You wake up in a room, and you realize two things: one, the room is not your own, and two, the hat you're wearing isn't your own. Those are the two problems facing I, Fix-It Felix, at this moment. The first thing I do is look at my surroundings. I seem to be in a hotel room, another bed next to me. To the right is a window and sliding door, leading out into a sunny world; the light just hits my eyes, causing me to groan. I take a look out into the place, and it seems I'm on the third floor of the place. There's also a TV, drawer, and mirror right across from where I am; I look in the mirror to see who's hat I'm wearing.
When you get a new hat, the feeling is foreign, and this one was no different. It was very large, for one thing; if it didn't fold from its weight, it would've covered me down to my knees. The brim was as big and floppy as the hat overall, much different than the "duck bill" I have on my blue hat. Speaking of color, this new one is green. And in place of my emblem, it has a black strap around it with a star in the middle. I don't know who it belongs to, but I must get it back to them. You see, not wearing your right clothing in your game is like going out on stage not in costume; it sorta detracts from who I'm supposed to be. That, and my game's probably too old to recognize when I'm not in costume. I remember one time Tamora came home in something that wasn't her soldier uniform (that's all I'm going to tell you, sir or ma'am) and when she got off the train, the game magically put the armor back on her!
It was easy to recognize what game I was in: X-treme Easy Livin' 2, which had just celebrated it's 10th anniversary last night. Unfortunately, that's all I remember about last night; many games other than Tappers have drinks much stronger, I'm afraid. But, I'm sure whoever hauled me in here should have some clue of what went down last night. I get out of bed, straighten my clothing, check for my hammer (thank Programmers, it's there) and head out. A few characters from the game that live there are leaving too. I notice a tall (well, comparatively tall) woman, a brunette with a rather risque outfit, and come up to her.
"Excuse me, miss, but I'm wondering what time it is. Not in-game, but outside."
She thinks for a minute, and then replies, "I think it's about five, probably in the morning. The sun's always this way at five AM and PM outside." Great, that means I have five hours. She then looks me over and asks, "You're that Fix-it fellow, aren't ya?"
I nod, and say, "Fix-It Felix Jr, miss."
"I saw you come in here after the anniversary party. Some blonde chick brought you in, but said she had her...soldiers to attend to, or something. She also noted they were just about as sloshed as you were." I nodded in agreement; Tammy does care about me, but her troop is just as important. I can understand why she wanted to get them back; they tote those big guns with them everywhere!
"Anything else you can tell me?"
The brunette just shook her head. "Sorry, but uh," she cracked a smile and chuckled, "Nice hat." I don't take it against her to insult the hat; it is very strange-looking. I start to walking past the woman, down a flight of stairs, and out of the hotel. Easy Livin's a big place, even more expansive than Sugar Rush. Luckily, I know most of the game, and I've been at the hotel once or twice.
Before I head off in search of the owner of it, I take off the hat and decide to hold it over my chest. As I head for the exit of the game, a few people notice the hat, but don't seem to notice me; a few of them say "wander." Maybe that's the name of the owner? Sure is a strange name for a video game character...but I must admit, I've heard worse. I make it to the train, which is still modern-looking, even though the game was made in 2003. I get on, a few other characters from the game hopping on too. They're probably going to visit some friends, but I have something more important: finding whoever this "Wander" fellow is.
"Felix!" is the first thing I hear when I get to Game Central Station. The voice doesn't sound desperate, but it still needed me. I turned around to find my hulking partner-in-game, Wreck-It Ralph. He noticed the hat immediately, and gave a confused glance. When he reached me, he asked, "Where's your hat? And what's with this one?"
"I lost mine at the party," I let out a sigh. "I need to find the owner of this one before the arcade opens. Did you see anyone with my hat?"
"Well...now that you mention it...when Vanellope and I left the party-we left around midnight, since she couldn't handle a party that late- we saw a guy, almost your height, with your hat. He seemed a lot like you, even opening the door for us. I must admit, he was definitely more talkative, but in general, very nice."
"Did he give a name? Maybe while he was talking?"
"Wait.." He brought one of his huge hands to the side of his head, thinking. "I didn't get his name." I frowned for a moment, but then he continued. "He did mention his game though, something called Wander Over Yonder. I think I saw it right back..." He looked around for a moment and finally pointed to a cabinet behind him, a few terminals down. "See? There it is."
"Thanks, Ralph!" I ran off, giving him a quick wave, and was at the train for the Wander Over Yonder game. The train was a strange mix of futuristic and Dr Suess. The train looked sleek, steel, no doubt, but was also otherworldly, with designs that looked like something from my era. Despite its strange looks, I got on the train, waiting for something to appear outside the rounded windows besides wires. When I finally could see the game, it was breathtaking. All around me were stars, the train running on a track that went on through the void. I was heading for a planet, one with a blue ground, and the only distinguishing feature on it was two...robots? I think they are, ready to fight. The train made it to a small station, one that wasn't far from the scene, and I decided to have a peek at what was going on.
Well, it was nothing. Like, literally nothing going on, except for a few little things that had eyes and hands for heads walking around. I looked around for some type of leader, the one that could be this "Wander." I then noticed one of the eyeball creatures had a bigger helmet crest; that must be their commander. I came up to the leader, hat behind my back, and greeted, "Hello, Wan-!"
The thing immediately interrupted me. "Wait, did you call me 'Wander'?" The walking eyeball furrowed its brow, looking ready to slap me. He then noticed the hat I so deceptively hid. "Wait, you're the one who has Wander's hat? No wonder he's been a mess!" He pointed over to an orange figure, who was on his knees, sadly eating a picnic lunch he had out. Right next to him was-I nearly gasped- my hat!
"I'll get it to him right away, sir." I gave a nod and went off to the orange fluffy thing, but the eyeball stopped me again.
"Commander."
I turned back to him. "What was that?"
"My name is Commander Peepers." I nodded again; the name was a nice pun, I must admit. I go back to returning the hat to the furry spaceman. He is still stress-eating from the picnic basket, and grabs out a sandwich. I sit next to him, but he seems so focused on the food he doesn't notice me.
"May I have some?" I ask to get his attention. It works, almost too well; he nearly jumped from his spot! He looks to me, eyes wide and mouth trembling. Then, he notices the hat behind my back.
"My hat!" he exclaimed, taking it out of my hands and placing it on his head. It was definitely his hat, and it fit him well. I took mine off the picnic blanket and back on my head, and then the orange guy gave me a hug. "Th-thank you so much, sir!"
"You're welcome, um, Wander." I almost say my own name; just as Ralph said, he does sound very similar to me. "So, this is your game?"
He pulls away from me and nods. "Yes, me and Sylvia, my steed, are intergalactic travelers. This is only the first level, and...my staff should be around here somewhere. I think I left it back at the valley."
"What's your staff for?"
"Oh, it's what I use to defeat enemies in the game. I heard I'm much more peaceful on the show..."
"Wait, what show?" Wander plops down, looking over the valley where the two mechas are, and I crouch down beside him.
"This game is based off a show that's supposed to come out soon. To be honest, I'm not sure if the kids will like me fighting with my staff considering I don't do so on the show." He let out a sigh. "I just don't want to let my fans down."
"Hey, buddy, I've been around thirty years and have seen many games come and go. But Wander, it doesn't matter what kind of game you are, compared to your television counterpart. What does matter is if someone out there is willing to play your game." He gave a smile, and we both got back up.
"Wow, Felix, you're almost like what I should be." He then looked back to his picnic. "Maybe you shouldn't leave without some lunch first?"
"Sure, Wander, that sound's delightful." We enjoyed a picnic lunch together, and as we ate, Wander explained the events of how we lost our hats. A rather drunken me came up to him and started talking. I then realized that we sounded alike, and asked him if we could switch hats to see if anyone would confuse one for the other. Wander, though he seemed possessive of his hat, was happy to do it, thinking it would be fun. He left early, like Ralph had said, and I left later with Calhoun.
After he had finished with the details, I headed back for my game, only an hour before the arcade opened. I got back to Niceland, and could see the new game to the right, smiling. That kid was going to go far.