The four walked, minus Vanellope who had managed to scam a ride off Ralph, at an amble down the cord that plugged in whatever kind of game was connected to its other side. They had no kind of introduction to the world of which they were about to emerge into; it could be anything from Cooking Mama to something wild and dangerous, fit to reminisce one of Hero's Duty. None of the three adults could say the possibility wasn't a little foreboding for the latter case, what with their codes still bound to only Sugar Rush, though Vanellope herself was only mildly perturbed at them and this game being the only two left; with an overactive curiosity to easily combat the uneasiness, the thoughts didn't remain on her mind for much too long after they'd arrived in the first place. One could say, in a way, Vanellope had been accustomed to getting the short end of the stick for a good portion of her in-game time, so she'd learned how to take the good with the bad (no matter how few and far between those times may have been back in the day for the previous.) However, what did have the self-proclaimed president more annoyed than anything was the fact there was no train to take them to wherever they were going. That or somebody had forgotten to send it back—though who knows how long they'd been unplugged? If only this game had stayed, they wouldn't have a reason to send their train back, admittedly, so there wouldn't be a usual point to it… it was still fairly annoying for a certain impatient girl, though; what could she say? She was a racer! Intolerance for sluggishness was built into her code just as prominent as her ability to drive… although with a few pixels of light to finally break through the opposite side of the tunnel, they could finally tell they were at least making progress towards the end. This or they'd somehow managed to turn themselves around.
This was obviously not the case, they'd come to realize. Only once they were upon the source did they truly realize what it was; an entire wall made pure from light, though interestingly opaque. You couldn't see through it, but you could certainly put your hand through it as Vanellope, jumping down from her perch on a shoulder, had so boldly demonstrated before the giant named Ralph could stop her, and simply commenting that it 'felt funny' on withdrawal. Indeed, one could imagine it would; it was almost blindingly bright, but curiously enough, it didn't hurt to look at. Hints of blue edged around it's perimeter, and bits of code flecked off occasionally to gently float in the air around them like snowflakes before fading away into nothingness. A soft hum reverberated around them; no doubt from the energy being given off by this… portal? They'd never seen anything like it before, not even in Hero's Duty, the most technologically advanced of the three games. 'Whatever game this is, it's code must be massive…' Ralph thought to himself for a moment or two—it looked more like it was to keep in code rather than keep anything out, and even then judging by the rogue strains popping off it like fleas pop off an animal, it wasn't even fully successful at this.
"Well… we didn't come all the way up here just to stare. Let's keep going." He continued the thought a little more vocally, and, not giving them a moment's notice before, he stepped through the light with Vanellope quickly in-tow. The other two deemed to follow shortly after a quick second of consideration of the wall, and funny it did indeed feel when they did step through. It didn't hurt… it just felt kind of odd; like some of your pixels were being spaced out from one another, and left to float along your code as freely and gently as those random pixels coming off the light in the first place. The feeling repeated a few times over the course of the only a couple seconds it actually took them to go through the beam, and one couldn't say it was exactly unpleasant. Uncomfortable, maybe, but not wholly so; kind of a tranquil feeling, the trio could say, meanwhile Vanellope herself was reminded vaguely of her glitching. Then they were on the other side, which quickly proved more bewildering than the light itself had been; a grey sandy beach surrounded by a dull ocean that of which obviously held the same properties as the light; random flecks of pixels rose up from it, simultaneously while gentle waves rolled in and out along the shore, creating the rushing sound so characteristic of a vacation spot. The sky was as grayed as the sand, and the sun was hidden behind thick clouds, but they weren't the only thing to hang in the sky; towering, yet seemingly unimportant, rectangular shapes dotted the masqueraded heavens, floating languidly across it's span. Some were even in rotation, you'd notice if you cared enough to pay attention, but never did they seem to dip down towards the island, so they supposed it was safe. Portals similar to the one they'd just stepped through dotted the landscape, and for a moment they all wondered just what kind of game they were in. A distant orange glow lighting up somewhere down the length of the beach, and a round of hearty laughs coming from the general direction of mentioned glow told them where they could most likely get their answer, and so, they started after it.
After just a little bit of walking, they realized what the glow was; it was a fire. Not a kind you should be particularly worried about, nay, it was in a fire pit. What was more remarkable about it though were the kind of people hanging around it. Some were sitting facing the water, while some sat on a log just in front of the flame while talking contentedly amongst themselves; some were even dancing around it and both those sitting and up and moving seemed to be participated in a kind of what they had to guess was a camp-fire song. The area couldn't have been more depressed around the people, but they didn't seem to pay any mind whatsoever to it; they were in their own little world. Something was off though; these people looked just as mismatched as the four, there was no way they could have all been from the same game; There were at least a few men who all looked to be the same person, but just with different models; the copied figures all shared short black hair and a scar down their lip while sporting white hoodies and a simple pair of jeans. Only a couple had slight changes, and at most it involved a tattoo around the arm, or an undershirt, or a backpack. Sat beside them were two men, who either may or may not have been the same character as well; both adorned themselves with an embellished uniform, though where one's was pale and dressed with red silks and detailed with silver armor, one was dark, yet more of the armor seemed to be crafted from leather. Both, however, did share being armed to the teeth with a hood covering their eyes. They did seem to sport the same scars as the other three more modern looking men, so maybe these games really were tied together; this however, didn't explain the multitude of other characters surrounding them.
Sat across from the other five there was a young-looking man with bushy brown hair that stuck from the top of his head, which curiously as long as it was, didn't curl down at all. He was dressed in a dirtied blue t-shirt and khakis, with a gun holster on his side, and a machete about half the length of Ralph's arm on the other. A strange tattoo was curled around just one of his forearms, and he seemed to be talking to the man next to him. He looked as though he could fit in with the young man's game as well, interestingly enough, with no obvious similar factors between the two; he was darker skinned, but not too much so, with a deep scar running down the left side of his face and up into a shaved hairline that only instead harbored a Mohawk. There was a bit of shading around his mouth which was curled into a bright smile at whatever it had been that the paler man had said, and where the other wore blue, he wore red. Guns weren't missing from this man's sides either. It seemed that from whatever this game had been, most of it's citizens made up the majority of those dancing around the flame; tanned, dark-haired people, some even having a similar tattoo to the first. The girls wore tropical flowers in their hair and bright-summertime colored tops accompanied with shorts or jeans. They were a very lively looking bunch.
Sat near the water was an older man with some heavy dusting around his face, and multiple scars set in to accompany the rugged look. A cowboy hat sat atop his lanky and dark brown hair, though it wasn't out of place for the rest of his get-up; a bandolier hung on his shoulder along with a rifle though on his back. He wore a jean sweater over a light tan and sleeved shirt, and asset of cowboy boots encased his feet. Whatever he was from, it was certainly a kind of Western game, though no one seemed to be accompanying him, so they couldn't tell too much beyond this. While there were other characters to look over and think about, they wouldn't get the chance. While it may have seemed they'd been there for a while, in reality, they'd only been there for a few seconds, and they were bound to be noticed sometime. A girl who had taken to dancing with the others around the fire had set her gaze on them in the midst of a twirl, and halted to a quick stop, before bounding over, a wide and toothy smile quickly illuminating her face.
"New games? I didn't see any paths open up!" A long and single ebony braid bounced behind a tall girl (but let it not be said she was taller than Tamora) in time with her steps as she made her way up to them, while choppy bangs hung at the sides of her face, dipping only shortly below an angled jaw. Her lips were turned into a bright smile, but the teeth tucked away behind them were much more disconcerting than any smile could have ever countered; they were pointed… not filed, but pointed; more akin to an animal than anything, and overall, one could be reminded of the infamous Cheshire grin. Her eyes were a whole other thing as well; they completely lacked irises, and all that was left were ghostly white pupils that glowed like that of a cat's who sat in the dark, with a light shone just right. The surrounding sclera was just as darkened as her hair, and behind them, gave the impression of infinity, but one couldn't easily say the look wasn't unsettling. Besides this, however, she looked like a fairly normal girl; Tall, a bit on the thin side, but definitely not a weakling for sure. Despite her lack of girth, she seemed to be made more of tightly packed muscle than anything, which she wasn't afraid to show this off; she was dressed in a bedraggled what-used-to-probably-be-white tank top that was fitted quite tightly to her person, while a single dog tag dangled around her neck whose chain clinked lightly as she walked. Shorts hung loose on her hips, with frays on their ends and a bandolier for a belt, while another was slung around her shoulder, ending just on a hip. Knee-high combat boots wrapped her feet, just below a lengthy gun strapped to her thigh, likely for quick access. It seemed everyone here had guns.
"Hello, hello, my name is Eva Kendall; I'm the main character for Dust Bowl—it's really nice to see new games!" She chattered excitedly to them, taking their hands one by one to give them each heartfelt shake before resigning herself from their personal space.
"Uh, hi. I'm Ralph, Wreck-it Ralph, and this is Vanellope." He slightly lifted the shoulder on which the confetti-haired girl was sat to enunciate his introduction, to which Vanellope nodded in acknowledgement to the teenager and gave a smile in response, and Eva's – now closed—smile only seemed to get wider.
"And I'm Fix-it Felix, and this is my wife Tamora. It's nice to meet you too." Felix added in with a nice sincerity to his voice. Ever since Ralph's escapade, he'd been trying to be more accepting of those who looked different, or had different affiliations within their games; just because a character looked bad, or their role was to be bad, it doesn't mean they're bad people. Just look at Turbo; even if he did look like a little creep, there wasn't even a dynamic of good or bad within his game and he still turned out to be rotten! Even so, Eva looked down to the tiny handyman and had to stifle back a laugh at the thought that this woman was his wife. It wasn't everyday that a new game came in, and it certainly wasn't everyday that you found a woman with a partner half her size. 'But how do they…? Nevermind, I don't want to know.' She decided, just before mentioned woman stepped forward. "I'm Sgt. Calhoun of Hero's Duty. Wreck-it, and my husband are from Fix-it Felix Jr. and the girl is from Sugar Rush. Do any of those ring a bell?"
"Well,… I've heard of Hero's Duty…" she thought out loud to herself, meanwhile a few chuckles could be heard in the back, both from Vanellope who still thought the joke was funny, and secondly from Ralph, who was just amused that she still found it humorous over the years. The teenager paid them no mind though, as she went to conclude the thought but a little more decisively this time. "We don't have it here though."
Tamora seemed slightly disturbed at the fact but she pressed on; they needed to know what was going on here. What happened to get them plugged back in? What if no one else they knew were left? "Was it ever here before?"
"Pretty sure it wasn't." She said matter-of-factly, hands going to rest on her hips whilst she gave them an inquisitive once-over. "Dust Bowl was the first game on this system. You know—a Playstation. Playstation… Three, to be exact… Which reminds me, where are your paths? I don't see any new ones." She concluded, looking around the assortment of portals along island, not yet noticing the looks that had come over the four characters faces at this news that she had inadvertently gave them: They were in a Playstation—a home console. They weren't even AT Litwak's anymore, much less any arcade. The thought made their heads spin; they really weren't going to see anyone they knew again… in all reality, it made a lot of sense. They were only one of two plugs on a power strip; they were likely only played by one skilled player for however long they pleased, not many as they had preassumed. There wasn't an opening and closing time for them anymore, just any time their new owner deemed to play Sugar Rush. "Hey are you guys okay?" the girl piped up with a genuine concern, only now noticing just how flushed they looked.
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Well goodness me, aren't they going to be a little disoriented? Also, all characters besides Eva Kendall and a few others coming up do not belong to me, (i.e. Desmond 1, 2, and 3, Ezio 1 and 3, Jason Brody, Vaas Montenegro, and John Marston) all rights to their respective owners.
But yeah, this is kind of going to be a story within a story, with Eva's game plot a lot of it's integrity, so half will be an original idea. (which please don't steal, I've been working on it for like a year now).
Last but not least, I'd like to thank Marlex for my first review and follow on this story. J Any and all feedback is appreciated, and… well, it just makes my whole day. ^_^ (As every aspiring writer on here could probably agree).
