The lights began to fade. Slowly but steadily, the virtual world dissolved into pieces, and the group snapped back to reality. Charlie was the first to properly wake up, rapidly blinking as her disjointed thoughts came together. On the one hand it was easier than the first time, considering she was a bit more used to it. But on the other hand the experiences she’d gone through in the game were much more intense, so it overall balanced out.

“God damn. That was… damn.” Charlie wasn’t really sure how to react. All of her friends were slowly waking up as well. Some were excited, some groaned, but there was one common factor - everyone was exhausted. Charlie looked over to Bellw-Beth, Her girlfriend still had the visor on, but she was moving underneath it.

“It sure was!” Zoe broke the tension, grinning ear to ear like a mad woman. “I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m willing to label this adventure a huge success.” She frowned for a moment, her enthusiasm faltering. “Although I’ll be the first to admit it could’ve been planned better. That took waaaaay longer to finish than I meant it to.”

“Yeah it did kind of drag for a while there. But it was fun!” Jaidan set her visor aside and let out a deep sigh. “Still though, I’m glad to be back. It’s going to be a while before I try VR again. Just need to anchor myself for a while, you know? Especially since my character kinda lost her sanity by the end there.”

Maureen was the first to agree with her. “I do know. I think all of our characters went a bit loopy towards the end, it’s just a question of how much. It was sweet though! I had a lot of fun ruling over the ill fated kingdom. Although I had more fun as a…” She looked over her character sheet. “Level eighteen milf fuckpig? Real subtle with the class names there.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Right, because if there’s something I’m known for it’s subtlety and nuance. Anyway, I’m going to put some hot pockets and chicken nuggets in the oven. I’m in the mood for something hot, greasy and unhealthy. Want me to put in some for everyone?”

The group nodded, and Zoe got up from her chair. Vera took off her helmet and let out a deep sigh. “Okay, I can admit when I was wrong. That was a really fun character to play.” She looked around at the rest of her friends. “Do y’all want to do a campaign debriefing now or or later some time?”

Charlie shook her head. “Probably later. I don’t know about the rest of you but that was really tiring. Emotionally, if nothing else.” She lowered her voice a smidge. “Besides, you all know Zoe. Junk food is her aftercare mode, I’m sure she’s burnt out from all this as well. Let’s go over this in more detail later.”

“For what it’s worth, I really liked it.” Beth’s small voice could barely be heard, but it made Charlie happy to hear her again. “I’m glad that I tried this.”

“So am I sweetie, so am I.” Charlie gave her girlfriend a peck on the cheek.

It had been fun playing in that fantasy world, and Charlie was happy the technology had all worked out so well. The intense sexual experiences would fuel her fantasies for a long time to come. But for now, she was happy to be back with her friends, safe in the knowledge that their games would continue in the future.