GAMINDUSTRI CLASH: THE FOUR OUTSIDERS
PROLOGUE
Gamindustri, a land of four nations…
Lowee, representing Nintendo. The white, snowy nation of colorful characters. The famous Mario, Legend of Zelda, Pokémon, and Kirby series were present.
Lastation, representing Sony. Black and beautiful, filled with pride and advanced technology. Series such as God of War, LittleBigPlanet, Ratchet & Clank, and even Crash Bandicoot resided there.
Leanbox, representing Microsoft. Off on a more southern region, being beautifully green. Particularly known for Halo, Gears of War, known Rareware titles, and even some PC games.
Planeptune, representing SEGA. The promising, purple lands with a futuristic feeling. Sonic the Hedgehog, NiGHTS, Puyo Puyo, and more obscure games were recognized there.
Smaller land masses, which once had been lost in history during Console Wars, were now restored thanks to an event that occurred a couple of years ago. One where an antagonistic CPU, used an old relic to bring back parts of the past, while sacrificing herself to another world.
Gamindustri was finally at peace, with the past threats being neutralized. Some say it had almost gotten boring, while others preferred the lack of incidents. Ups and downs still occurred, which was the closest thing to anything chaotic, currently.
However, such a peace, as always, did not last.
—
"Have you found what you were looking for yet here?" Lawrence asked.
He had hoped that after the last failure of creating an "age of robots" would end his master's ridiculous plots, but it seemed like as always, Nefarious wouldn't cease.
Currently, they were breaking into a lab in Planeptune. One they had heard about from a badnik, who formerly was under Dr. Eggman's order. They told Nefarious that there would be something of great use in his plans.
Something that bordered on the power of the CPUs themselves, but was put away in fear of being too strong, or perhaps it simply wasn't the right time for Dr. Eggman.
It ticked off Scervo of course, a pirate captain, partner in crime to Dr. Nefarious from Lowee, being made several years ago. If anyone hated the idea of someone being cut off from the rest of the world just because of their strength, it was him.
Finished hacking into a system, Dr. Nefarious grinned when he saw a metal capsule open up.
A robot was inside. Having lilac, artificial skin, silver hair, wearing a red sailor dress. Nefarious had found what he was looking for.
"So it exists after all," he laughed, "a CPU… For robots!"
He couldn't lose this one. Not like before. Nefarious was going to make sure, his plan ended with success.
"LAWREEEEENCE!" Nefarious shouted.
"I'm right here, sir." The butler replied, making his master jump.
"You know what to do, help me take her back to the ship! In, one, piece!" He ordered Lawrence, pointing at the robot. "Project Mercury is in our hands, and we shall make them follow our cause, soon enough!"
Making sure there we no security devices attached to deactivated robot, that's exactly what they did.
CHAPTER ONE
Pull to the Dimension
Four friends, of the less fictitious world, on their way back from a trip to the movies.
Michael, a boy who favors Nintendo titles and consoles, defending even titles that would be considered "bad" by Nintendo standards.
Nick, a fan of Sony's PlayStation systems, believing that they have the most well-rounded genres.
Caela, adores Microsoft's Xbox consoles, wishing there was a handheld and liking even the weirder titles.
And Natalie, the oldest who holds a nostalgic soft-spot for SEGA, and probably the one who acknowledges the ups and downs of every side.
Right now, they were discussing how the Assassin's Creed movie may turn out. Michael and Natalie showed zero interest, Nick wished to see it, and Caela enjoyed the actual games, worrying it wouldn't be as good as the first and second Assassin Creed titles.
"Hey, it could be good. There has been some improvements in video game movies."
"You mean like the Ratchet and Clank movie? That was disappointing to most?" Nick turned to glare at Michael, who was currently sporting a smug grin.
"At least it was faithful to the source material, unlike some other movies I know."
"Don't you dare-"
"Super Mario Bros. The Movie. Now that's a bad video game film. And not accounting the movie, I still can't believe how everyone isn't bored and/or sick of them already! I mean, it's a franchise with over 200 games! How does that not sound completely nuts!"
"If that's the case, then obviously they're doing something right, if they can still keep the crowd interested. Unlike other series that end when something's lacking or goes wrong. I mean, when was the last time you heard of PaRappa or Sir Dan?"
Nick looked like he was ready to fight when Caela stepped between them. "How about we get back to the topic at hand, OK? If the movie gets good reviews, it might get people to take video games more seriously and do good for all of our favorite systems."
"Yeah, you definitely need the attention, seeing how the Xbox One is selling worse than the Wii U. And what kind of a name is that anyway? Sounds like a warning siren. Like 'wee-oo, wee-oo, lower-class console coming!'"
Michael was so furious he barely noticed he had Nick by the collar. "Just because the PS4 has sold more doesn't mean it's the best quality!" Caela was doing her best to separate the two with no avail. But just before it escalated to fists -
"STOP IT!"
They all jumped at the sudden cry, turning to see Natalie, as if they forgot that she there. "Why must every conversation we have turn to this? Only at times like this am I a little glad that SEGA no longer has any consoles so that they are spared from all this."
"I guess that would be true, Squirt, if it wasn't for that fact that SEGA is exactly 'dead'. Like, Sonic's still coming out with games, though they've just been getting worse and worse." Natalie cringed from Nick's nickname for her. Even though she was the oldest, she was still treated like a kid because she was also the shortest at 5' 4". It didn't help that he also mentioned Soinc's plummet in quality.
"Woah, woah, woah, that doesn't mean that Sonic no longer stars in good games. There are still well-received games that he stars in." Natalie would have welcomed Michael's support if she didn't know where it would lead.
"You mean like Super Smash Bros.? The game that's responsible for Playstation All-Stars not getting the respect it deserves?"
"At least Smash has a good combat system."
"You mean where kills can be cheap and you die just by tripping? In Battle Royale you actually earn your kills than leave it up to chance."
"What do you mean chance? You fight your opponent fair and square!"
"Until a Smash Ball comes in and changes the tide. In all other Fighters I can think of, the super or hyper move is earned from successful hits. Something that's apparently overlooked."
Nick then looked like he remembered something. "I just realized, it's the anniversary of Playstation All-Stars. Who knew it's been four years already."
"Then maybe it's time for Xbox to also put in its two bits in the mascot crossover."
Nick and Michael just looked at Caela and responded in unison: "With what?"
"Oh you know what!"
"No, not really. Other than Master Chief and Marco Fenix, I got nothing. Oh, maybe you can also include Cooper, Banjo and Kazooie, Conker-"
Caela started to look scared, as Michael started to look mad. He hated Microsoft for what they did to Rare, and took every chance to remind Caela of it. Caela acted fast to avoid the potential explosion.
"There are plenty of Xbox mascots that have come throughout the years! What about Captain Smiley, or Stubbs the Zombie?"
"You would have a better chance bringing in Voodoo Vince or Blinx. Of course, you could always consider the Pinatas..."
Natalie started to leave before Michael went to another one of his somewhat justified rants. She was beginning to wonder they were all friends in the first place. She took a few steps when something caught her eye. She turned to see some light coming out of an alleyway. A familiar light.
"Hey guys, I saw some of that light I was telling you about!"
They turned to where she was pointing. "You mean that light you think brought that lady with amnesia a while back? Next you'll be saying that you saw Elvis." Nick gave a bit of a smirk at Michael's comment.
"Well, it is cute when the imagination goes wild."
Caela wasn't helping either. "They have a point, that kind of stuff only happens in, well, games and the like. It's obvious that she was just a tourist or something that hit her head."
Natalie had it with their putting-down. "The light is real and I'll prove it. Come on!" She started to walk down the alleyway. Nick started to follow just to humor her, but the others thought it was something else and decided to come to tease him. They were nearing the end without so much as a shine happening.
"See? There's no light. Just more tricks of the eye. Let's just call it a night." Nick started to turn around when he heard a yelp and saw Michael and Caela with shock on their faces. He turned back to see a bright white light appearing out of nowhere, and looking like something was about to blow. "Natalie, look out!" He started to reach for her when the light blasted the area, blinding everyone. Nick was only aware of one concerning thing.
"Where's the grooooooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnddd!?"
—
Lastation, home to Noire during her work, along with the PlayStation All-Stars.
Things have been at quite a swing. A new Gravity Rush and God of War title was coming. But after their movie coming out, Ratchet and Clank found they had not had gotten as much warm reception in theater compared to the actual game released based on it. This caused worry for Sly Cooper, a thieving raccoon. Initially, he was going to have one as well.
Everyone else was… Bored.
Quite a handful had not had a proper title in years. Including Sir Daniel Fortesque, but he was entertained for the most part, until the interview with that one therapist ended. Now, he began to miss his All-Star rival, Colonel Radec.
He had ran off with a girl; Pupuru, along with her companioned called Kuu. She arrived over three years ago, and had— much to the shock of everyone— fallen for the merciless Helghast. Over the years, Radec had grown attached to her, even though it went against his usual character.
Along with that was the fact Heihachi, Nariko, Emmett Graves, and Isaac Clarke left. Even others, who were originally newcomers…
They almost were at the top of the hill in terms of shares, until a few mistakes, and Lowee pulling out their "safety net", forcing them to gain a huge boost.
Noire missed everyone that had parted ways, but didn't have the gall to admit to it. Her younger sister wondered how hard it would be for Noire to just finally open up. If she did that, it would surely bring a whole lot of others back to Lastation.
Uni rubbed her temples, finished with work for today. "I wonder if Falli and Edward finished their half of the job," she wondered, walking out of the room with a stack of papers.
A black glimmer formed in outside the basilicom, one which soon, would become a new source of action and entertainment.
—
Lowee, where Blanc was reading a book, as the Super Smash Bros. played.
Her two younger sisters, Rom and Ram, were hectic as always with Crazy Hand. Master Hand, along with the oracle, Mina Nishizawa, tried their best to keep the three of them out of trouble. Of course, it was hard when someone Crazy Hand always encouraged it.
This year, things had gone up and down, ever since the Super Smash Bros. had stopped updating once their final newcomers— Corrin and Bayonetta— arrived suddenly.
Both the new Fire Emblem and Star Fox titles had gotten them in a bit of a rut. The former suffered from hefty censorship, while the latter sold poorly and did not get the reception as expected. The new, upcoming Paper Mario title had caused quite a loss in shares as well.
Such changed with Kirby's new adventure coming to light, being warmly received as always. Pokémon was a "safety net" to competition, so it was easy to see how a phone app had nabbed so much attention, along with the new generation that would bloom.
Because of this, Lowee now toppled Lastation in terms of shares. However… Fox McCloud was still unhappy over what had happened. The Hero of Twilight version of Link, was curious to see what the new hero would be like.
For a while, Blanc's stress was like a light switch. On and off, depending on how the shares were. To distract herself, she began to read. It was what she liked to do, and it gave Blanc ideas usually for the story in her games.
This often ranged from excellent tales… To shoddy soap opera drama.
A book was thrown at Blanc's head, forcing her to snap her attention to the twins.
"Crazy Hand did it!" Ram tattled, forcing the large, gloved hand to float away from the scene as quick as he could. Getting out of her chair, Blanc chased after them in annoyance, mumbling curses under her breath.
Just as she did, a white light began to form outside, taking shape of a boy.
—
Leanbox, there was Vert, playing video games while everyone else was calm.
Out of all the nations, Leanbox was usually the least hectic. They were balanced with the shares right now, with all of what was presented during an event. Killer Instinct updates, were also creating a lot of hype for fans.
Sometimes there were a few bumps, but they did not sting as badly as the ones in other nations. Leanbox was a balance, one could say, that was needed in Gamindustri, after how crazy Console Wars used to be.
Sure, the ever popular Master Chief, Marcus Feenix, and Rareware characters were present. But Leanbox was no stranger to obscure things, such as the Gunstringer, Voodoo Vince, and Blinx. On top of that, Microsoft Windows also came from Leanbox, which lead to even more unusual connections.
It seemed almost ideal. Vert was comfortable. She had a loyal oracle, characters— which while maybe not memorable— she didn't mistreat or berate, Kinect wasn't good, but it was nowhere near as bad as the gimmicks Blanc tried to enforce.
Vert herself was a pleasant CPU. She did spend a lot of time online, played lots of games, and watched anime. However, when work was there, she did put it before anything else.
The only thing she felt was missing in her life? A sibling. Either a younger sister, or brother. Every CPU in Gamindustri had one— well, almost all of them.
"Goodness, can't she pick up after herself?" Chika Hakozaki, oracle of Leanbox sighed, picking up an empty bottle of Mountain Dew.
Soon after, she left. A passing Splosion Man noticed a green light now outside the basilicom…
—
Planeptune, where Neptune had suddenly made a comeback after past issues.
Two Sonic titles that were recently released had gotten warm reception. New Puyo Puyo, Yakuza, and Shenmue titles were on their way. Sonic Mania had caused an amount of hype, as was the other upcoming game.
All of this, balanced while taking care of a child. It had only been two years since the first recorded birth from a CPU happened. No mishaps have occurred, other than some surprising, early maturity on the first year.
Sure, not all of Planeptune's characters got the spotlight, but they didn't entirely mind. Quality was what mattered most right now, and suddenly, Neptune had been kicking it up.
Right now actually, Neptune might have had more share energy than Blanc, considering the surprising amount of faith people now had in her. Some were often afraid of her husband though, even if his old habits were dropped.
Planeptune was happy as ever right now, even Histoire didn't have objections like she normally would, because Neptune was working hard— but not pushing herself by any means.
NiGHTS, minding their own business, offered to go grab something from Neptune's room and bring it to the CPU. As they did, they noticed a purple light, right outside.
A light, which turned into a girl, much to the shock of NiGHTS.
