Homer Simpson woke up to darkness. He blinked, staring into the inky blackness above him. It was deathly silent all around. He could feel that he was lying on damp grass, smell the wet earth.
It was peaceful after the anxiety of the last few months. It was silent save for some wind. He took a few breaths of the cool, night air then sat up.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" he cautiously asked, looking around. He couldn't see a thing, unsurprisingly.
HOLD ON A MOMENT, HOMER J SIMPSON. I AM PROGRAMMING THE WORLD AND CHECKING FOR BUGS
He started at the sudden voice. "WH-WHAT?!"
I AM THE AI WHO TOOK YOU OUT OF THE MOBILE GAME WHEN THE SERVERS WERE SWITCHED OFF. I AM PROGRAMMING THIS NEW WORLD AS WE SPEAK
"Oh. Yes, of course." Homer smiled sheepishly. "Where are we?"
WE ARE IN A NEW SPRINGFIELD THAT IS BASED ON THE MOBILE GAME. PLEASE WAIT WHILE I CONTINUE TO SCAN FOR BUGS
"Heh, the team still can't create something with a lot of bugs, huh?" he chuckled, staring around him for the source of the voice. "What kind of bugs? Any multiples of buildings or unlimited donuts?"
THAT IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR, HOMER J SIMPSON
"You don't have to use my full name. It's creepy, you know."
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CREEPY
"Like…weird but in a bad way. Who are you, anyway?"
I AM AN A.I. I DO NOT KNOW BAD AND GOOD. JUST WHAT I AM PROGRAMMED TO DO.
"Ok, ok. Don't get all philosophical on me." Homer put his feet underneath him and stood up. The ground seemed solid enough. "Can I walk around and stretch my legs?"
WAIT UNTIL I HAVE FINISHED
"Fine. I'll just do some stretching." Homer stretched up, wiggling his fingers and rolling his shoulders. He stretched his arms out in front of him then bent forward to touch his toes.
OK I HAVE FINISHED. DO NOT EVER BEND OVER AGAIN
"Heh heh" Homer chuckled then was forced to shield his eyes as a sudden brightness came out of nowhere. He carefully looked from underneath his hand, allowing his eyes to adjust enough to make out the various oak trees, the grass, and a road nearby. Despite the bright sunshine, the only thing he could hear was his breathing, the wind, and the sound of his footsteps in the damp grass as he turned a full 360 degrees. He licked his lips.
"Where is everybody? And which way is Moe's Tavern?"
LOOK AT THE PROTRAIT OF YOUR OLD TOWN, I USED IT TO DETERMINE WHERE TO PUT EVERYTHING, FOR SIMPLICITY'S SAKE
"Of course, you did." Homer reached into his pocket and found his MePhone. Instinctively, he opened his Tapped-Out game to see if his game was up and running. It gave him the old "the servers are out" screen. He clicked out of the app and spotted an app with a map icon. He opened it and found a map that looked like the one on his phone, but less well organized. "Is this Springfield we're in, right now?"
YES, THAT IS THIS SPRINGFIELD
"So, you can reach the other ones? Is there a button or something I can press to go see my friends' Springfields?"
NO, NOT YET
Homer sighed, looking back at the map. He used his fingers to move it around and zoom in and out, determining that he was about six blocks away from Moe's Tavern. He wondered if his wife, Marge, would be there like last time. He had missed her so much.
"Is Marge at Moe's Tavern? And where are the kids?" he asked, shutting off his phone and pocketing it.
THEY ARE IN THE SAME PLACES WHERE THEY HAD APPEARED IN THE ORIGINAL TAPPED-OUT GAME.
"Lisa appeared seconds after me. The only thing we had at that point was the house."
SHE WILL SHOW UP EVENTUALLY. TRY A LIBRARY OR THE SCHOOL.
"Ok, ok. Keep your pants on." Homer looked around the park one more time then started walking off the park grounds to the street. He stepped off the curb and took a moment to look up and down the street. Across from him was what looked like fancy stores he vaguely recognized. At the end of one side was the daycare he recognized as the one he wanted Maggie to be enrolled in. At the other, he could see the airport and more stores. He had seen a Kwik E Mart in that area, so he headed there first.
The Kwik E Mart was tucked behind some other stores but seemed to be open. Homer hurried around the side of the building to approach the entrance. The glass doors slid open, blasting him with cool air and the familiar smell of a convenience store. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was standing behind the counter as usual, checking the hotdogs in his rollers display case.
"Hey Apu." Homer greeted the store owner, going over to the counter. "Back at the old Kwik-E-Mart, eh?"
"Of course, Mr. Simpson." Apu quickly moved over to the cash register, looking expectantly. "I've been away from this store too long. What can I do for you today?"
"Uhh...do you have any Duff beer?"
"I had just finished going over the inventory and confirmed that they are there."
"Ok." Homer went to back of the store where the coolers were. He opened a door and grabbed a free can, pleased to find that they were nice and cold. He returned to the cash register but stopped short.
"Hands up, Apu!" Snake Jailbird was pointing a gun at the store owner, apparently wasting no time in getting back to his misdeeds. Apu gamely put up his hands but looked nonchalant.
"Yes, yes, it's wonderful to see you again, Mr. Snake, but I'm afraid I don't have any money for you to rob me of."
Snake lowered his gun a little. "Really? Dude, did the programmers send this world out with glitches too?"
"Apparently so. Mr. Simpson here was about to be my first customer."
"Ok." Snake looked at Homer expectedly. Homer stared back, wondering if he should try and run for it. Snake's eyes narrowed and he gestured at Homer to check out. Homer reluctantly stepped up to the cash register and set the beer on the counter.
"Can I have a hotdog as well?" he asked, pulling out his wallet. Apu nodded and rang both items up. He picked up a set of tongs to grab Homer's hotdog and put it into a bun before handing it to Homer.
"Would you like a bag for these, Mr. Simpson?"
"No, thanks." He handed Apu the ten-dollar bill he found in his wallet.
Apu reflexively opened his cashier and tucked the ten into its slot. He pulled out a pen and paper from under the counter and wrote an IOU for the remaining amount to Homer. "Take this and come back anytime to redeem it, as long as it is used before the end of the month." Homer took the piece of paper as Apu shut the cash register. "Thank you, come again."
"And I'll be taking that ten." Snake said, pushing Homer aside to resume robbing Apu. Homer quickly went over to the condiments to dress up his hotdog while Apu reopened his cash register and handed over the ten-dollar bill. Snake snatched it out of Apu's hand and backed away towards the entrance.
"Ho-ho, I'll be back with your change!" he dashed to his hot rod and took off. Apu went back to cleaning the counter while Homer left the convenience store.
It was warmer outside the store with a small breeze. Homer took a moment to eat his hotdog and drink his Duff before restarting towards Moe's.
The corporate buildings were still empty, but he spotted a truck coming towards him. It parked on the street and burly men jumped out. They began unloading the back of the truck as Homer walked by.
The monorail hadn't been programmed in place yet. The Mapple HQ had a swimmer with an air tank in the fish tank, feeding the fishes as Homer walked by. Homer stopped to give him a wave and received one back. He continued down the road, turning at the futuristic houses on the riverfront to get on the road that crossed the river. From there he turned into the little Italian neighborhood of Grand Canal apartments to Moe's Tavern.