Video games are everything! Jobs, entertainment, lifestyle, it's the engine that powers society itself, and to make it in this society, you need to win. A lot. Be it in FPS (First Person Shooter) games, Platformers, Battle Royal, you name it. There are gamers who train every waking moment of their life in hopes of becoming the best. And at the top of the food chain, you have Meta Runners. People who are willing to replace their limbs just for a boost in accuracy, dexterity and performance. With legions of fans who adore them, Meta Runners are the best of the best.
???: That is until the world sees what I have planned. Until the world sees you... Tari
Tari: *gasps!!*
A girl with blue hair wakes and looks around her surroundings. Some kind of lab from the looks of it, but seems to be abandoned.
Tari: Huh?
Her right arm had a IV inserted inside then saw her left arm was metal. Surprised then suddenly she started getting vivid flashbacks.
???: You did it! She'll beat the game in record time! I'm proud of you Tari!
She removes the IV from her right arm and started to move around.
Tari: Hello? Is anyone there?
???: We're going to ramp up the difficulty a bit? All I want, you to try your best.
She walked out the door, struggling to keep herself steady as she was now in an alleyway. A bright light in front of her.
???: Oh god no! No, NO, No, No, No! SHUT OFF! SHUT OFF!
Female 1: DOCTOR! WHAT'S Happening?!
???: JUST HANG IN THERE!
The Flashback ended with the entire room being blown to smithereens. At the end of the dark alleyway, she fell to her knees, managing to make it into the street, crawling on her hands and knees. There are screens promoting various products placed all around buildings. A few pedestrians are nearby.
She begins to wander around, watching a few gamers playing video games.
Gamer 1: Oh, hey, did you want a turn?
Tari: No, sorry, just looking.
Gamer 2: Damn it! C'mon, C'mon! *laughing* Yes. *sees the bus* Ay boss! Damn it! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!
She looks around and sees a female gamer at a vending machine nearby.
Female 2: DANGIT!
Tari: Um... is something wrong?
Female 2: RRGH! My Day's ruined!
A simple knock on the machine caused it to drop an item.
Female 2: *gasps!!* Thank you so much!
Tari: Oh, it was nothing!
She venture some more, seeing an advertisement for Gamer Chairs and looking into a place called 'Game Drop'. Inside were gamers playing all sorts of games ranging from Platformers to FPS to Dating Simulators. Two people were passing by and saw her metallic arm.
Fan 1: Wait a second... is that? *walks up to Tari* Hey, uh, that cybernetic arm.... You're a Meta Runner, right?
Fan 2: Excuse me?? Can I have your autograph??
Tari: Um... Oh
Soon she was surrounded by fans, who were cheering for her.
Fangirl: I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M MEETING A REAL LIFE META RUNNER! AAAAAAAA!
Tari: What?? Oh, no... no, no, I'm not-
Fan 1: Which gaming company are you with?? COG? CloudSeven? Alphamax?
She panicked then looks across the street to a building called 'TasCorp'.
Tari: I'm with.... TasCorp?
The crowd backed up a bit after hearing her response.
Tari: uh... That's right and uh... speaking of which I... I think they're calling me there now! So... gotta go, you know.
She awkwardly laughed as she walked towards the TasCorp building. Inside was filled with game controllers, consoles, everything you need to game on. She looked around for a bit.
TasCorp Robot: I SEE YOU'RE INTERESTED IN THE SPEED RING!
The robots sudden appearance caused her to jump and drop the ring.
TasCorp Robot: What about more popular gaming enhancing wearables?! It will make your finger button-mash at an insane rate!
Tari: Er, no thank you! That... looks painful.
TasCorp Robot: Ah not your style, eh? Well, what about... an AlphaX Stabilizing wrist band? Infinite accuracy glove! Glitchy Bugs console! Comes with free game! TasCorp coveted headset... CloudSeven toothbrush? Limited edition gaming duck?
Tari: OOH! Wait, wait, no. I was wondering if you could tell me where I am. My memory's a bit hazy.
TasCorp Robot: Aah, I see! Party too hard last night, huh?! No problem! Everybody's here to help. You're in Silica City, the video game capital!
Tari: Silica City? That sounds familiar.
TasCorp Robot: And there's no better place to be in Silica City then the TasCorp Superstore! With top-of-the-line peripherals, tools and gaming enhancements, as well as the world's greatest ESports team... TasCorp is the most trusted name in gaming!!! TasCorp... the new Meta.
Tari: Um...
TasCorp Robot: Now let's find the perfect gaming enhancement for you! Maybe a geosynchronised orthopaedic mouse?
Cheers could be heard from the room across where she was. Curious she walks in.
Announcer: And after that amazing split, TasCorp's Meta Runner, Belle Fontiere is on a world record pace! Would this be another speedrun world record under her belt? Look at her blaze through that final level! That jump-dive precision is phenomenal! Another amazing split! Now all she has to do is get to the goal
Tari: Excuse me... Hey, sorry.... Can you tell me what's going on...
Announcer: LOOK AT THAT DETERMINATION! Ladies and gentlemen, this isn't your average Meta Runner here!
The girl on stage activated something on her cybernetic arm.
Announcer: OH MY GOSH THAT FRAME-PERFECT PRECISION! All she has to do now is execute the Coconut Burst Jump and the world record is hers!
The crowd watched with amazement as the female gamer was about to preform her special move.
Announcer: For those new here, the Coconut Burst Jump is a newly discovered glitch that cuts this level in HALF! And we're about to witness it in all its glory! Remember now the Coconut Burst Jump comes in two parts. Here we go! The beginning of the glitch, it's all or nothing now.
The first part was pulled off flawlessly.
Announcer: There's the setup and now she's positioning herself. Ooooh....! AND THERE IT IS! A perfect wall clip!
Tari: What is she...
Announcer: She's now glitched herself inside the wall, allowing for the final and the hardest part of the glitch.
A deep breath and focus on the second step to the glitch.
Announcer: Here it is! The Coconut Burst Jump! Will it be enough to break her out of the wall and fling her to the goal though?
A few button smashing and the character in the game launched out of the wall.
Announcer: HOLY SMOKES IT WORKED! IT ACTUALLY WORKED! THIS IS IT! She just has to land and we have a new speedrunning champion!!
How the goal was missed and landed into the lava below. The crowd arose in a gasp.
Announcer: Oh no! She missed! She just missed! The run, it's dead folks!
???: No!!! It was right there! Just one stupid jump! ARGH!
The crowd started to leave except for Tari, who stood there with awe.
Tari: No idea what was going on, but that looked awesome.
She walks up as the game title appears on screen.
Game: YEAH! ULTRA JUMP MANIA!
Picking up the controller off the floor the game started. One button press made the character jump.
Tari: Wow!
Managing to move, but sadly jumped into a pit which caused a life loss.
Tari: Oh... Damn it!
The gamer from earlier noticed her playing the game and walked over.
???: Uh... What do you think you're doing? This is the speedrunners arena. I don't know if you understand but you need this thing called skill to be-
Tari: Oh! I made it over the spikes! Yes! *turns around* Oh! Hi. Er.... Don't suppose you could show me how to make Coconut Boy go as fast as you did?
The female gamer starts to laugh at her request.
???: You want me to teach you advanced speedrunning tricks when it looks like you've never touched a game in your life?
Tari: Fine. I'll just figure it out myself.
???: This world resolves around games, kid. If you ain't any good, don't bother. Go be a janitor or something.
Surprisingly she was playing rather well.
???: Tch, you know button mashing ain't gonna get you anywhere.
The gamer took notice and saw how well she was playing.
???: So you have played this before!
Tari: Am I winning?
She begins to hyperventilate as she was suddenly transported to an unknown location. A sandy beach from the looks of it and in new clothing.
Tari: An island? Is this a dream?
A screen with information appears in front of her. A holographic designed that only she could see.
Tari: What?! What is all this?
???: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHURGH!
Tari: OW!
A coconut shell hit her in the head, knocking her over.
Tari: Who the...
The coconut shell landed in someone's hands, a few feet from where she was.
Coconut Boy: Take that, foul beast!!
Tari: Wait, Coconut Boy?
The character threw his shell at her head once more.
Tari: OW!!!
Meanwhile back at the speedrunning arena, her body stood lifeless and her eyes glowing blue.
???: Yo, girl, you alright?
The gamer touches her and got a shock through her body.
???: Uh... Lux, you might want to see this...
A blonde-haired man in a business suit walks in and was on the phone.
Lux: I'll call you back. It's one of my Meta Runners. *hangs up* What is it, Belle? I am extremely busy explaining to the press about your disappointing failure of a performance tonight.
Belle: HEY! SCREW YOU, MAN! You go and do better! Oh wait, you can't play games for crap!
Lux: Rrrgh... There's no need for language like that, dear Belle. *grabs her arm* Need I remind you who owns you and who can decommission you in an instant.
Belle: Really? Intimidation? Come on Lux. That might work on your other Meta Runners, but we both know you wouldn't let anything happen to numero uno here.
Lux: Maybe I will after today's performance.
He then took notice and pushes Belle away.
Lux: Hmm? What triggered this?
Belle: I don't know. she just sort of freaked out and froze. I thought I broke her, you know, emotionally.
The TV screen's static fades away, showing the young girl standing next to the main character of Ultra Jump Mania.
Tari: Wait... Coconut Boy?
Belle: Lux, is she in the...
Lux: *activates earpiece* Bring in the TasCorp scientists, I want all of them here! NOW!!