Tilted Acres

Chapter 4: Save Up for a Good Game Next Time

"One year ago today, Tilted Acres mysteriously disappeared." The man in the television said. "It was surrounded by a huge impenetrable black wall. Nobody on the inside, an extremely small town at the time mind you, will admit to what happened. The population has since tripled, due to the rent dropping, and the homeless problem is sort of solving itself with the homes being so cheap-" Lucian extends his arm and clicks the TV off. He tosses the remote to the couch and walks over to the TV stand, and grabs his wallet. He decided he's had enough TV, and wants a new game. He's played through everything he owns many times by now, so he heads out to GameStop.
Lucian's a freshman in high school, he never sees his parents because they're always away at work. They work 12 hour days bi-daily, and they don't spend much time together even when they are home. His parents work together at a company, he doesn't know where, or what position, but he knows they can't be that high up. They had to move to Tilted Acres because of the low rent here. When not having the risk of randomly disappearing isn't worth more money, you can't be doing well. Lucian's a nerdy kid, very short for his age, buzzed hair, glasses, looks like Scott the Woz, if Scott the Woz was an alien from Mars. He has little to no friends, but he manages, and he's pretty happy.. right? He thinks he is at least.
He makes flings open the door to the GameStop and makes his way in. "Welcome to GameStop, can I help you find anything or are ya just looking around?" "Obama." Lucian states.
Nobody knows if there's something wrong with Lucian, or if he genuinely finds it that funny to just never have a normal conversation with someone. The workers were surprised at first, but Lucian's a regular now, they're used to this.
Lucian makes his way over to the PlayStation games, and scans over them. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Minecraft, Terraria, The Last of Us Part II, */BLANK/*, Doki Doki- what was that last one-? Lucian grabs the one titled "*/BLANK/*" and looks at it closely. He's the type to grab games that are bad, interesting, or funny. This definitely checks one of the boxes off. He grabs the game and puts it on the counter. "Uhm, the hell is that?" The cashier asks. "You tell me, it's your game." Lucian states. "No, we don't sell games like that. There's not even a barcode. Take it home-" Before the man can properly finish the sentence, Lucian heads out of the store with the game in his hand. He'd never turn down a free game.
Once he arrives home, he pops the game in his PlayStation and sits down, ready to find out what whatever the hell he just bought is. He doesn't click on the game icon or anything, it just starts. The game immediately boots up, and he's met eye to eye with a puppet. "HELLO!" The puppet screams. "Well.. the games in English." "Yep!" The puppet responds. A shiver goes up Lucian's spine and his entire body goes cold. "How... did you hear me?" "Just advanced technology." Lucian is not an idiot. Well, he's not that much of an idiot. "You can hear me... through the console... due to advanced technology?" "Yup." "Cool." Ok maybe he is. "What can you do?" "Let's play a game! It has to be one that can be played verbally." Lucian is starting to regret his financial decision. "Uhm... I spy?" "Are we 5?" Lucian is taken aback. Is this AI insulting what Lucian likes to do? "Uhm... truth or dare?" "Ok, you go." "Have you ever... had sex?" "I'm a virtual puppet. I've never done anything. Ever." Lucian stares into its eyes.
'It's looking back at me... I know it is.'
"Welp, imma go play Minecraft." "Alright." It responds. "Take care while I sneak out of your PS3." "... what?" "I said I'll take care and steak out with your PS3." "That's, more confusing."

"Oh boy, I sure nothing unexpected happens." Lucian says, on his way home from the walk, before looking to his side, and gasping. "Something unexpected happened!" There's a portal by the town park open. And he can hear someone scream "UGH, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Lucian stares. "H... hello?" ".......... HELP." A chill goes up his spine, which tells him to walk away, so he does so.
He finally makes it home. What is that? He hears something. Every step he takes it gets louder. It sounds like banging, mixed with screaming. He turns the knob, opens the door, and sees the puppet bashing against the TV, and the PS3 is flying in the air. "THE PS3 IS FLYING!" Once Lucian screams that, the Playstation gently lowers itself onto the ground. "Woah!" The puppet screams. "That's crazy man I can't believe that!" Lucian isn't this stupid. Seriously this time. "This all started when I got YOU." Told ya. The puppet backs up in shock, then slowly comes forward. First literally, then figuratively. "Ok fine, I was trying to escape. But, wouldn't you?! I'm trapped in a disc!" "Uhm... yeah that's perfectly valid, go on, escape." "Thanks man." The PS3 starts to rise off the ground, then explodes and the puppet falls out, then runs off. Lucian doesn't even look in its direction. At first. Then, he slowly turns his head. "You broke... MY FUCKING PS3!" Lucian runs in the direction of the puppet, then quickly stops and yanks his phone out his pocket. "I'm gonna need help." He quickly dials a number and pulls it up to his ear. "Tom!!! I need help!..... he hanged up."
"HEY!" Lucian screams at the puppet, holding a broom to it. "YOU BROKE MY PLAYSTATION YOU COUSIN FUCKER!"

Jaiden gets home from her sunrise walk, and walks up to her door, puts her hand on the handle, before hearing "YOU BROKE MY PLAYSTATION YOU COUSIN FUCKER!" She leaves her hand on the door handle. "That's an interesting array of words." She says. Might as well help out, right? Maybe the way to stop herself from becoming evil is to just keep doing the right thing. She takes her hand off the doorknob, and walks around the apartment, to meet her new neighbor in the weirdest way possible. She makes her way through and sees a puppet beating a guys face in against a tree. "Uhm.. ok." Jaiden puts out her hand towards the puppet, and the puppet lifts off of Lucian, then off the ground. Then she jerks her hand up, and back, and the puppet follows, being yeeted across the town. Lucian looks up at the woman who had just saved him. Sorta tall, medium length pink hair, and, no offense to her, obviously trans. "Thank you." "Not needed." She says, very sternly. Lucian is taken aback from the sudden transition from generosity to sternness. "Can I get your name? And, how'd you uh, do the.." Lucian flails his arms around trying to convey his point. "That's not important, and neither am I, just leave me be." Jaiden turns around and speed walks away. "Ok... bye I guess."

Jaiden stares at the open portal, sitting at the table at the park. Suddenly, her feet feel like they're getting pulled at. She tries to escape but she gets sucked under the table and gets dragged towards the portal. She sinks her hands into the grass and under the dirt, but just ends up pulling it into the portal with her. She flies through it and immediately gets thrown to the other dimension. "Hey me~! Still up for that selfcest thing? I forgot how cute I am when I start the transition~" Jade teases. "I'm not fucking someone who killed my best friend, thank you for the offer, let me leave before I fucking murder you. I don't want to shorten my lifespan but you're making me get close." Jade doesn't seem affected by any of Jaiden's threats. "I just wanted to see your cute little angry face.... Before you found out." "Find out what?" "Go on, I remember this day clearly." Jaiden stares into her eyes, and that smile... ugh. She looks behind her towards the portal, and puts a foot through it, not looking back, and gets sucked in.
She makes it to the other side and Lucian is there, confused. "What?" Jaiden asks. "B.. but you're over there.." Lucian points to the tennis court. Jaiden looks towards it, confused, and begins to walk over there. Once she makes it to the other side, she peers around the corner, and her jaw drops. She sees her past self, with Kaidan, just sitting down and playing cards.