After the Louds and Bobby left the train, Ronnie Anne took over the train, ready to take her family to Gameland.
"I wonder what Gameland is like." Carlota thought out loud, looking out the train window, hoping to see something.
"Hopefully, it won't be like Jumanji," Hector commented.
"That wouldn't be too bad," Arturo replied.
"I mean, what else could it be other than a game brought to life?" Maria added.
"What happens if we die? Do we respawn or stay dead?" Frida asked.
After hearing that, everyone stayed silent for a moment, now starting to wonder if this was a bad idea.
"We'll find out when we get there." Ronnie Anne stated, reassuring her family. "But let's not find out the hard way if we can help it."
"Says the girl who fights giant robots and body-controlling snakes," Carl remarked.
"One, that was an alien caterpillar, not a snake. And two, the thing about being the world's 'mightiest mortal' that you're forgetting is that I'm still mortal, even as Lady Shazam."
The mood went somber again, but fortunately, the train stopped soon after. Then, there was a ring, and the door opened.
"Looks like we're here."
Everyone emerged from the train; the kids were more eager than the adults, and they got their first view of Gameland. Oddly, they saw what looked like a normal train station, albeit a big one. A huge one, like what they'd expect out of Grand Central Terminal in New York. Except this one seemed to be made out of black, white, and blue plastic with white, blue, and yellow lights to illuminate it. It was as if Apple had designed it from the ground up. Numerous large archway doors led to other areas currently not visible, along with benches and what looked like kiosks and maps on the wall. The only odd part about it was that it was empty.
"Where are the games?" CJ asked, looking around. His voice echoed a little bit.
Suddenly, everyone started hearing a humming sound before a voice called out.
Attention Everyone, Game Hub Station Is Now Open
Everyone watched as signs lit up over the doorways, with names like Nintendo World, Sega Land, etc. They watched as people began exiting the doorway, which everyone quickly recognized as characters from various video games. Suddenly, the voice from before appeared as a glowing holographic woman in front of the family.
"Welcome to Game Hub Station for fast travel around Gameland,"
"Fast travel?" Asked Ronnie Anne.
"Because our world is ever expanding due to the release of new games or consoles, this station was created to help the inhabitants and visitors reach their destinations faster. All you have to do is head over to the kiosk and punch in where you'd like to visit, and it will direct you to the proper entrance, although if you like to traverse our kingdom, normally there is an exit you can use for normal travel."
"Maybe we should do that first, get the lay of the land before we separate?" Ronnie Anne suggested, turning to face her family.
"Sounds like a smart idea to me." Arturo agreed.
"But I want to play," complained CJ.
"We will, CJ, but first, let's see how they play here before we do anything."
"Yeah, for all you know, Super Smash Bros is this world's version of gladiatorial combat," said Carl.
"Actually, it is; we host tournaments at the city's coliseum; you're welcome to view or participate this afternoon," The hologram told them.
"We'll keep that in mind," said Rosa as she and the family headed to the exit.
Upon exiting, everyone marveled at how the city looked like an amalgamation of various video games and game consoles they'd never heard of before. Each building was shaped like something you'd buy at a Gamestop. However, what caught them by surprise was another train station waiting for them.
"What's this?" Asked Maria.
Suddenly, everyone watched as a giant ball rolled down the track before stopping. The ball opened up, and 12 NPCs came walking out.
"This must be how they get around the city," said Carlos.
"Doesn't seem very practical," Maria noted.
"Video games are about fun, not being practical." Hector countered.
Everyone shrugged and headed inside; the interior had twelve seats arranged in a circular row, with harnesses to secure whoever was sitting there. No one really thought much of the design as they sat down and secured themselves. The walls were actually a one-way mirror, allowing them to see outside. However, one more person jumped on before the door closed and sat beside Carlos beside the open seat. This person was an NPC from the game Sims.
"Hey, you guys must be new; first time on the crosstown?" asked the NPC.
"Why yes we…"
"Oh boy!" cheered the NPC, confusing everyone as the fall began to roll along the track. "Well, welcome to Game Land; if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, and if you can't, welcome to the club,"
Before anyone could ask what he meant, the ball was jolted onto the conveyor system and sent upwards until reaching the top.
"Oh no,"
"What?" Asked Carlos.
"We're going up the track. We're going to crash!!"
"What!!?" Yelled everyone.
Before anyone could react, their transportation fell off the track and onto a platform, confusing everyone except the NPC, who started laughing.
"I was just kidding," said the NPC, causing everyone to calm down. "Just close your eyes for this part," he finished.
"What?"
Suddenly, the platform revealed itself to be a catapult, and before anyone could react, they were launched through the air. Everyone was screaming, some out of terror and some out of excitement, as they flew across the city.
"There goes my stop," said the NPC
The ball slammed into a giant coil, stopping them before it dropped into a raceway with other balls. The ball rolled along with the others until breaking away onto a separate track and flying off the ledge. It landed on a tee-shaped platform, allowing everyone to catch their breath.
"You know, this used to be a lot worse; they had this giant guy with a golf club,"
"Ahhh!" yelled Carlos.
"Oh, they brought him back," said the NPC.
Before anyone could react, the giant guy with the club hit the ball and sent it flying. The trajectory didn't seem random but specifically set as if the ball only had one option for where to land. It landed in a hole and went down a long tube before stopping at what looked like a bus stop before opening.
All of the Casagrandes rushed out before the ride could resume. They didn't even pay attention to the NPC; they just wanted to be on solid ground. When they left the bus stop, they saw a road with a few buildings that looked like old arcade cabinets.
"Welcome to Game Central Square; if you guys need to know where to go, there's a map over there," said the NPC before leaving.
"Can we all agree to take the expressways back?" I asked Ronnie Anne, and everyone agreed to do so.
The collected family approached the map and looked at the various buildings and districts labeled.
"Okay, well, we're right at the Coliseum we were told about; I say we made this spot our meet-up spot if we split up at any time," said Arturo.
"Look at this, this says the Sega district is to the north, and Nintendo town is to the south," said Hector.
"Heh, the Atari sector is all the way to the edge. Somehow, I'm not that surprised." Rosa noted.
"I wanna meet the Super Mario Bros.," cheered CJ.
"Oh, there's a section for App games; Fashion Safari, here I come!" Carlota exclaimed.
"You guys can play your baby game; I'm heading to where the action is," boasted Carl.
"Oh look, this one is supposed to be a Tony Hawk game," Carlos said, pointing to one of the squares on the map.
"Not my type. I'm more into this one." Hector countered, pointing to one labeled Guitar Hero.
"How about we all pick one and play for an hour before meeting back here?" Ronnie Anne suggested.
"An hour? That's not enough time at all." Said CJ.
"I don't know if I like the idea of separating in a place like this," Rosa claimed.
"Well, it's not like we're going to find one game we all like playing. Let's just stay in the general area." Maria pointed out.
Everyone agreed, and after finding a building featuring a game they approved of, they went towards each building separately. Each building had a set of sliding doors, just like in most stores, for them to walk through, but they couldn't see what was on the other side.
Ronnie Anne went inside the one marked for Dance Dance Revolution and was immediately greeted by a large, empty white void. There wasn't a floor, but she stood on a floating circle with a black section spinning around the edge.
"Weird, looks like I'm standing on a buffering symbol." Ronnie Anne said.
At that moment, the platform disappeared, and she was on a dancing platform with bright lights and the sound of music going all around her.
"Not bad, so it's everything we want virtual reality to be. This should be fun."
Music: I'm back
By
Twelve is Midnight, featuring Alisa
Suddenly, Yoon Kwan teleports in next to Ronnie Anne. Her eyes lit up as virtual Yoon Kwan asked her.
"Ready to dance, little lady?"
"bring it on,"
The two became their dance-off, stepping on the right arrows at the right time. Unfortunately for Ronnie Anne, her platform was better suited for adults than kids, making it hard for her to keep up. Virtual Yoon Kwan effortlessly danced circles around her, leaving Ronnie Anne in shock as the match ended.
Yoon Kwan Wins
Try again.
Ronnie Anne wanted to try again but knew she'd lose with the same platform. A realization popped into my head on how she could level the playing field, but was reluctant at first.
"What harm could it do?"
Shazam
Suddenly, a lightning bolt crashed, and Ronnie Anne powered into Lady Shazam. She didn't stop there; she quickly used her logomancy to alter her costume into a purple tank top with matching spandex pants covered in lightning bolts.
"Now I'm ready," she said, looking over her new attire and feeling proud of her adult body.
Round 2 began with a different song from Twelve is Midnight and a different dance sequence, but now Ronnie Anne could keep up. She was momentarily tempted to use her super speed, but that would ruin her score since the program might be unable to keep up with her. Not to mention, there was no telling what happened in this realm if you cheated.
The song came to an end, and fireworks were going off.
Challenger Wins!
"Yes!!" Cheered Ronnie Anne.
Play Again?
"Oh, you know it," said Ronnie Anne, ready to take it to the next level.
Rosa found herself on a cooking stage similar to the one she was on before when Ronnie Anne and her competed against Lincoln and Lynn Sr. But the environment was wholesome, not hostile. It was almost childish, but not so much that she felt she was unwelcome. Then, a game menu, not a restaurant one, appeared in the air in front of her.
Standard
Vegetarian
Potluck Party
Desserts
Customize
"Might as well keep it simple," Rosa said before tapping the Standard button. The menu then changed to show six food dishes in a 2x3 grid for her to choose from.
Rainbow Grilled Cheese
Tasty Taco
Super Sushi
Happy Happy Hamburger
Starry Spaghetti
Purple Pizza
"Seems kind of childish, but then again, I've never been much of a video gamer."
Choosing Tasty Taco, Rosa was teleported to her cooking station before someone teleported to the other. Said station instantly was given various ingredients. A HUD screen popped up with the recipe and step-by-step instructions, and finally, a timer appeared, signaling when to begin.
Rosa rolled up her sleeves and went to work as soon as the timer whistled. Old habits made her attempt to make the taco her way, but the HUD screen insisted that she follow the programmed recipe instead. Off to the side, her competition worked without that issue but a little slower to give her a chance to win. So, ignoring her regular routine, Rosa followed the directions and put all the ingredients in place before popping the completed taco into what looked like a microwave to heat the entire thing all at once.
"This would never work in the real world," Rosa commented, waiting at most seven seconds before the microwave dinged and opened. There was a glow, and the taco emerged from it on a plate for her. The competition froze, and then there was a popping sound before a cheering sound effect.
You Win!
"That was a little too easy," Rosa said, ignoring the competition clapping for her. Nevertheless, she took hold of the taco. "Still, might as well see if this tastes worth it."
She took a bite, and before she even began chewing, she noticed a problem. A really big one. The taco had absolutely no flavor at all.
"What kind of kitchen is this?"
Rosa was horrified that the food was tasteless, was it just this kitchen or was this the way food worked in this realm?
Maria and Frida had found a game they could play together, and it was not the kind that most people would expect them to pick. This game was set up like a basic combat game, in the same vein as Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Since this was a game, they figured it would give them physical skills they would never have back home, and they couldn't actually die or get hurt. It would be sort of like a rage room, if anything.
"You ready?"
"You're going down."
The two were on a platform with a background featuring what looked like a Japanese shrine, complete with sakura trees and Mt Fuji in the distance. They were also dressed in gi with headbands and fingerless gloves, making them look like mirror versions of Ryu. Maria had a red headband, while Frida had a blue one. A timer counted down and soon reached zero.
FIGHT
Maria charged in with lightning speed, throwing a punch so fast it caught even her off guard, but Frieda managed to catch it.
"Whoa," was all Maria could say.
Frida retaliated with a swing kick, which hit Maria and knocked her back a bit.
"Wait, I actually felt that," Maria noted. It hurt less than she expected, but it still did hurt.
"Now feel this," cried Frida as she flew in with a flying kick. Maria blocked by crossing her arms and then responded with a punch. Frida took it, but the pushback was small. Instead, she added a few punches of her own, forcing Maria to stay on the defensive.
"Wait, Frida, I'm feeling all of this. This isn't like a real game; we can get hurt here." Maria warned.
Frida stopped her attack and stepped back. "Then… does that mean this can't end until one of us kills the other?"
The two looked around, seeing no exit.
"I forfeit," Maria called out.
Victor Frida
With that, the room faded and took them back to the starting point where they had begun this. Although, for some reason, both women retained their battle attire. They didn't care to change and just left the building.
"This place is more dangerous than we thought," Maria said.
"We have to warn the others," Frida said, and Maria nodded.
Hector found himself on stage with millions of people screaming for a show as the lights began shining on him.
"All these people want to hear me play?"
"No, they're here for me,"
Suddenly, a boy resembling a male version of Luna Loud appeared on stage. The boy shouted as he pulled out his electric guitar and began playing for the crowd. Hector was disgusted by the music, so he pulled out his own guitar and started playing to counter it. The boy pushed back harder; however, eventually, the two musicians began merging together, creating a new sound that everyone enjoyed—ending their duel in a draw, with the boy shooting respect for Hector's skills as a musician before Hector left.
"That was really fun." He said.
For the rest of the day everyone continued playing different games, Carlota went on an actual fashion Safari, CJ won at Splatoon, Carl teamed up with Solid Snake, Carlitos chomped a ghost with Pac-Man, and Carlos beat the mean antagonist from Tony Hawk Pro skater. All in all, it was a decent day, not unlike one at an amusement park. There are no villains to fight, no criminals or sentient computer viruses, no glitches, and nothing to complain about.
Until it was time to leave, everyone was gathered in front of the Colosseum except for Ronnie Anne.
"Where is she?" Maria asked, looking around.
"Should we look inside?" Carlos asked.
"No, we shouldn't split up now." Maria insisted.
"Who said anything about splitting up?" Carlos asked.
Suddenly, the NPC from earlier approached them, happy to see them.
"Hey, did you guys come to watch the coliseum battle?"
"Battle?" asked Maria.
"There's a new game character with lightning powers mopping the floor with everyone; I'm going to watch," he said, heading inside.
Everyone got the same idea that it had to be Ronnie Anne powered up and ran inside to confirm it. Doing so was difficult with other residents of Gameland already in there vying for a good view, forcing them to go to one of the higher floors, but after some time the Santiago and Casagrande family got a good view of the arena.
"Round Seven, Challenger Lady Shazam vs Champion Johnny Cage!" An unseen announcer called out, prompting the audience to roar in anticipation.
From one end of the arena emerged Ronnie Anne in her Lady Shazam form, waving to the crowd. Her outfit was different from her normal superhero costume, she was dressed like Chun Li but the outfit was red and still had the lightning bolt emblem on her chest.
From the other end of the arena strolled out Ronnie Anne's opponent, one of the heroes of the Mortal Kombat series, appearing as he did in the rebooted series.
"She's won six rounds in a row. Can Lady Shazam continue her winning streak and make it to ten?" The announcer added, pumping the crowd up.
"There's no chance of us going down there and getting her to stop before all this is over, is there?" Carlos asked, and everyone shook their heads.
"Guess we have to wait for her to finish this."
"Ready? Fight!" The announcer called out.
The fighters dashed for each other, their fists colliding, causing a shockwave. The two separated, and Johnny Cage didn't seem worse for wear. If anything, he kept up.
'He's better than I thought.' Ronnie Anne thought, going on the defense for now to better understand what to do next. 'I may have superpowers, but if I remember correctly, this guy's from a game where he can fight monsters and gods from other dimensions. I guess that doesn't mean I have the power advantage. But there are things I can still do here.'
Ronnie Anne did a back flip to create some distance and then did a high jump, using her flight to linger in the air a little more.
Ronnie Anne dropped down and slammed her fist into the ring, causing it to shake. Johnny jumped in the air to avoid the rumbling; however, Ronnie Anne wanted this as she tackled him into the air when he couldn't dodge. Once she had him, she spun him around before throwing him towards the arena wall with a little extra strength added in. Johnny crashed into the wall and fell to the ground, staggering a little but still ready to go.
"Not bad, but it's time to finish you,"
Ronnie Anne charged fist first while Johnny unleashed his signature shadow kick. The two attacks clashed in the center, creating a shockwave that left everyone in awe. The shockwave ended up pushing both fighters from each other, and even Ronnie Anne had to admit she felt that one. However, Johnny stood there wobbling as if he were woozy, which made her smile.
"You're good, but I've fought better." She announced before getting back in close and, as if to mock him, tapped him hard enough to make him fall on his back.
"Winner, Lady Shazam!"
The crowd cheered, and she soaked in the praise. Upon looking into the audience, she saw her gathered family there. Their expressions were difficult to identify from her position, but they weren't cheering like the rest of the audience. After the tournament, Ronnie Anne, now in her normal form, walked out to meet her family.
"Did you guys see me? I was kicking hardcore!"
"Mija, you could have gotten seriously hurt or seriously hurt your opponent,"
"Abuela, it was just a competition, besides have you played Mortal Kombat? That fight was way less graphic than what happens in that game,"
"Sweetie, I know that these are all just video game characters to us, but this is their world, and there could be some real consequences," Maria cautioned.
"You guys are worrying too much; you act like this was some kind of coliseum battle where the loser dies,"
Attention everyone please stand by to watch the public execution of the losers of today's tournament via digitizer.
Everyone's eyes widen hearing that the losers are about to be killed for losing.
"What kind of twisted world is this?" said Hector.
"It's just how things are done here, the losers are digitized to make room for better and stronger versions," said the sim character from before.
"All those people are going to die because I won a competition!?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"Can't they just respawn?" Carl asked.
"Digitization is different, but if a person is digitized they're dead for good."
Ronnie Anne felt sick to her stomach; it was as if the consequences of her actions, while not intentional, were coming back on her all at once.
"No, this can't be happening, why are you guys letting this happen?"
"Sorry! This is the will of our King, all who fail must be replaced with a better version,"
Everyone watched as the losers were restrained in the center of the platform, trying desperately to break free.
Ronnie Anne was not going to stand by and let this happen. The sky above the platform began opening up as a bright light began shining on the losers.
"The digitizer! I'm sorry I need to go, I could never watch this part,"
Suddenly a beam of energy began to charge, ready to fire down towards the defeated.
"Shazam!"
A lightning bolt came down, making people yelp and jump, thinking the executioner's weapon had misfired. As the smoke cleared, the beam of energy came down like a laser version of a guillotine, and before it could hit anyone Ronnie Anne as Lady Shazem intercepted, using her powers to hold off the beam. The rest of the family also helped as they rushed inside freeing the losers and getting them to safety before Ronnie Anne moved out of the way, allowing the beam to hit an empty platform.
You Dare To Fight My Will?!!
A voice called out from seemingly nowhere, Ronnie Anne quickly went into fight mode, ready to face whoever.
"Killing people because they lost a game is beyond sick and twisted and I'm putting a stop to it right now!"
"This is how my kingdom thrives, the strong lives and the weak are replaced with upgrades,"
"Who are you to say who lives or dies?"
"I am the creator of this world, the first video game character ever created,"
Suddenly, a large Brain encased in a glass orb floated down, shocking and disturbing Ronnie Anne.
"What are you?!"
"I go by many names, some of which are beyond your understanding, but you can use the name you already know me by,"
"I know you?!"
"Call me Mr. Atom,"
End of Ch. 3