"So basically, Darkstalkers is what you would get if you combined Street Fighter and the Universal Monsters." Lionel explained to Cherry as they, along with Atticus, Mo and Patch were on their way to Litwak's Arcade.
"I see..." Cherry replied. "Maybe I'll check it out sometime. Maybe Litwak has it... I dunno."
"Probably," Atticus replied. "Maybe he got it while we were away!"
"It has been a while since we last came here," Cherry said. "I'm sure it'll be interesting, especially since Taffyta's being a nice girl to Vanellope now."
"Is that the place?" Furrball asked, pointing to a small building nestled within a mini-mall.
Cherry and Atticus took a look together.
"This is it," Cherry said. "Litwak's Arcade... Doesn't seem as lively as I remember..."
"Let's go check the place out," suggested Mo. "Maybe we can find out why that is?"
They soon walked up to the front door, looking inside the arcade as it seemed to be empty. Cherry makes a dark joke in 3... 2... 1...
"It's as empty as Brony Con once G4 ends." Cherry commented.
Lionel snickered at that. The joke wasn't very dark, but it WAS pretty funny.
"Heh..." Atticus let out a weak laugh. "I guess they're not even open?"
"Depends," Lionel replied. "What time does it open?"
"On weekdays, usually 3:30, but on weekends, normally 11:00." Atticus replied.
"So is today a weekend or a weekday?" Lionel asked. "And if so, what's the current time?"
"Well, it's the weekend, but... It's 3:00... And no one's here..." Atticus said.
"I should've known," Cherry glared. "Kids are playing on their phones nowadays. They don't need video game arcades anymore."
"Boy, that reeks..." Lionel sighed as he slumped onto the pavement. "And I was looking forward to this, too..."
"I'm sorry, Lionel." Mo frowned.
Cherry began to look for a way to sneak inside the arcade while the others were talking.
"It's fine, guys," Lionel replied. "It isn't your fault."
"Hmm... I wonder if there's a breaking into a video game arcade spell..." Cherry smirked to herself, checking her spell book.
"You sure that's not illegal?" Furrball asked curiously.
"Oh, what could happen?" Cherry replied.
The owner sighed as he came to go home until he soon saw the group outside.
"Mr. Litwak!" Atticus smiled.
"Kids...?" Mr. Litwak smiled back. "Oh, it's been a while since any kid's come here for a visit."
"I see," Lionel replied. "I was almost thinking nobody was gonna show up. Been looking forward to this for awhile."
"Well, I suppose ya could come in," Mr. Litwak smiled to them. "Seems like you kids are all into your phones or tablets, whatever you call them with apps."
"Maybe you could find some way to draw them in," Lionel suggested. "Kids are always wandering about with their mobile devices, so why not set up a wi-fi hotspot at the arcade? That way, they would HAVE to come in, and maybe play some games."
"Speaking of games, does this place have Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors?" Mo added on.
Mr. Litwak gave what Lionel said to some thought before looking to Mo about her question. "I think that's by Hero's Duty with the more mature games for the older players." he then told her.
"Alrighty then," Mo smiled. "Thanks!"
"No problem," Mr. Litwak smiled back. "You all might as well come in. I'd love the company. I mean, I've been doing this job so long, it's like I have my own little family."
"Well...okay then!" Lionel replied as he went gleefully inside.
Cherry fell from one of the back doors, ending up inside of the arcade.
"Cherry, we found a way in." Atticus said.
"Great..." Cherry said, looking up to them. "Uh... Do you think the Council will turn me into a cat just for making my friends happy so we could come into the arcade?"
"Course not," Lionel replied, pulling her to her feet. "Besides, even if they did, I'd still love you regardless!"
"Oh... Thank you..." Cherry said. "I guess we can play some games now. I'm not sure what happened though that had me and Atticus in Game Central Station after our first adventure though."
"Good question," Lionel replied. "But how would we go getting in there this time around?"
"Probably magic." Cherry rolled her eyes mystically.
"Maybe...if I can do it..." Lionel pondered.
Mr. Litwak smiled as he turned on the lights and the games for them since they were staying for the day. So each of the group went to an arcade cabinet and started playing. Mr. Litwak smiled to them before he went to make a phone call, thinking about the suggestion Lionel gave to him.
"So this is an arcade..." Lionel remarked. "It's...amazing."
"I thought you might like it." Atticus smiled, playing with the Street Fighter game.
"Looks like we're safe from an adventure for a while." Cherry smirked to herself, coming up to the Mortal Kombat game.
"I guess so," Lionel replied. "It's pretty great just getting to hang out with my friends without some kind of random emergency coming up."
Cherry chuckled while she began to play her favorite arcade game. Mo soon went to check out the game that Lionel told them about, deciding to give it a try.
"Darkstalkers: The Night Warriors," Lionel read. "Alright, let's give it a shot!"
"Yeah, let's check this out!" Mo smiled to him as she put in her quarter.
The game started, and the select fighter screen appeared.
Lionel pondered. "I think I'll choose...Lord Raptor!" he remarked, choosing the skeletal being with an electric guitar.
"He looks cool," Mo smiled to Lionel. "Hmm... As for me, I think I like this Bonnie Hood girl."
"Interesting choice," Lionel nodded. "Now let's go for it!"
Mo nodded back with a smile as they began to play together on the same game. Lionel was a bit confused by the controls, but he soon got the hang of it. It seemed to be a fun time at the arcade for all of them.
Eventually, the afternoon gave way to the evening, and that gave way to the night. Atticus, Cherry, Mo, Patch, and Lionel panted from the excitement of the video game arcade.
"Well, not a lot of kids showed up, but maybe they will soon..." Cherry said tiredly. "I'm glad I had this video game break."
"Maybe we should go inside the games for a visit..." Atticus said. "Who wants to use a little magic?"
"Sounds like a plan." replied Lionel.
"Mo? Cherry?" Atticus called.
"All right, all right..." Cherry said. "As long as Mr. Litwak isn't watching."
Lionel looked around. "I don't see him...must be in his office." he replied.
"All right..." Cherry said before standing up. "Let's go then."
They all then used their magic together before they were soon sent in the video game cabinet they stood in front of the game called Xandir Wifflebottom: The Video Game Hero Adventurer Guy.
They then came out into the video game world, designed differently to fit the theme of the world they ended up in and soon left the game, seeing Game Central Station with many video game characters interacting with each other since they were done for the day.
"I spy with my little eye, something yellow, and round, and it eats dots." One voice was heard on the other side.
Lionel pondered. "PAC-Man, right?"
"No, that's not ob-Wait, who are you?" Ralph asked.
"A friend of ours," Cherry said. "Hey, Ralph. Hey, Vanellope."
"Guys!" Vanellope smiled before hugging Cherry and Atticus.
"Guess you really missed us, huh?" Atticus asked.
"Yeah," Vanellope said. "I wish you could stay in Game Central Station forever."
"That'd be nice, Vanny, but you know we can't," Cherry replied. "Meet our friend, Lionel."
"Nice to meet'cha." Lionel waved.
"Well, I'm President Vanellope von Schweetz, and this here's my buddy, Wreck-it-Ralph." Vanellope smirked.
"A kid President? Not bad!" Lionel replied. "Kyle Massey would be proud!"
"...Who?" Vanellope asked.
"Is that a new video game?" Ralph asked.
"It was a TV Show for... A while..." Cherry said to them. "...I used to watch it... Like, it was on one minute, then it was cancelled suddenly."
"Long story short: it existed, and then it didn't." Lionel replied.
"Your friend sure is interesting." Vanellope said as she ate a burger.
"More interesting than you know." Cherry replied.
"What're you guys doing?" Atticus asked.
"Ah, just hanging out," Vanellope said. "You're welcome to join us."
"Sounds like fun," Lionel replied. "Lead the way!"
They soon went to hang out inside Game Central Station, eating some snacks. A giant cherry from PAC-Man for Ralph and a cheeseburger for Vanellope as everyone else got their own snack to go along with hanging out with friends.
"Riddle me this," Vanellope said before looking to Zangief as he talked with Chun-Li. "Do you or do you not think that Zangief waxes?"
"No way, look at the guy," Ralph laughed. "He looks like a yeti!"
"Nah, yetis got white hair," Lord Raptor interrupted. "Looks more like a sasquatch t'me, mate."
"Lord Raptor from Lionel's game?" Cherry blinked. "Well, uh, hello there."
"Evenin', sheilas, dingoes," Lord Raptor remarked in his Aussie accent. "Anyone seen Morrigan? I was s'posed ta meet up with her here, at this time."
"Uh, I don't think so." Cherry said.
"I think I saw her talking with that Sonic the Hedgehog guy." Vanellope suggested.
"Right...the blue spikeball with the green eyes," Raptor noted as he left. "Thanks a heap, kid!"
"Sure thing." Vanellope said, waving goodbye to Lord Raptor.
Chun-Li and Zangief were soon walking off together.
"Guess we know where things are going with those two," Lionel replied. "Talk about unexpected..."
"I certainly didn't see it coming from my time with Chun-Li and Mystery Inc when we went to Japan," Cherry said. "Sorry you missed that one, Lionel, but you better not get jealous."
"Eh, it's fine," Lionel shrugged. "Most of the Scooby-Doo adventures are pretty much by-the-numbers by now, apart from the four films from 1998-2001. So I most likely didn't miss much."
"You guys wanna get a root beer?" Ralph suggested. "Tapper's a great bartender."
"Hmm...alright," Lionel replied. "Now see THIS is a pretty cool adventure so far. Totally unpredictable!"
They soon went to the bar-tending video game known as Tapper to get a drink.
"Okay, let's see what ya got, kid." Ralph smirked.
Vanellope soon took a drink and let out a big burp. Ralph got his drink, took a slug and let off an even bigger belch.
"Classy..." Cherry mumbled.
"Eww, gross!" Vanellope grimaced.
"Why, thank you," Ralph smirked. "Hey, wanna sneak into Tron?"
"Alright, sounds cool." Lionel replied.
"Doesn't that game have a virus?" Vanellope asked.
"No, I'm sure they've fixed it." Ralph smiled innocently.
"If we're lucky." Lionel replied.
They soon went to the video game Tron and went for a ride together. The boys went with Ralph while the girls went with Vanellope.
"I'm gonna beat my speed record!" Vanellope laughed as she accelerated.
"Hey! Wait for me!" Ralph called out as he accelerated next to her.
"Yeee-HAAA!" Lionel whooped as they sped along on their cycles.
They soon passed a sign that was like a wet floor sign that would be like on a bathroom floor. Suddenly, the cycles stopped, and they all seemed to glitch out.
"Guys...?" Vanellope said.
"Yeah?" The others replied.
"I don't think they fixed the game." Vanellope told them.
Lionel suddenly shot off his cycle and smacked into a hard surface. "Gee...you don't say..." he mumbled.
"Uh, no... Help! Tron?" Ralph cried out. "Anyone! Help!"
Luckily, they soon got out and were now in a football game.
"Do you realize we're basically just, like, zeroes and ones floating around like we are just tiny specks of dust?" Vanellope commented as they laid on the field together while Ralph tossed the football up and down in the air. "Like, doesn't the very nature of our existence make you wonder if there is more to life than this?"
"Why would I wonder if there is more to life when the life I got is perfect?" Ralph smiled to her. "I mean, sure, it doesn't look so hot on paper, I'm just a bad guy from some old video game who wrecks a building. Yeah, and for 27 years I was a total zero without any friends. But now I got a best friend who just happens to be the coolest kid in the whole arcade."
"Honestly, life is just what you make of it," Lionel replied. "The meaning of life is to find the best way to enjoy it."
Ralph and Vanellope both smiled to that.
"Hey, watch this," Ralph smirked as he soon pounded the football with his fist, sending it flying into one goal. "Home run!"
"That's baseball." Cherry told him.
"Ah, whatever," Ralph replied. "Let's go watch the sunrise."
"Cool." Lionel nodded.
"Ah, I forgot, time passes by differently here." Cherry said.
"You'll get used to it, Geeky." Vanellope smiled.
Cherry rolled her eyes as she went with the others.
"Are you really saying that there is not one single solitary thing about your life that you would change?" Vanellope asked Ralph.
"No. Think about it. You and me get to goof off all night long," Ralph replied. "Litwak shows up, we go to work, we put on the hours, then the arcade closes and we get to do it all over again! The only thing I might do different in that scenario would be not having to go to work. Other than that, I wouldn't change a thing."
"Well, sometimes people get bored with the status quo, while some are happy with it," replied Lionel. "And those who get bored...want to jazz things up a little."
Suddenly, it got very dark in Game Central Station.
"Hey, where'd the sunrise go?" Ralph asked.
They soon heard an alarm blare.
"Gaugh! What was that?!" Cherry flinched from the noise.
"That's a plug in alert!" Vanellope told the others. "Litwak hasn't plugged in a new game in forever! Let's go see what it is!"
"Looks like this could be what the place needs to draw in new patrons." Lionel replied.
Everyone soon gathered around to the room which would be in place for a new game.
"Yeah! Excuse us, excuse us," Ralph said, running into the crowd before coming to the two he knew the best. "Hey, Felix! Calhoun! What's getting plugged in?"
"Well, Ralph, Sonic thinks it's gonna be a new pinball machine," Felix replied. "What do you think, lady love?"
"I'll bet you a shiny nickel it's a blood pressure machine," Calhoun replied. "Kids love those things."
"I hope it's a new adventure game," Xandir said to his friend Link. "We could use a new guy to hang around at Tapper's with to go on quests to save our princess girlfriends."
"Eh, you know what they say," Link shrugged. "Two's company, but three's a crowd."
"Please be a racing game, please be a racing game, please be a racing game." Vanellope hoped.
Suddenly, a new room appeared by the name of WiFi.
"Whiffy? Or Wifey?" Ralph glanced over before shrugging. "Well, it's either whiffleball or an arranged marriage game."
"That says WiFi," replied Lionel. "Guess Mr. Litwak took my advice!"
"Yeah, that's what I said." Ralph said about the pronunciation.
"The kid's right," Sonic smiled. "And WiFi is the Internet which is an online community where human beings go to shop, play games, and socialize."
"Ooh! Fun!" Vanellope beamed.
"Well, I reckon I'm pretty curious about what it might hold..." Lionel replied, before morphing into a cartoon mobster. "I sez we check it out, see? Myah, see!"
"Oh, no, this is not fun!" The Surge Protector soon appeared to warn them all. "That sign right there says 'WiFi', what it should say is 'DieFi..." he then chuckled, but no one else laughed as he soon put out security tape to prevent any of them from going into the room. "That's a little humor there but seriously, the Internet is nothing to laugh at. It is new, it is different, and therefore we should fear it. So keep out, for Pete's sake, and get to work. The arcade's about to open."
Lionel snorted. "Nyah, what a killjoy, see? Nyah!" he remarked before changing back to his normal form. "Talk about bummer."
"I'm with ya!" Vanellope glared. "Finally get something new plugged in and we're not even allowed to go in there!"
"Totally not fair!" Ralph added.
"A new racing game would've been cool..." Vanellope whispered.
"Guess you gotta need for speed, kid," Lionel replied. "You used to be a racer before you started the whole presidential gig, right?"
"Oh, my game's all about racing," Vanellope told him. "I'm from Sugar Rush Speedway."
"Really?" Lionel replied. "Most awesome!"
"Something wrong with your game?" Ralph asked Vanellope.
"No, no. It's just every bonus levels been unlocked, I know every shortcut," Vanellope told him. "Man, I'd kill for even just a new track!"
"New tracks, hm?" Lionel asked. "I think I might be able to help with that..."
"Same three tracks gets boring, huh?" Mo guessed.
"You have no idea." Vanellope replied.
"I figure I can fix things up." replied Lionel with a smirk.
"Really?" Vanellope asked. "Is your game about building stuff or somethin'?"
"Oh, I don't have a game," Lionel replied. "Unless you count going on adventures and using my powers to help people."
"So, you're from the real world like Cherry and Atticus?" Ralph asked.
"Well, you could say that, yeah," Lionel nodded. "Same for Mo!"
"We've met," Mo smiled. "Hey, Vanellope. How's Rancis doing?"
"Oh... Uh... I wouldn't know..." Vanellope said nervously and bashfully. "I mean... He's cool, I guess...?"
"Alrighty then, let's go take a gander at this Sugar Rush," Lionel replied before poofing himself into a hard hat, overalls and tool belt with yellow boots. "Can I fix it?"
"Uh... Well... I suppose you could give it a try if you really wanna," Vanellope replied. "Probably after the arcade closes though, I gotta work right now."
"I'll take that as a yes, I can eventually!" Lionel shrugged. "Bob the Builder reference used...and sailed right over others' heads."
"Eh, sorry, I don't know this Bob the Builder guy." Vanellope shrugged.
"It's okay, Lionel, I got it." Cherry said from childhood memories.
"At least SOMEONE got it," Lionel shrugged. "Now let's get moving."
"Come on, let's get going." Atticus said.
Everyone soon went their own separate ways in Game Central Station as it was time or the video game characters to get to work.
"Wonder where we're headed?" Lionel pondered.
"Well, if you want, we can go back to hanging out in the arcade, or you could join us in our game based on our adventures," Atticus suggested. "We did that the first time we came to Litwak's and ended up in the video game world."
"You could get to know our adventures a little better too." Cherry added.
"Well...alrighty then!" Lionel replied. "Let's get digitized!"
Cherry and Atticus then led the way into their game which was based on their various adventures together.
"You guys have been everywhere." Mo said.
"Ah, I don't know about everywhere." Cherry shrugged.
"They've been a lot of places, sure," Lionel replied. "And I've...well, been to a handful of 'em. But there are even places that none of us have been to!"
"I wonder why you two were chosen?" Mo said.
"I ask myself that question every day I wake up." Cherry replied.
"Hey, I say the Universe couldn't have picked a better team!" Lionel replied, putting his arms around the others. "Besides, in a way...we're kinda like a family."
"I like to think of it like that too, Lionel." Mo smiled softly.
Atticus soon smiled back to Mo as their eyes seemed to sparkle to each other's.
"Yeah! You're like the good-natured yet hot-tempered mom, Atticus is the helpful, protective dad, and Patch is like an uncle of-sorts." Lionel replied.
"Ya hear that, Atticus?" Mo smirked. "I'm a mom and you're a dad."
"Uh, maybe someday we could play that out in reality." Atticus chuckled.
"For sure!" Lionel replied. "I could totally see that happening. You'd be great parents. I wonder if I'd be a great parent?"
"Well, I don't know if I even want children," Cherry said about herself. "You seem to hit it off with my niece though, especially when you do an impression of Elmo."
Lionel grinned at that. "Yeah, that was pretty funny," he replied. "Anyway...let's get into the game!"
They soon came into the game that was called 'The New Adventures of Cherry & Friends'. The kids soon came into the arcade to start playing which made Mr. Litwak happy to see them coming.
