8 Bit Glitch

Part 25~Mark

Smirking, I linked my fingers with Denki's, leading him into the gigantic hall.

"This is... wow." Denki was lost for words as he spun around. I chuckled, nodding. "You come here every year?"

"Yep. Every year since I was four. My dad is always a panellist and mum backs over half of the games you'll see." I waved the whole thing off slightly. This was all normal for me but I understood it wasn't for Denki. This was his first time ever to a gaming convention and he was starting with the biggest. "Come on, I have someone I want you to meet." Pulling Denki to the side, we weaved through different people and stands.

Music echoed around. Different games are being demonstrated and played. Stalls sold copies and merchandise. People were having a good time.

"Mark!" Waving, I caught the attention of the only person I bothered to learn the name of. Mark glanced up in annoyance before he spotted me and seemed to calm down. His blond hair had grown out slightly- as had the bags under his eyes. "Hey."

Mark slowly stood up, tiredness showing in every motion he did. "Morning, Dekiru. Who that?" Mark's strange accent came through as he spoke. His family always went travelling all across the world. The number of different cultures and languages influencing Mark's speech into the weird jumble it was now.

"Mark, this is Denki. Denki, Mark. Mark and I usually go around this place together."

Mark raised his eyebrow at Denki who was starting to feel more self-conscious. "You're the one who made Dekiru social. I prefered him when he wasn't." Mark yawned, grabbing his back as Denki blinked in confusion. "Let's go."

Nodding, I followed Mark as Denki fidgetted. "Hey Izu, where is he taking us?"

Laughing, I pulled Denki closer and wrapped my arm around his shoulder. "To see only the best panel in this place."

Mark walked up to a large door, showing his pass to the guard and motioning towards us. "They're with me." The guard stared at us before opening the door. Mark led us inside as we took our seats.

"Who's here this year?" I glanced at the 'stage', eying up the different seats.

Mark pulled out the schedule, humming slightly as he ran his fingers over the text blocks. "We start with Black Treasure, Luke's Warning and then Alnix's Trial."

"Great, we're last as usual."

Denki tilted his head in confusion. "Last?"

"The game dad designed. It's going up last." Resting my head against my palm, I leaned against the chair.

Denki blinked in confusion, looking at Mark. "Why does he look so stressed?"

Mark laughed, smirking slightly. "Denki, meet Dekiru. He stresses himself out every year because they're up against the Infinity network."

"The Infinity network?"

"The company’s rival. One of the best gamers today is the top developer's daughter."

"Oh. That bad?"

Mark hummed as he turned his attention back to the stage. The different gamers walking into their spot. I knew most of them but my eyes were on one in particular. Charlie Fowler. The infamous daughter of the rival company. Her short silver hair flowed in front of her face, covering the black-rimmed glasses. A long burn scar covered up her neck and her chin, nipping at the bags under her eyes.

"Hey, Mark? How comes everyone here is so tired?" Denki leaned across me to talk to Mark who had to suppress the snicker.

"Have you ever met a gamer? We don't sleep."

The commentator- host- person walked out with a confident swagger in their step. "Are you ready to blow some stuff up?! For the next hour, we have a full schedule of the newest and best games of this season! Each game will be played by a select team of the greatest gamers we know!" Mark rolled his eyes a little, scowling as the event began.

As much as I wanted to say the other games didn't compare, they did. Their graphics were on point and smooth as marble. Black Treasure was all about this cursed treasure and the player fighting against it as it tried to make them do all sorts of horrible things. The fast pace of the game left little room for breathing or talking.

Luke's Warning- aka the rival game- was an adventure game that was started by a strange note sent by this mysterious Luke fella. The player had to try and rescue the Luke character regardless of the number of warnings they got, facing terrible creatures and monsters on the way. It was annoyingly complex and the gameplay was flawless.

Lastly, it was our turn. The players got up, walking over to the special area to get on their gear. Screens popped up in the background to show us what they saw.

"Wow, someone's gone through a lot of effort to impress us," one of the players stated as he moved around in his gear.

"Yeah, have to admit, this is pretty epic," another claimed, reaching out and playing around with the controls.

Charlie didn't seem as impressed as the others. "Fancy controllers don't mean a good game." Charlie had probably seen this technology before, you can't blame her for not being impressed.

The game started. The cut scene from the beginning was enough to grip anyone. Even Denki was leaning at the edge of his seat. Alnix's trial was all about someone who was meant to be having a coming of age ceremony when it all goes downhill. They fail the trial and are forced out of their tribe. It's a story about learning and memorising the surroundings and surviving like you would in real life. All while doing it on a completely different planet.

A small scream brought our attention to the little critter. He was the first one to find the helper.

"Hey, Izuku, isn't that the character you designed?" Denki leaned close to my ear as I nodded.

Mark smirked knowingly. I sent him a warning glare not to say it. Honestly, he and Iku were so alike sometimes it was scary. The game progressed pretty smoothly. Or as smoothly as that game did. They encountered several harsh foes and as it was meant to simulate real-life, no levelling up bonuses.

When the games were over, the host wrapped up and we were sent on our way. Denki seemed confused. "Hey, I thought something was going to happen. Like it was a competition or something."

Shaking my head, I smiled slightly. "Yes but no. That isn't the competition. They are just showing off the games. The real competition is in sales. It's why it's the worst being last. You risk losing people if one of the other games is bad." Denki opened his mouth in an 'o' shape as Mark snickered at him. Stabbing him in the abdomen, I scowled. "Don't make fun of him! Or I delete all your accounts."

Mark visibly paled as he held up his hands in defeat. "Alright. Sorry."

"Oi, Mark!"

Mark cringed as he kept walking, hoping the host from earlier would just leave him alone.

"Hey!" The host picked up Mark, holding him in place. "I need you to do something for me."

"Never!"

"Stop being a little brat Mark! Listen, Charles over there doesn't have any friends or places to hang out and her parents asked me to babysit her but I'm not doing that so I'm passing the responsibility onto you." The host motioned over his shoulder at Charlie who looked just as annoyed as Mark. "No arguments, you have to do this, dad and pa said you had to." The host rushed off before Mark could say any more.

"Gods I hate my brother," Mark muttered, glaring at where the host had been only a few moments ago. "Come on, I'm heading back to the booth." Mark grabbed Charlie, dragging her behind him.

Whelp, this just got a lot more interesting.