Like Dreamers Do
Chapter 1: The Grid
"When can I see you again?"
The words echoed through the darkness, disappearing like they had never been there at all. That was it. Show's over. Credits roll, curtain falls. That's all folks. Time to go home. The story had come to an end.
Or, at least, that's what he thought.
There was a loud snort, which he quickly realized had come from him, waking him from a slumber he hadn't realized he had entered. His brown eyes fluttered open, before closing sharply against the harsh light shining down on him. Groaning, he slowly became more aware of his surroundings as he realized that he was laying down on a rather uncomfortable surface. With a grunt he pushed himself into a sitting position.
He was a mountain of a man, easily standing ten feet tall, if not more so, with broad shoulders and a barrel chest. His head was covered with wild, auburn colored hair, which did little to hide his rather large and prominent ears. His most noticeable features however, were his hands. They were each easily twice the size of his head and were strangely square and blocky in shape. Reaching up, he used one of his large fingers to scratch at his somewhat bulbous nose, sniffing at the air experimentally.
He pushed himself to his feet, the bare soles of his large appendages coming into contact with the cold, polished, tan floor beneath them. He brushed his hands off on the legs of the ratty, burgundy denim overalls he was wearing, held up by the single strap over his right shoulder. The pants were worn over an orange and red flannel t-shirt, which in turn was worn over a teal colored t-shirt that peaked out from the collar of his other shirt.
He scratched at his stubbled chin as he looked around the area with a mixture of familiarity and confusion. The room he stood in was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling and set up like a large hallway. Here and there, benches had been set up, along with video screens and what looked like information booths. All in all, the room seemed to most resemble a train station of some kind. In the walls, four large, white structures had been set up, two on each side of the room, resembling the reverse side of an electrical socket.
"Game Central Station?" he asked aloud with a gruff voice, "But where are all the other games?"
As he asked this, he heard a groan from below him. Turning, he was surprised to see four other people lying on the ground just as he had been, each of them beginning to stir.
The person closest to him seemed to be his exact opposite. She was a young girl, no older than nine, with jet black hair. Her hair was dotted with a number of hard candies that looked like they had been licked and then stuck in her black licorice locks. Her hair was held in an up-do ponytail by a scrunchie made of red licorice. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing milk chocolate colored eyes that looked up at him in confusion.
"Ralph?" she asked, looking up at the large man in bewilderment, "What the bits is going on?"
"You got me, Vanellope," the man, Ralph, replied as the girl brought her hand up to her head, which was disproportionately large compared to the rest of her body. As she stood up, straightening her black pleated skirt that appeared to be made out of a paper candy cup and brushing dirt off of her mint colored hoodie, Ralph turned his attention to another person who was sitting up next to her.
He appeared to be a full grown man, but stood only slightly taller than Vanellope, though his body was more evenly proportion than hers. His blue eyes scanned the room in confusion as he removed the blue baseball cap from his head and ran a tan leather glove clad hand through his light brown hair, showing the two yellow Fs emblazoned on the front of the hat.
"Oh my land," he whispered to himself, his voice laced with a Southern accent, as he looked around at the deserted station before turning his attention to Ralph as he stood up and brushed off his light blue, button up shirt and his dark blue jeans, "Ralph, where are we?"
"Seems like Game Central Station to me, Felix," Ralph replied as he continued to scan his surroundings while gesturing to Felix's side, "You should probably see to your wife."
His eyes widening in realization, Felix turned to the woman sitting up to his side. She seemed to be the most evenly proportioned of the group, though taller and more imposing than the average woman. Groaning, she covered her face with a black gloved hand, pushing the bangs of her short, blonde hair out of the way.
"Tammy!" Felix exclaimed, rushing over to her side and helping her to her feet, despite the fact she was almost twice his size, "Are you alright, honeybun?"
"Yeah, I think so," she replied gruffly, flexing in her black, armored bodysuit to work out the kinks in her muscles, "What in blue blazes is going on?"
"That's what we're all trying to figure out, Calhoun," Ralph stated as he scanned the large objects in the walls. Each had a tunnel-like opening at its base, over which an electronic sign had been placed, displaying the name of the destination.
"Fix-It Felix Junior," Ralph read each in turn, "Sugar Rush. Hero's Duty."
He paused as he looked at the last sign in confusion.
"What the heck is Space Paranoids?" he questioned aloud as he raised his eyebrow at the offending sign and tunnel.
"Oh, my aching noggin," a new voice groaned, catching everyone's attention. Turning, they saw a man, roughly the same height as Felix, but with a disproportionately large head like Vanellope. His head was largely bald, with tufts of greying hair on the sides sticking out over his ears. A small, golden crown sat on his head, looking like it was stuck there more than sitting on it. He wore what could only be described as extremely foppish clothes, from his oversized, red bowtie to his high colored, white linen shirt, to his purple jacket to his puffed golden pants to his purple slippers with red pompoms on the end. He looked around with hazel eyes over his bulbous nose. They widened in surprise as they fell on the Ralph and the others.
"Oh," he said in surprise, before smiling meekly and waving at them, "Well, hello there."
"King Candy," Vanellope whispered in surprise.
"Turbo," Ralph growled, narrowing his eyes at the smaller man.
"Wait a minute, didn't you die?" Calhoun questioned, pointing an accusatory finger at the man.
"Seems news of my demise has been greatly exaggerated," he replied with a chuckle, his voice containing a slight lisp.
"Cut the crud, Turbo," Ralph snapped, pointing a large finger at the smaller man, "What's going on? Did you bring us here?"
As Ralph asked the question, Candy's eyes narrowed. Suddenly, red electricity rippled over him and his form changed. He now wore a pure white racing jumpsuit with red stripes with a matching racing helmet, the letter T display prominently on the front of the helmet. His skin became grey in color while his bulbous nose disappeared. He glared at Ralph with black surrounded by yellow iris.
"Trust me, you overgrown gorilla," Turbo growled, showing off yellowed teeth, "If I had brought you here, you wouldn't have woken up."
Ralph's growled and began to say something but was stopped when Calhoun held up her hand authoritatively.
"Stow it, Wreck-It," she snapped, stopping the larger man before he could start, "We've got bigger fish to fry, because if Ridge Racer over there didn't bring us here, who the bits did?"
"Perhaps I can answer that question," a new, cultured voice said causing all five of them to jump in surprise before turning their attention to the source of the voice.
Standing a short distance away was a man, realistically proportioned much like Calhoun, with short brown hair. He wore a black, full bodied suit that was decorated with what looked like circuitry, which glowed electric blue. He regarded them with electric blue eyes while standing at attention, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Greetings Programs!" he greeted friendly, smiling at all of them.
"Programs?" Ralph asked in confusion.
"Apologies. A force of habit," the man explained, "I believe you prefer the term Characters, correct?"
There was a pause as no one said anything, staring at the man in confused silence.
"Who the holy hotcakes are you!?" Calhoun demanded after snapping back to reality.
"Allow me to introduce myself," the man replied, before placing a hand to his chest, "I am Tron."
"What kind of name is Tron?" Vanellope questioned after a moment.
"It is my name," Tron replied, nonplused, "As yours is President, formerly Princess, Vanellope von Schweetz."
"How do you know my name!?" Vanellope exclaimed in surprise.
"I was briefed," Tron replied simply, "I know each of your names."
As if to prove a point, he faced and addressed each of them in turn.
"Wreck-It Ralph," he recited, "Fit-It Felix Junior, Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun-Fix-It and King Candy or Turbo, which ever you prefer."
The group stands in silence for a long moment, just staring at Tron.
"Who are you?" Ralph finally asked.
"As I informed you previously, I am Tron," Tron states, "But I believe you meant who as a form of what, and what I am is a Program. Specifically, I am the Head Security Program of the Grid."
"The what now?" Vanellope questioned, quirking her eyebrow at him.
"The Grid," Tron repeated, "The electronic network that collects all data points in the Magic Kingdom, including this station."
"Wait, wait, back up," Ralph said, holding his hands up to stop Tron, "The Magic what?"
"The Magic Kingdom," Tron reiterated.
"What the bits is the Magic Kingdom?" Calhoun questioned.
"The Magic Kingdom is a transdimensional space created by Walt Disney to house the characters from his company's movies and animated features, of which yours is the newest addition," Tron explained.
"Newest what, if you don't mind me asking?" Felix asked, still clearly confused.
"Movie," Tron stated, "Wreck-It Ralph, or Sugar Rush as it was titled in some territories. It was a rather successful release, so I do believe congratulations are in order."
With that, Tron began to politely clap, the sound echoing off the walls of the largely empty room, causing an awkwardness that the program didn't seem to be aware of.
"I am sure there will be a more appropriate celebration later this evening," Tron stated as he folded his arms behind his back.
"What celebration?" Ralph questioned.
"With the other characters in the Magic Kingdom," Tron explained.
"Okay, let me get this straight," Vanellope said, holding up a finger as she tried to collect her thoughts, "Our whole story was part of a movie made by this Disney guy's company. Now that that movie is over, we've been brought to this place called the Magic Kingdom where all of the other characters from the other movies live together."
"Correct," Tron said with a nod, smiling at her.
"But why?" Ralph questioned.
"Apologies, but I believe Mr. Mouse would be far more suited to answering that question than I," Tron stated.
"Mr. Mouse?" Felix questioned.
"The current head of the Magic Kingdom who you will be meeting with today," Tron explained, directing the comment at Ralph.
"Me?" Ralph asked incredulously, "Why would he want to meet with me?"
"Because you are the protagonist," Tron elaborated.
"No, Felix is the protagonist of our game," Ralph replied, indicating to the smaller man.
"That may be true, but you are the protagonist of your movie," Tron replied.
That seemed to stun Ralph, who blinked in surprise at Tron.
"Who would want to watch a movie about you, Stinkbrain?" Vanellope asked playfully, crooking an eyebrow at Ralph as she smirked at him.
"Plenty of people apparently, you little snotmuncher," Ralph groused back, snapping back to reality and indicating to Tron, "Or did you miss the part where he said it was a big success."
"Whatever," she replied dismissively, rolling her eyes but continuing to smirk at him.
"Anyway, how am I going to meet this Mr. Mouse?" Ralph questioned, turning his attention back towards Tron, "I thought you said we were on this Grid thing, which is separate from the rest of the Magic Kingdom."
"Fret not," Tron assured him, "We have a solution for that."
"We?" Calhoun asked as Tron turned and began to walk away, "Who's we?"
"You shall see," Tron replied as he continued to walk, "Follow me please."
The group looked at each other before they all shrugged helplessly and began to follow Tron, Turbo making a point of trailing behind the rest of them. As they walked, Vanellope noticed a small glowing ring in a slot on Tron's back.
"What's that on your back?" Vanellope questioned.
"It is my identity disk," Tron stated simply.
"What's it for?" Vanellope pressed.
"It contains my code," Tron explained, "Similar to how your code is stored within your game console."
"Cool," Vanellope stated in genuine fascination.
"Thank you," Tron replied before slowing to a stop, "We have reached our destination."
Before them, against the wall that marked the end of the station, was some kind of machine. It was large and bulky, made out of some kind of shiny metal. The most prominent feature of the machine was what resembled the long barrel of some kind of laser weapon, ending in a smaller barrel surrounded by four petal-like protrusions.
"Jimminy Jamminy," Felix said in amazement, "What is that?"
"It is a laser capable of transfering organic and inorganic material into electronic data," Tron explained, turning around to look back at the group, "And vice a versa."
"So wait, are you planning on sending us outside of the network?" Calhoun asked incredulously.
"Exactly," Tron replied with a smile, seemingly happy she understood.
"And what if we say no?" Turbo questioned, surprising the other by speaking up after his long silence.
"Well, I certainly will not force you to comply, and there are no consequences for not complying" Tron stated, seemingly surprised by the answer, "but everyone is eager to meet you and I can assure you all that you will be in no danger."
There was a pause as they all seemed to mull it over. After a few moments, Ralph glanced down at Vanellope, who was looking up at him with a lost expression. Slowly, a smile began to spread across his features.
"What do you say, kid?" he asked, holding out his large fist towards her, "You up for another adventure?"
An ecstatic smile quickly formed on Vanellope's face.
"You know it!" she shouted excitedly as she hopped up into the air and bumped her smaller fist against his.
"Good to hear," Ralph said with a laugh before turning towards Felix and Calhoun, "What about you two?"
"I'm with you, brother," Felix replied with a smile, touching his hand to the brim of his cap.
"I guess I don't have anything better to do today anyway," Calhoun said with a shrug, placing her hands on her hips.
"I'm going too," Turbo said to Tron, not looking at the others.
"Wait, what about all the other characters in our games?" Vanellope questioned, suddenly concerned.
"Mr. Mouse prefers to give the primary characters of a new movie or show the tour before having the others come in," Tron explains, "He believes it eases the transition."
"What if someone tries to play our games while we're gone?" Felix asked.
"No one will be playing your games today," Tron assured them, "And since everyone in the Magic Kingdom is aware of your sentience, your games will not be unplugged if you are not present."
This seemed to mollify any worries the group had. Ralph glanced down at Vanellope, who smiled up at him and nodded.
"Alright, we're in," Ralph stated determinedly.
"Excellent," Tron replied with a smile while stepping to the side, "Now if you would all please step in front of the device."
As they did, the device seemed to turn on, electric blue lights coming to life all over its surface.
"So, uh what exactly is about to happen?" Ralph asked, a sudden sense of nervousness coming over him as the device whirred to life.
"The device will emit a beam of energy which will derezz your current forms and reform you in the real world," Tron explained, "It is all perfectly safe."
"If you say so, Glowstick," Calhoun replied as the five of them crowded in front of the device.
"Now during the process you may feel a…strange sensation," Tron stated enigmatically.
"Strange in what way?" Ralph questioned.
Before Tron could answer, a beam of electric blue light shot out of the device and everything went white and a loud ringing noise filled his ears. It felt very strange indeed.
A/N: Hey guys, this is a little project I've had in mind ever since I saw Wreck-It Ralph back in November and started writing it when I was lucky enough to go to Disney World in May. It was originally going to be one long chapter but it's kept growing so I'm going to split it up a bit. I hope you guys enjoy it, it's just a fun little story I thought up. As always, feedback and critiques are always welcome so please review! Later!
