Chapter Text
An adventure.
Benny had talked Bilbo into this and he was not happy. Surely being his best friend, read only friend, should mean Benny understood Bilbo? Apparently not. Apparently when Benny heard Bella worry about her only son not being social or adventurous enough he took it into his own hands to fix it.
Now in any other circumstance that would mean the two 25yr olds going to the closest transport station and hopping over to New Vegas for an alcohol fueled weekend of fun. But Benny being the son of the creator of the world famous Game On Company meant he had other plans for them. Plans he didn’t tell Bilbo about until a late afternoon as he was helping to clean up the diner between rushes.
“Hey Bella,” a familiar voice called out, not coming from the front door but the one beside the kitchen door. The one that suspiciously led to stairs that opened on the family’s home apartment.
“Can I steal Johnny boy now? I’ve got his surprise ready.”
Belladonna smiled indulgently at Benny, “Of course, you boys have fun."
Bilbo John Baggins hated using his name, all through school kids would tease him about it until he made a friend, Ben, who decided to call him john instead. It’s not that Bilbo hated his name it’s more that he hated people making fun of it. It was the name his father chose for him and he was proud of it. He stood at slightly less than average height and had a slim build and surprisingly strong arms from working lifting heavy boxes of stock. His dirty blonde hair was cut short almost military style and his eyes he got from his father, a mix of grey and blue with a ring of gold that surrounded the pupil.
How he ever found a best friend like Benny he can’t imagine; strikingly tall with a commanding presence. Benny says it’s because they both have the same eye defect that gives them the gold ring, but Bilbo suspects that in truth it’s because Benny felt sorry for him and wanted to protect him from bullies.
However their friendship started they were now best friends; each others only friend.
The two stomped their way up the stairs to the family apartments. Benny’s curly black hair bobbing up and down in excitement. He opened Bilbo’s bedroom door with a flourish.
Unease curled in Bilbo’s stomach and as he stepped forward he froze in shock. Sitting at the head of his bed was the newest, sleekest design of Total Immersive Game On head gear. He blinked slowly and turned to his friend.
“Benny what is this?” he waved a hand to the gear that costed more than everything else in the room put together. “Why is this here?”
Benny bounced on the balls of his feet grinning. “Well I thought it’s time for an adventure.” He moved to pick up the headset. “You know I would have given you one years ago if you weren’t so against playing games. But now…”
“Benny what did you do?” Bilbo squinted at his friend suspiciously. He made no move to take the headset offered to him.
“Um, I, well” Benny scuffed a foot against the floor. “Remember when your mum said you should have an adventure? A few months back?”
Bilbo nodded slowly.
“Well I asked dad and I built a world and held a competition and made a quest just for you.”
Bilbo’s head was spinning until his mind grasped onto something. “You built a world? For me?”
Benny set the headgear down slowly and looked away searching for words.
“You’re my best friend. You know that. And I’m good at creating these worlds. And I thought maybe I could make a quest; an adventure just for you and you could make more friends.” He ran a hand through his hair lazily. “Oh, but the world isn’t just for you. It’s using quite a few servers so dad gave me the condition that if I created a world with a history, different races, different cultures and languages that would become self-sufficient for quests then I could make it.”
He shrugged like the list wasn’t important, then his face lit up.
“And I did. This world is a mix of NPC’s and playable role characters, as well as anyone who uses it to quest. Even the bad guys are actual people with quests of their own! Even the orc race has playable roles. If you become a commander of an orc pack you have a daily quota of kills you have to do or you get demoted! And the elves! Oh man they were great to create, I used the idea of you, someone with no interest in games, and created a race that is there to advise and guide characters but they are all people who are using this world to do research. The Rivendell library is the largest composite of learning ever created. It’s got all books ever published as well as all written works never published. Information on every subject ever written down. Pen to paper or to the digital world it’s all there. I sent out a request for volunteers to all sorts of research companies for people who wouldn’t normally play but could use their sleep for more research!”
Bilbo stared at his friend in astonishment.
“You’re amazing. Absolutely brilliant."
Benny blushed lightly, “well no its easy really once you know what you’re doing,” he shrugged holding out the headgear again.
“I created you a character and a race too just for your character. And I held a competition so we could find a team to try this quest, they’re called The Company. There are other players in this game too. But they have their own quests.”
Bilbo couldn’t ignore his friends’ hopeful eyes. “Alright what do I do?”
Benny grinned. “Get ready for bed and put this on! Oh wait have dinner first because I’ve got to get home as well. Let’s say 7? Put it on and I’ll be there to help you! There’s a few days before the quest starts to get you used to it!”
Bilbo took the headgear and watched his only friend in the world run off ready to start an adventure.