Twas a dark and stormy night. Thunder rumbled, rain played it's harmonic percussion upon the roof, and Video Gamer X was restless. Tomorrow was the big day, the day Final Fantasy VIII would be in his hands, a day longed for. The anticipation was so intense that he played Driver with the Invicibility Cheat on for four hours smashing into police cars and law abiding motorists, hopping hills in San Francisco, but alas, it just wasn't...Final Fantasy. He gazed wistfully at his Playstation and thought, Tomorrow my friend, you will exhalted with the holiness of a legend And so Video Gamer X passed into slumber with images of Chocobos and Mogs dancing in his head.

The Alarm Clock! It was time indeed... Video Gamer X donned his warrior's clothes, verifying his battle gear. Money...Check?. Preorder Slip?...Check. He grabbed the magical keys to the silver chariot and embarked toward Final Fantasy VIII. The chariot flew like the wind and all three-hundred and twenty five horses galloped courageously toward the great monumental temple erected to the god of capitalism, the Shopping Mall. The storm of the night before had agitated into a tempestous maelstrom, yet the horses pressed onward thwarting the demons of hydroplane and stoplight. According to the guage the horses were thirsty, but Video Gamer X knew they could make the trek to his talismen of role-playing excellence.

There it was, looming on the horizon. The game, was beckoning Video Gamer X. It's telepathic whisper called. ...come play me... And so he valiantly encroached upon this great edifice before him and settled the the chariot in the great lot of parking. After the horses quieted, he stood up and brought his gaze upon the entrance to this massive temple. Wind and rain pelted his face threatening to awash him with the embarassment of waterloggedness. But he prevailed, and entered the great temple and sought forth the annex of games. Legend said that on the 8th of September, Ninteen-Hundred and Ninety-Nine at 10:00 a temporal convergence would appear at a portal they called Babbages, and out from this Portal would spring forth role playing game heaven to greet any gamer who was worthy to meet the challenge. Video Gamer X was worthy.

Turning the final winding corridor toward the Babbages Portal, he realized that the conjuction had not yet transpired for the Portal was sealed with an impenetreble forcefield. He had come too early. So Video Gamer X turned toward the great corridors and agressively plodded forward waiting, hoping, that his day had come.

Back he turned, for he could sense the time was at hand. When he turned the sacred corridor, the forcefield had retracted and a great light spewed forth from the Portal and indeed the time had come. Video Gamer X, with weapons in hand crossed the threshold of this domain. Layed before him were hundreds of gateways to the imagination rowed neatly upon terraces, yet one gateway was yet to be opened. He turned toward the counter embelished with scrolls of infinite gaming knowledge. A goddess stood before him.

"Final Fantasy's Not in yet. We're waiting for Federal Express. Sorry." she proclaimed indignantly.

"Nnoooooooooooooooooo!" roared Video Gamer X. His emanations reverberated cacophanously through the great temple. Curse those devilish beings. The messenger had failed to deliver the talismen at it's appointed time. The befouled goddess uttered an most pathetic plea.

"He should be here any time now. Really..."

Other warriors like himself began gathering at the portal, and began kneeling in prayer to the great gaming force to beseech them the gateway of Final Fantasy VIII. And so Video Gamer X cast his gaze upon a crumb of sanctity, a mysterious device they called a Sega Dreamcast. A gateway called Sonic Adventure was revealed upon a magical reflecting pool and so he played. Little did he know, but the messanger was appoaching the Portal with the talismen gateways.

Upon wheeled cart the Final Fantasy VIII's decended upon the Portal and the Goddess and her master unfurled the brown decanter from it's exterior revealing the great light of it's holiness. Video Gamer X stepped valiently up to the alter of challenge and delivered his weapons at the right moment. "I have come!" he proclaimed in triumph. "Bring it forth!" he commanded. From the goddess' hands passed the shiny adamantine gateway talismen disc of role-playing game excellence to the hands of Video Gamer X. A tear of joy escaped his eye as he basked in the glory of his achievement. He held it high above his head and declared with impowering inflection in his voice, "I shall challenge thee!"