Sonic: Earthbound

Chapter 1

Author's Note: Yes, you need to read the Prologue first.
----------------------------------------------------------

Where did my life go so wrong?

This was Alex's thought as she followed her young cousin, Liam, through the annual Starlight Gamer's Convention. She grimaced as a group of female cosplayers walked by, leaving, as her grandmother might have once said, nothing to the imagination.

"I cannot believe you talked me into this," she told Liam.

"What do you mean?" he asked. "You're a gamer, aren't you?"

"I haven't been a gamer since Dad passed away."

"Well, all the more reason. You need to get out and live a little."

"This... is living?" asked Alex as she gazed around at the overweight man-children, hipster gamers, and girls dressed as slutty versions of their favorite video game characters.

"Don't be so judgy."

"First you drag me to that god-awful Sonic movie that raped my childhood – Dad's probably rolling in his grave over that one – and now this."

"Alex, you were like the only person who didn't like that movie," said Liam with a roll of his eyes beneath his shaggy blonde hair. "Anyway, just give this con a chance. You might see something you like."

"I highly doubt—"

"Oh cool!" Liam interrupted, no longer paying any attention to her. "They're screening the new Pokemon game! Let's go!"

"Nuh-uh. No thank you. I haven't given a shit about Pokemon since generation three or four.  Not since ice cream cones started qualifying as a Pokemon. Count me out."

"Suit yourself. See ya' later!"

And with that, Liam ran off, leaving Alex utterly alone in a sea of ravenous gaming addicts.

I wanna go home, she thought miserably. But she couldn't leave without her cousin. Her aunt would kill her. After all, she was supposed to be 'supervising' him. Granted, in this type of environment, she felt it was more appropriate that Liam keep an eye on her.

Well, just standing around isn't an option.

Indeed, standing around looking idle at a place like this was always a bad idea. A lone girl at a gamer's convention brought all sorts of unwanted attention. With that in mind, Alex began to stroll, trying to look even mildly interested in what was going on around her.

The first thing to truly draw her eye was a demonstration on a stage at the back of the convention hall. The person speaking to the gathered crowd was a man who, despite being in his mid to late 50s, was unconventionally attractive with tidy, salt and pepper hair and a closely groomed beard. He wore an Atari T-shirt beneath a gray blazer and blue jeans. Behind him was a giant projection screen and, just beneath it, something that looked like an egg-shaped sleeping pod out of a science fiction movie.

"Once a prototype for what was supposed to be the Dreamcast, it was rejected by Sega, and is now an independent project, which will be crowdfunded through a kickstarter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard correctly. The Sega Dreamcast, a failure in the video game industry and remembered only as a cult favorite that was discontinued after just two years, could have been this – an ahead-of-its-time, full-fledged virtual reality machine. This technology outpaces the Oculus Rift by a landslide. This, my friends, is a fully immersive virtual reality where you quite literally go inside the game!"