a maximum of four. Players will be placed on different teams and must work together in order to advance through the game." Eugene squinted as the next part was damaged by fading and a small strip of torn cardboard.
It was odd that while the machine itself looked more or less pristine, the box had sustained so much wear and tear. Especially, if the woman at the store was to be believed (Eugene had summarized most of the encounter), that the game had simply been 'waiting many years for someone like him to come along'. And mice didn't cause this kind of damage.
After a moment he pieced together as much as he could from the damaged text before speaking again, "Uh, it says something along the lines of 'all players will be immersed but still require dice rolls to move through the scenario and by completing actions and challenges. Everything else in that section is missing...But I guess each Hybrid Mode will also have it's own special rules pertaining to the scenario? I just have to type in 'Hybrid Mode Start' instead of pressing one of those buttons.
"Can we not just play? Seriously? What is with all these rules and modes? Whatever happened to just 'roll the dice and get to the end first'?" Peter said as pulled himself to his feet, "Geno, I really was interested in this, but I don't think game night is supposed to take thirty minutes of reading the rules. I'm out."
Peter turned to walk away and Judy gave Eugene a sympathetic look as she too rose from the couch and followed her boyfriend, "Sorry Eugene but...This sounded like a lot more fun than just listening to you read off a bunch of technical rule stuff"
"Hey! Wait, guys c'mon don't go! Let's just, uh..." Eugene's worries shifted from the game's suspicious damage and obfuscation of the rules to keeping the couple from bailing. He jumped out of his chair and chased after the muscled athlete and the big breasted goth.
Meanwhile Lindsey simply watched the exchange and, in an effort to stave off her own boredom, cure her own curiosity about the machine AND help Eugene from suffering from a social embarassment, slid quietly into Eugene's former spot and quickly typed in 'Hybrid Mode 4 Player Start' on the game's tiny keypad and pressed Enter.
The machine let loose a loud metallic CLANG and began buzzing, and Lindsey felt her head start to become woozy as the world began to spin. NEar the common room doors Judy, Peter and Eugene began to sway on their feet, Judy leaning into Peter, who slid up against the wall, and Eugene who was trying to prop himself up in the door way and failing. As darkness and buzzing over-took Lindsey, she watched as the other three students slowly collapsed to the floor. And then there was nothing.
_
Judy snapped open her eyes in alarm and pulled herself off of Peter, who was shaking his head and groaning groggily. Judy's own head was swimming, feeling not unlike the pressure of a migraine, but was Eugene heaved his significant bulk back onto his feet, the top heavy goth suddenly realized something.
Instead of the common room, they were in a seemingly empty black room. The walls, lights, doors, the furniture, all of it was gone!
"Ohmygod!" She whispered, whipping her head in every direction and fighting off the urge to be sick. But the wave of discomfort was already fading in her head, and she spied Lindsey splayed out spread eagle on the floor behind them. Judy hustled over, suddenly VERY afraid of just dropping off into nothing like the scene in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade with the optical illusion bridge near the end of the film, but she made it to the rainbow haired girl's location and let loose a sigh of relief as she was still breathing, half-lidded eyes staring up into nothing.
"That was a bad idea" Lindsey muttered as Judy's fierce-but-in-a-cute-way face filled her vision. Her friend's brown eyes scrunched in confusion.
"What was a bad idea? Lindz, where are we!?" Judy said, helping the stickly girl up into a sitting position and receiving a guilty, sheepish grin in return.
"I, um, kinda started the game. Don't be mad! I just, like, really wanted us to have a game night as you guys were like, totally bailing!" As her senses returned so did Lindsey's valley girl accent and over-use of the word 'like'. She hoped she hadn't lapsed out of it too much.
"Well that's just typical, leave it to Legally Blonde to get us all in trouble!" Peter fumed as he stomped over, Eugene in tow, "Where the FUCK are we? Where's the dorm!?"
Lindsey had nothing to offer but a shrug, but before the athlete's reddening face could explode in further anger, there was a synthetic chime as several larger doorways appeared...Along with a curvy woman of Mediterranean descent walking out of the darkness between each white void.
"Wait, you're...You're the girl from the shop!" Eugene cried out in realization. And it really was, only she looked MUCH prettier than in the soft-blue work polo and khakis he'd seen her in before. She had rocked those but now she was wearing a deep green dress that shimmered and shined from some unknown light, looking like someone had managed to turn a jade jewel into a knockout piece of curve hugging fabric.
https://i.imgur.com/vteiocY.jpg
"That's right, Eugene. And thank you, Lindsey, I was afraid that nothing was actually going to happen! You go girl!" The woman gave Lindsey a thumbs up and a wink, which the rainblonde couldn't help but return with a small, nervous smile as the woman strutted forward until she stood in the middle of the small group.
"I'm gonna make this quick and simple, okay? You're all IN the game, which is magical. You chose the Hybrid Mode, but...this particular game doesn't let you pick your avatars or tokens. See those white doors?" The woman turned and pointed a green-tipped nail towards the gaping white voids, "When I leave, you're going to have to walk through one of them. Whichever one you chose is the game you get, and you'll be assigned random roles. Two of you will roll for progression and get actions and challenge cards at random, the other two will have to complete objectives to advance, but you're all on the same team. At least to start with, things can happen, who knows where it will go? Finish the game and you get to go back to your dorm. Or you can stay here if you like"
"Wait, so if we don't play...We're trapped here forever" Judy's eyes went wide in fear as she realized the predicament they were in.
"That's what I said, honey" The woman gave Judy a shrug before turning back and focusing on Eugene, "And when, or if you get out, come see me at the shop. All of you. And bring the game"
And then wink another wink at Lindsey, the woman disappeared in a flash of green sparkles.
"Holy shit" Peter said, breaking the stunned silence.
"Looks...looks like we've got to play" Eugene said after moment of collecting his thoughts, waddling past the group to inspect the small forest of what the woman had called 'doors'.
"But which one do we choose?" He whispered.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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