Full Dive

Chapter 1: A New Way to Play

"I win again. Pay up, Kogane."

Keith groaned and handed Pidge the candy bar. One of Keith's fellow blades hailed from a planet that created a candy that was so similar to chocolate, Keith could have sworn that the bar he handed to Pidge was a Twix, just with a different name. Once he'd told the paladins about it, they'd made sure to stock up on the familiar treats.

And that's what they used to gamble when it came to playing video games.

Keith had picked up gaming shockingly fast, which was why he often competed against Pidge. Ever since they got that first game system, they'd found ways to get others. Currently, they were playing Super Smash Bros. on the Nintendo 64.

Pidge munched happily on the candy bar as the victory music played.

"I'm confused. The point of this game is to...fight each other?"

Keith and Pidge turned around to see Allura standing in the doorway, a confused expression on her face. "It seems rather violent, if you ask me."

"We don't really have any games where two players can work together. I mean, they exist, we just don't have them." Pidge shrugged, taking another bite of the candy.

"What about that 'Fantasy Quest' game I keep hearing about?"

"Fantasy...Quest?" Keith asked, confused.

"It seems to be common among the Olkari people. Though I'm afraid it's unlikely to work with your Earth equipment."

Keith and Pidge looked at each other. "They have video games here?" They asked in unison.

In minutes, the duo was in the streets, looking around for a place they could get more information about Fantasy Quest.

"That looks like a game store," Pidge said, pointing to a place across the street.

As they walked towards the shop, Keith asked aloud, "Don't you think Lance would have liked to be here for this?"

Pidge shrugged. "He seems pretty busy with his new girlfriend. If he came, he probably would have brought her with him, and those two being together just makes me gag. They're so..."

"Disgustingly sweet?"

"Exactly." Pidge decided to leave out the fact that she felt a little lonely whenever she saw other couples, because she'd accepted years before that she'd be single for life.

Boys don't like nerds. They especially don't like girls that are both smarter than them and way shorter than them. She'd never even been on a date, much less had a boyfriend. She'd just resigned herself to the fact that being a genius came with a price.

"Don't like being a third wheel either, huh?" Keith asked as he pushed the door open.

Pidge would have responded if her jaw hadn't dropped.

The store was huge, filled with games in a writing that Pidge didn't recognize. But what stood out most were the systems.

Throughout the store were a variety of different VR headsets in varying prices and quality. The posters on the wall showed people lying in bed with the headset on, dream bubbles showing that the people were inside of a game.

"This...this is...full dive virtual reality."

Keith raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

"Essentially, you put on the headset and lie down. Your body is put into a sleep-like state while you are basically put into the game. The headset connects with your mind, so it interprets actions such as movement and speech. It's like you're living a game."