Shock of Art and Scales (Preview) (Patreon)

The Adventure Begins…

“Okay!” A loud clap echoed through the room. JD picked his controller up and snuggled into the back of his sofa. “The road to one-hundred percent completion begins now!”

The man had a mission, one that should’ve been done sooner. It was time to knock another game off of his backlog, the Reignited version of Spyro the Dragon. Not only that, he was also going to fully complete it and all of its various Skillpoint challenges. He had this game for so long and frankly, it needed to be done.

A familiar tune began playing as the blackness upon the TV screen faded. The hub area of the Artisans World appeared, Spyro sitting in the center of it and facing his first crystalized dragon.

Here we go. JD moved the purple dragon towards its first rescue. Start with this and hard turn left to the next dragon… collect gems and defeat enemies. The wheels of his brain were starting up and turning fast, already planning his optimized route.

KA-BOOOOOOM!

Lightning flashed just outside the window and the roar of thunder rattled the entire house all at onces. Lights flickered in the room as the screen fizzled briefly. JD jumped in his seat, his finger accidentally jerking Spyro off the bridge and to the ground below, facing the dragon was going to get next.

“Damn!” JD looked around, his heart racing. Everything seemed to be fine. No more flickering, no apparent damage or things off now. It was just a loud thunder crash. He leaned back on his couch, trying to calm down.

“Yeessh!” A comforting voice from the hall grumbled, “That was fucking scary.” His boyfriend, Raphael, poked his head into the room. “Everything okay in here?”

“Yeah,” said JD, readjusting his glasses, “Just caught me off guard. Guess you were right about that storm coming.”

“Of course I was right,” the blue-haired man said firmly, folding his arms. “Now, maybe you should actually come downstairs and wait things out now?”

“Awww, but I just got started!” JD nodded towards the screen.

“I know,” Raphael sighed, shaking his head, “But I just checked the weather report on the radio. They’re saying there’s, like, an ionic disturbance in the vicinity of the Van Allen Belt! Everyone needs to be very careful.”

“…do you even know what that means?”

“No, but maybe you shouldn’t be playing right now, ya know?” Raphael glanced at the PS4 his partner was playing. “Maybe just break out your 3DS if you wanna game right now.”

JD sighed. “Look, I'll keep an eye on the weather and if it gets rougher, I’ll stop.” Raphael gave him a grim frown. “Okay…. how about I just finish up the main world here and then head downstairs to hunker down with you and Melissa?”

“I’ll allow that.” His boyfriend looked at the TV screen. “But just the Artisans World and none of the levels, okay? Don’t try anything else.”

“Come on. The area is small and the enemies don’t even attack. I’ll be done in no time!” JD gave him a reassuring smile. Raphael didn’t smile back, merely nodding before he left.

JD started to return to his game when he glanced out the window. The rain was coming down harder and harder. It almost sounded like hail was mixing in with it. Maybe he had a point… better be quick.

Looking back at the screen, remembering where he fell. Right right… He moved Spyro towards the crystalized dragon near the fountain. Heh, probably like the only person to start a game and get a dragon that isn’t Nestor for their first.

Spyro ran up to the dragon, which began to shake and crack open. JD yawned as a large, orange, buff, painter of a dragon named Delbin appeared on the screen. He began to rattle off about how Sparx worked like he always did. JD had played/replayed/restarted the original game enough to know the words by heart.

Once Delbin flew away and control returned, JD began moving the purple dragon back up the path towards Nestor’s crystal prison. “Okay, Take 2 with this…” Spyro quickly ran up to his destination. “Here we go…”

Spyro hit the dragon pedestal, the crystal shaking and the camera shifting. JD began to stretch a bit when-

KABOOM! There was another flash of lightning that blinded the room, thunder following very close behind it. The roar and rumble of it shook the entire building to its core more than ever before. All the lighting and electronics began flickering on and off.

The static filled the screen’s edges. The game itself even seemed to be affected, glitches appearing around the world and colors inverting. Nestor appeared like he should and disappeared just as quickly. He repeatedly did that appearing and standing noble pose, but the cutscene beyond that refused to play any further.

What the hell?! JD’s heart was rapidly beating, feeling like it was skipping at times. A horrid feeling of dread washed over him, regret following. I-I… I shouldn’t have kept playing. Everything is all fu-

The words froze. Electrical currents appeared around the screen, popping out and in. The colors were a dazzling purple and neon green, sparks and cracks emanating with each burst. The screen flickered on and off now, the homeworld in the game empting of all details and figures.

Then, in a blink of an eye, electricity shot out from the screen. It flew across the room and struck his controller in the center. JD, still gripping it tightly, felt the sharp burst rocket up his arms and across his entire body. Everything felt numb, vision and mind flickering themselves.

Eventually, the controller slipped from his hands and crashed to the ground. JD followed suit, though falling onto his side on the sofa. His mind drifted off and all went dark.