Chapter Text
The cameras began to roll as a bird-eye’s view of an assorted number of set pieces were seen. After doing a few fly-bys, the camera finally stopped itself as it focused on a very strange character… a strange human wearing a silver mask and a black coat, crossing his arms and staring at the camera.
“Hello, fellow future competitors, and welcome to the first episode of the Squid Games.” The ‘game master’ said. “I am your host…”
The person slowly took off his mask and gave a slight cough as he shook his head, sticking his tongue out a bit. “Whoa, sorry. I think I need a lozenge. Anyway, hi there, everybody, and welcome, one and all to the Squid Games: X-Over Edition! I’m your host and game master, Orange Ratchet.”
The host walked around the area with a small smile on his face, the camera following him. “If you’re wondering why I’m dressed like this, well, this is exactly what the game master in Squid Games dressed like. What are the Squid Games, you ask? Based on the Netflix drama series of the same name, a few lucky contestants will have to go through a series of kids games… but if anybody loses at least one round of these games…”
Orange stopped short as he put the mask back on as the gravelly voice came back. “They will die…”
The host took the mask back off as he gave a grin. “Of course, this is going to be a… family friendly version of the game where nobody actually dies, BUT they will be eliminated IF they lose.”
“Before I go over the rules, though, let’s introduce our first nine volunteers, all of which were suggested by my friends and other interested people that I asked about characters. Of course, each character will come from a different franchise, but will be represented by their sponsor, the person that has suggested them. The winner will receive forty thousand dollars, that’s five thousand for each eliminated contestant, and the sponsor will receive site-wide bragging rights.” Orange grinned as he snapped his fingers. “Let’s get started…”
Contestant 1: Bucky Katt
Age: Unknown
Home Node: Get Fuzzy
Sponsor: Myself
A white furred Siamese cat with a black furred head, black paws, pink eyes and a buck tooth gave a smirk as he was standing on a stool, holding a ticket with a circle, triangle and square on them. “Yo, yo, yo, what is up, homies! Bucky B. Katt is in the house and he is ready to-”
Bucky stopped short as he paused. “Well, if I can be honest, I’m not even sure WHY I’m here. I just got this strange ticket Rob gave me, and the next thing I know, I just somehow arrived here.”
A strange hand appeared in front of Bucky, causing the cat to yelp, before the cat nervously handed the ticket over to the hand. The hand retracted for a moment before coming back with a tag number, Bucky taking it. The Siamese cat looked at it rather curiously, the tag reading ‘001’.
Contestant 2: Futaba Sakura
Age: 16
Home Node: Persona 5
Sponsor: Tinyhammer
A brown eyed, orange haired girl wearing glasses, a white top with a red splatter logo with five white asterisks over a black tank top, a green jacket, high black socks and black boots gave a small smile to the camera. “I’ve heard about the concept of the Squid Games for a while, and I know my friends and I have been investigating why someone would hold some sort of killing game like this. But so far, it seems there’s no harm in these games, from what I can tell, so I want to see where these games stand in comparison to the other worlds’. My name is Futaba Sakura, and I’m here to crack the code at these child games!”
Giving a swift nod, she handed her ticket over to the person behind the camera as she got her number ‘002’.
Contestant 3: Marcy Wu
Age: 13
Home Node: Amphibia
Sponsor: Indigo81
The Chinese-American girl in black hair wearing her Amphibia outfit, minus her crossbow, couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy as she looked around. “I’m Marcy Wu, and my adventures in Amphibia have certainly taught me plenty of experience in order to come here. I’m hoping to win the money, not just for me, but for my friends, Anne and Sasha, who both suggested I come out here. This one’s for you guys!”
Taking a deep breath of confidence, she handed her ticket over to the cameraman, exchanging it for her number as she showed it to the camera. “Number three!”
Contestant 4: Luxord
Age: Unknown
Home Node: Kingdom Hearts
Sponsor: Badork11
Giving a chuckle, the blond haired nobody with a beard smirked. “I am Luxord, and when I first watched the Squid Games, I have to admit, the idea intrigued me. A series of children’s games with life or death consequences, with money on the line? This is a gambler’s dream come true. Of course, I am disappointed there’s no death in this version, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have a good time, right? I intend to go all the way.”
With that, Luxord handed over his ticket to the hand as the hand gave him his number as Luxord showed it to the camera as ‘004’.
Contestant 5: Supergirl/Kara In-Ze
Age: 21
Home Node: Superman: The Animated Series
Sponsor: RobotNinjaHero
The blonde haired superheroine in the white crop top with the red S logo and blue skirt gave a sweet smile. “Hi, I’m Supergirl from Metropolis, and I came here to show that while my cousin Superman may be one of the biggest names when it comes to saving the world, I’m also quite capable of saving the world in my own way, and if I have to compete in a few children’s games to get where I am, even without my powers, then so be it!”
Letting loose a sigh, Supergirl handed over the ticket to the hand, exchanging it for her number, which she showed to the camera while flashing an innocent grin on her face.
Contestant 6: Fred Fredburger
Age: Unknown
Home Node: The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy
Sponsor: GDog90
A short green elephant demon like creature was humming to himself before looking up and noting the camera in front of him. “Oh! Hello! My name is, uh, Fred Fredburger, and I can spell my name really good! F… R… E… D… F… R… E… D… B… U… R… G… E… R! Fred Fredburger, yes! And I can stuff my trunk into my mouth, like so!”
The elephant demon then used his hands to put his trunk in his mouth as the elephant demon tried to speak with it in its mouth, only to be unintelligible. Eventually, the hand just swiped the ticket the elephant was holding and exchanged it for his number, ‘006’.
Contestant 7: Pippi Longstocking
Age: 9
Home Node: Pippi Longstocking
Sponsor: Pre-AnimationMan
The youngest girl in the competition with red hair done up in two ponytails, and wearing quite a mismatched outfit of a blue vest with a yellow patch over a red shirt, with mismatched high knee socks and blue shoes giggled as she gave a wave. “I’m Pippi and even though I’m a little new to the Squid Games…” She paused. “And from what I heard from the adults, it sounded like a not fun experience…” She gave a grin. “I’m here to put in the fun in the Squid Games! I’m a child, it’s a series of children’s games, it makes sense in the long run. Also, having a little extra money in addition to the treasure would be nice.”
With a nod, Pippi handed her ticket over to the cameraman as she got her number. She flashed a smile as she showed it on screen, being ‘007’.
Contestant 8: Ice Bear
Age: 27
Home Node: We Bare Bears
Sponsor: DrawingShinobi
A white adult polar bear looked up to the camera as he gave a few simple words. “Ice Bear will demolish the competition.”
Short, sweet and to the point, Ice Bear handed the ticket over to the cameraperson as he got his number, showing it to the camera as ‘008’.
Contestant 9: Kisshu Ikisatashi
Age: 13
Home Node: Tokyo Mew Mew
Sponsor: BrokenDark13
The green haired alien with elf ears, wearing his brown V-neck shirt over a black shirt that exposed his stomach, short black baggy pants with a brown loincloth, bandages wrapped around his wrists and legs, along with red boots, gave a small smirk on his face. “Hello, humans! I’m Kisshu, and boy, am I going to have a bit of fun with this! Being from another world, Pai and Taruto managed to convince me to participate in these games, and you know, I think I can do this!” He paused. “Of course, the hosts have told me in advance that I’m not allowed to use my powers or float in order to give everyone a fighting chance, but hey, if that’s the price I have to pay, so be it.”
Grinning, he handed the ticket over to the cameraman, who exchanged it for his number, showing it off as ‘009’. Kisshu smirked. “Yeah, I’ve got this.”
The camera went back to Orange as he was ready to put the mask back on. “Well, that’s all nine contestants. In a couple moments, they will walk right out the door, each of them wearing the same uniform that is required for all the Squid Games. Before I introduce them, why don’t I introduce you to my own entourage?"
Orange snapped his fingers as the doors opened. A few characters wearing pink jumpsuits and masks with an assorted number of shapes (Square, Triangle and Circle) as they came and stood in formation.
“They are what I like to call the Playstation Guards! I mean, look at the symbols! Except for the X, these symbols are basically what you see on a Playstation controller!” Orange chuckled. “But in all seriousness, they’re here to make sure the games go fair. The ones with the square masks are the managers and the game planners. The ones with the circle masks are workers. And the ones with triangle masks are the rule enforcers to make sure people follow the rules… because if they don’t follow the rules, they will be shot.”
The ones with the triangle masks held their guns as Orange winked. “No worries. These are all Nerf guns.”
Orange once again snapped his fingers as most of the soldiers broke off to their respective places, with the triangle mask figures being visible before Orange gave a nod. “And now, it’s time…”
With that, Orange lifted down the mask as he said in his gravelly voice. “From here on in, just call me… the Game Master. Bring out our contestants for the first round.”
With that, the front door began to open as the masked figure turned to see all nine contestants walking out to the open field, all of them wearing the same green jumpsuits with their number attached and three pink hearts on their left side. Pretty soon, each of them lined up in the numerical order as they seemed rather intimidated by the presence of the Game Master in front of them.
“Greetings to all of you. And welcome to the Squid Games. In just a few minutes, we will begin our first round, but before we go any further, you probably have some questions you’d like answered, particularly, about how the games work and what the hearts in your jumpsuits are for.” The Game Master said as most everyone gave a nod.
“Very well. The Squid Games is a show where you have to compete in a few rounds of children’s games, normally six rounds, depending on the number of contestants left. The rules are simple, really. Follow the instructions with each children’s game provided, because if you don’t, my assistants here will make sure you will be… eliminated…”
The nine contestants looked over, with a few giving audible gulps as the triangle masked figures held their Nerf guns. Supergirl frowned as she turned towards the Game Master with a frown. The Game Master could only chuckle. “You have nothing to fret or worry about, my friends. You won’t die in these games, but when you feel the Nerf gun hitting you, you are to not move for the rest of the round. Normally, when you get Nerf gunned, you’re out of the game, however, because of the short number of players, I’m modifying the rules a bit…”
The others looked down at the jumpsuits as they knew the hearts on them were next. “The hearts that are right on your jumpsuits indicate the number of lives you have. You all are starting with three lives. If you lose a life, you cannot compete in the rest of the games and have to remain motionless for the rest of the round. If you lose all three lives, you are out of the game. However, with each eliminated contestant, five thousand dollars will go into the pot. So the last one standing will get the cash prize of forty thousand dollars. Sounds good enough?”
Everyone looked at each other as they gave a nod, Bucky smirking as he seemed a little greedy.
“Before we begin, I’d like to establish a few things. First, to Supergirl and Kisshu, as a reminder, you guys are not allowed to use your powers. So no flying, no teleportation, no summoning your Dragon Swords, no laser eyes, and so on and so forth.”
Kisshu laughed a bit. “I wasn’t surprised about this. Don’t worry, I wasn’t planning on that.”
“Yeah, it would be nice, but I can understand the reasoning why.” Supergirl shrugged.
“Thank you.” The Game Master nodded as he then turned to Luxord. “Luxord, I know what you’re like in your series, but I would like to make sure… no using your cards to get ahead.”
Luxord could only give a chuckle. “I may be a gambler, but I’m not stupid. I left the cards back home.”
The Game Master gave a nod as he looked over the others. “Now, before we go to our first round, does anybody have a question for me? Anyone?”
The others looked at each other, but kept quiet otherwise… except for one character, who had his hand raised as he gave a loud ‘ooo, ooo, ooo, hey, hey, hey!’.
The Game Master sighed as he turned to the one doing all of this. “Yes, Fred?”
Fred Fredburger gave a small grin. “Uh, do you know where I can find some nachos?”
Everyone looked at the elephant demon bewildered as the Game Master gave a sigh. “We don’t have nachos… and before you ask, we will be serving some food during the breaks… just hang tight.”
“Awww, but I’m hungry.” Fred complained.
The Game Master could only give a sigh as he said to himself, “We have a long way to go… all right, follow me and we’ll start on our first game… “Red Light, Green Light”..."
The nine contestants followed the Game Master as they went forward to the first obstacle, where much to the nine people’s curiosity, the first thing they noticed was the large doll standing near the end of a wall.