Small Jester, Dangerous Game

Those whom load the game, meet the maker

Never in a million years did Penny think she'd be the tester for some strange new game. More or less one that required her to drop over $300 just to run. With a stark sigh, she'd set the box down on her coffee table, in a small one bedroom apartment. Some would say it was "cheap" and "bland", but it was her home. Penny liked her simplicity.

Opening the box to the brand new headset she bought, she'd pull the white piece of technology out, and set it down next to the table. No words were muttered as she stood, and walked softly into the kitchen. She'd have to charge the headset first, of course. That was the case with any new technology, she knew that. She'd pull a charger from her junk drawer, and a wall plug for it. Hooking the charger up to the wall, she'd plug in the headset. The light on the side glowing a faint red, the LED conveying its charging state. "..okay then." She murmured to herself, now all she had to do was wait.

Which thankfully didn't take as long as she thought, maybe time went quicker because she was doomscrolling on her social medias? Penny didn't know. The LED on the headset turned a vibrant green, and she set her phone down with a stretch of her arms. Penny hummed as she rose to her feet, unplugged the device, and stood in the middle of her living room. She'd set the device on her head, not yet booting it up, as she knelt down beside the coffee table, finally tearing into the envelope she had received from the company she was testing for. 'Money is money', she told herself.

Spotting a simple code on the letter on the inside, Penny took this as a sign to get the headset booted up as soon as possible, which didn't take long at all either, she had used virtual reality before, but because her young nephews would push her off the plank on one of their games. After the introductory games and account setup, she went into the games store. Finding the section for codes, she'd enter the one on the letter into the box.

A popup appeared as soon as the game finished loading. A tab labeled "The Amazing Digital Circus." What she'd expected. "Alright, C&A, let's see what this is all about." She murmured to herself, as she clicked the tab.

She'd never experienced anything more.. colorful. The loading screen for the game swirled and danced with colors that almost hurt Penny's eyes to watch move, as the loading icon, a 'dancing' bubble, that simply changed sprites every few frames, taunted her. She shivered as she directed her gaze from it. The game had eventually loaded, and she could see a bright and colorful digital world, with a circus tent along with it. The logo so blatantly 'slapped' on, with no effort at all. Penny sighed softly, as she started "new game."

A male voice echoed through the headset, with simple greeting words "Welcome to 'The Amazing Digital Circus'! Are YOU ready for the most jaw-dropping, heart-stopping, mind-bending paraphernalia you've ever laid your eyes upon?" Two simple buttons appeared in front of Penny, simple YES or NO. Easy enough. She'd click the bright green YES button, and the male voice laughed in glee. "Wonderful! Please enter your name into the box down below, and we will generate a character for you! You may change these to your hearts desire, but you will be unable to once you've started the game."

Penny almost didn't want to put her real name down in the game, she never usually did when she played these kinds of games. A rule of thumb, never give a game your real name. So she put a simple placeholder, Pomni. "Welcome, user POMNI!" The voice whooped in joy. A mannequin appeared in front of Penny, a simple primary colored jester's outfit displayed on it. "You may change your appearance at this time!" Now, Penny didn't see an issue with the avatar given, she thought it was quite cute, to be exact. So she shrugged, and clicked CONTINUE. "Wonderful! You are now ready to begin your story at 'The Amazing Digital Circus!'" The voice boomed.

But that's when it happened. The screen blared a blinding white, causing Penny to shut her eyes with a yelp, falling to the ground. She'd pull and pull with all her might, but the headset refused to come off. Her eyes felt like they were on fire, her head felt like it would sooner explode. Penny screamed, both fearful and painfully. Her senses haywired, it was like her consciousness was swaying, and fading out. Penny fell limp, and the world went pitch black, a contrast to the burning white she had experienced moments ago.

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Bam bam bam!!!! TADC AUUUUUUU!!!! GRAHHHHHHH