Attack on Superman 64

[Chao Ball]

All characters belong to Hajime Isayama, and are from Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin. One chapter. Might contain spoilers if you haven't read/watched the series. (based on a convo from the chatbox)
Trigger warning: couple of curses
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There was a rumor among the 104th Trainee Squad that someone was in possession of alien technology. According to the rumor, said machine could easily bring anyone in and quickly drive them to insanity by the sheer difficulty of completing the task it assigned to you, under the guise of entertainment. It came with a strange name, too, one that none of them had ever heard before. They called the machine the Nintendo 64, but the real terror was said to come from the thing inside it - a cartridge with a simple name.

Superman 64.

...

"Armin, hear this! Somebody's got their hands on something cool. I forgot exactly what it was called, but don't you think we should go check it out?" Eren yelled after his blonde-haired friend.

"Eren, we're not kids anymore... What's got you so excited?" Armin asked nonchalantly. He was particularly bored, too, but didn't trust something that seemed to be pretty dangerous and at that was just a rumor.

"Hey, don't be like that! Come on, let's go!" Refusing to answer him, Eren tugged on his shirt sleeve to lead him to the area the rumor first surfaced. There was a dangerous gleam in Eren's eye - not threatening, but Armin knew that Eren was going to find out what this thing was and most likely get himself hurt in the process. Never the less, Armin followed along, and with Mikasa always by Eren's side in their free time, the three of them ran to where a crowd seemed to be gathering in front of the men's dorm.

Someone had set up a big black box with antennae that seemed terribly old and dusty (the word "television" seemed to be thrown around by a couple of people regarding this, Armin noted). There were strange multicolored cords hanging out the back of it and a greyish rectangle seated off to its side, with the name "Nintendo 64" plastered with bold letters on the front. In this same rectangle sat a cartridge with an image of a man (with a bad hairdo, Eren thought) ripping off his jacket to reveal a shirt with a large "S" emblazoned on it in red.

"...Eren, I don't think you should do this." Mikasa said to Eren, with a worried look in her eye. This was probably due to the fact that many people were already sitting in front of the machine crying in frustration. On the screen of the box, the very same man from the cover of the cartridge stood silently with the words "LEX WINS" over his head.

"I'm done with this ****! I'm out! Enough of these goddamn rings!" This came from Connie, who was red in the face. He stormed out of the dorm, and the next person got to take their chance if they were brave enough. The other trainees' attempts ended similarly, with their multiple viewings of the message "LEX WINS" finally getting to them and causing them to fight back tears of frustration and leave the dorm.

Finally, it got to Armin's turn, who had actually become interested in seeing what was terrorizing his teammates so. If he could beat it, he would get a very much needed sense of accomplishment that he hadn't felt ever since he had defended Eren and Mikasa from being blown to bits by a cannon. So began his attempt.

Ultimately, it took him a few tries to get through the first stage, through learning the controls (which were very choppy) and actually making it through the rings, which was hard considering how sporadically the "Superman" could move. He did make it, however, and persevered up until he came to a level that directed him to "use his superbreath" to blow away some tornadoes.

'Wait, what do you do here?' Armin thought to himself. His "superbreath" meter apparently filled, but he was still left to stare down three tornadoes that he had no idea how to get rid of. He was utterly confused. He tried all the buttons, struggling to get even with the toranadoes, and did not even notice that he had run out of time. He pressed "START" in an attempt to use the breath and was rewarded by being brought back to the main menu.

"What... What happened?" Armin started to panic. He had gone through so much trouble just to get to where he had been. It had been so arduous, since it was beforehand completely new to him. His throat started to tighten. He couldn't load from where he was. He would have to start a new game.

"Eren... I don't think I've got the will for this..." Armin quietly left the dorm, joining the others who had also left to calm down.

Mikasa turned to Eren. "Let me try, Eren. If I can beat it, promise me that you won't attempt it."

"What makes you think that that's gonna stop me from doing this?" Eren responded coldly. "I don't care if it's dangerous, I'm not your little brother or your kid."

Mikasa sighed and turned to the game. She sat down and selected "NEW GAME" after a little bit of trial and error with the buttons. Quickly getting a grasp of the controls after a couple of repetitions, despite the controller being a bit awkward for her as her hands were a bit smaller, she attempted the rings.

The results were unexpected for the ace of the class. She struggled to do even what Armin had, trying to apply real movements to the virtual Superman - which, in reality, should have worked, but the game would not have it and had Superman moving too late to get into the rings. She began to get angry, despite not letting it show outwardly. This continued for a couple more times, with many "LEX WINS" taunting her, but through reappropriating herself to the movements of the character onscreen she completed the level and regained confidence.

She went through the next two levels successfully (with a noticeable impatience, as her face started to flush the tiniest bit) despite the awkward flails of Superman's arms that were apparently punches and the struggle to find the right angle to pick up the car. At last, she had reached the same area as Armin, and was quick to try and attempt to be rid of the tornadoes. Neither she or Armin knew that there was an item that they had to collect to gain the superbreath power, and so she continued to attempt in vain to get rid of the tornadoes, all the while getting more and more upset. After too many "LEX WINS" and restarts, she finally let out all her anger she had bottled up and began to cry and sought comfort in Eren's sleeve.

"I'm sorry I couldn't beat it and protect you..." Mikasa said in a wavering voice, clinging to Eren, feeling as though she had failed in keeping him safe.

"Hey now, it's okay. Calm down, you're not one to cry." Eren patted her head for reassurance and ushered her out of the dorm. He turned around, with a sense of purpose.

"Time to beat this game, no matter how long it takes me." The same dangerous gleam from earlier appeared back in his eye, but still he couldn't help but wonder how bad this thing really was if it had managed to make even Mikasa cry in frustration. He had never seen her actually cry - or at least, he hadn't in years. Even so, he readied himself to confront the seemingly impossible game.

At first, the experience was pretty rocky - learning the controls took a little time, but he finally got used to it and began the game again, now ready. The rings went smoothly - even more so than Armin and Mikasa, amazingly. Not caring about how real movements should work, he quickly maneuvered Superman through the rings and completed the level in a quick fashion. The audience was stunned.

"Hey, Eren!" Jean called out. "I bet you can use that stick so well because you get some private practice with Armin!"

"That's not quite it, you shithead, but at least Armin's got one to use, unlike you!" Eren yelled back. Jean went silent amongst the laughter of his teammates.

"I swear I'll outdo you once my turn comes around, show Mikasa who's really better..." Jean muttered.

Eren completed the next few levels easily, the awkward punches and angles not bothering him. It was almost as if he was naturally accustomed to this. The times he did fail, it didn't even seem to bother him - the same determination in his eye was always present. It seemed as though he would never give up.

Soon, he had come to the dreaded tornado level. But Eren didn't take the regular approach, going up to the tornado in an attempt to get rid of it, like most people would expect you would do. His first impulse, for whatever reason, was to explore, even though the level was timed. Consequently, he was the only one able to find the power up and get rid of the tornadoes, much to the shock of his teammates. Chatter began to pop up.

"Is Eren actually smart?" "Can he actually outdo Armin?" Such questions were racing through everyone's minds, but they would have to keep watching to get their answer.

The next challenge Eren was presented with was another level with rings that were again strewn throughout the city. He followed their path as if it was the easiest thing in the world, not caring if they were underwater or almost parallel to the previous ring's location. He completed the level even with time to spare. Unfazed, he continued on and on, continuing to complete the levels with ease and repeatedly amazing the people watching with both his sheer talent and seeming irrationality, or at least understanding thereof, as the game did not seem to abide by common rules. Through the finicky controls and insane time limits, he still repeatedly went on to view many "SUPERMAN WINS", until he had reached the last level: Starship.

Even this did not stop Eren. Despite the terrible puzzle, and the bomb disarming, and the long lasting enemies, he continued to slave on through the level until he had gotten the final "SUPERMAN WINS". Right before the dialogue would have appeared in the final cutscene saying that Lex was still there, the game shut off, leaving an eery silence in the dorm. Suddenly, there was what seemed to be an explosion in the distance, leading everyone to rush outside the dorm. Everything seemed oddly quiet.

A figure appeared in the distance on horseback. As it got closer, Mikasa gasped.

"Eren..." She started.

"It's Grisha."

But Eren was already running towards the figure. Leaping into the carriage, he embraced his father, tears rolling down his face.

"Did you do it?" Grisha asked.

"Did I do what?" Eren questioned, confused.

"Did you beat that game - Superman 64."

"Yes, I did... Why?"

"You've done it, son. You've saved humanity."

[Crash32]

*claps*

[Sable]

http://tindeck.com/listen/rwgi listen while reading

[chocohugs]

legitimately the best thing i've ever read, i want it engraved on my tombstone so everyone may remember

[eblu]

i give this 5 s diamonds out of 5