A/N: This is the sequel to "Connections." If you haven't read that story yet, you probably won't understand some things in this story. I recommend reading that one first. Though I'm continuing the story where "Connections" left off, there might be a few discontinuities, but I'll try my best to keep everything tied together. But I also hold the right to change things as needed in this story.
For those who don't know (or forgot), I will be playing the "phrase game" in this story. I basically hide a phrase relating to something or someone famous and put it in the chapter for people to find. I give hints, don't worry, which will come at the end of the chapter, and the answer will come in the next chapter.
And I'm saving all disclaimers until the credits chapter, but you should know who owns what. But I will claim Hannah's name, her parents, Litwak's first name, and all OCs. And the archiving code is mine. If you want to use it, ask me first. Oh, and an "arcadian" is someone who lives inside the arcade.
Hannah pedals harder, hoping to get to Litwak's Family Fun Center before it opens for the day. She rounds a corner and sees the arcade up ahead - with a black car in the parking lot parked far away from the other cars. A black car? Mr. Litwak doesn't own a black car, neither do any of the employees. And it's too early for any customers to be here. Why is that car farther away than the others? A game's not being taken away, is it? The thought makes her pedal even harder, screeching loudly to a stop at the bike rack. She nearly drops her bike lock as she rushes to take it out and lock up her bike, but finally it's done, and she hurries to the glass door, cups her hands around her eyes to see better inside. All the games are where they should be. So if the black car's not here for a game, then why is it here?
Something moves out of the corner of her eye. Hannah looks over at the consoles for Sugar Rush. Where the logo should be on one of the consoles is instead Vanellope von Schweetz with her face up against the screen. Her hazel eyes light up when she sees Hannah, and she points towards Litwak's office. Hannah moves, trying to see in that direction. The racer hurries away from the screen and the logo for Sugar Rush appears again. Hannah can kind of see a door open and two figures walking out - one of them Mr. Litwak!
He smiles when he sees her and goes over to the door. "Hey, Hannah," he says when he opens the door. "Come on in. How long have you been here?"
"A few minutes," she says, stepping eagerly inside.
"Sorry about that. I was just talking to-"
"You're letting in a minor," the other person interrupts, "without any other adults around?" Hannah thinks this other person looks like a stereotypical businessman: pristine black suit, a few small wrinkles around his gray eyes, and smoothed-back dark hair graying on the sides. He bends closer to Hannah, inspecting her as if she were an insect. "Do you often come by yourself?"
Already she doesn't like this guy. "Yeah, I bike here straight from school on weekdays and first thing on Saturdays."
The businessman straightens and clicks his pen, scribbling something down in a notebook he's carrying. "Do you work here?"
Still doesn't like him. "No."
He jots something else down. "And do your parents know where you are?"
"Of course they do."
Another jot.
"Mister Litwak," one of the employees says, coming from the back room. "We fixed the problem with the oven in the kitchen."
"Good job, Jason," Litwak says. After the boy leaves, he turns to the businessman and says, "If that's all you came down here to do, you may go. I have some work to do before the customers arrive."
He and the businessman glare at each other before the latter says, "Very well. You'll be hearing from us shortly."
Hannah waits until the businessman strides out the door and is halfway to the black car before asking, "Who was that guy?"
"Oh, don't you worry about him, sweetheart," he tells her, hands on his hips as he stares out the window at the man. "He's just trying to scare us."
"So, he's not here to take any games away?"
"No, nothing like that. He just asked me some questions about the arcade, how it was running, how much money was I making. Though he did mention the 'glitch' from last month." Both of them remember how the "glitch" (which they found out later to be King Turbug) had stolen a racer during game hours and had almost put Sugar Rush out of order for good. Joe had come by the next day to take the game away, but he let them keep it. Mr. Litwak and Hannah had learned the truth about the "glitch" later that day, but they are the only two gamers who know what really happened that day. "Turns out," Litwak continues, "that the company that takes the games away is somehow connected to the company that makes the games."
"Really?"
"Yep. Oh, by the way," he says, shifting his weight and resting his hands on his hips, "your parents called me shortly before the businessman showed up."
Hannah grimaces. "They did?"
Litwak continues, "They said they want you home by dinner. There's something they want to talk to you about."
"It's not about me coming to the arcade, is it?"
Litwak gazes sadly at the teen. He knows how much she loves the games - but he also knows how her parents are. "They didn't say," he tells her. "Only that you had to be home by that time."
"Then you'll have to hurry up and play with us!" a familiar voice says.
Both gamers turn and smile at the Sugar Rush consoles, specifically the one without the logo. Hannah rushes over and slides into the seat. "Hi, guys!"
Everyone in the game grins back. "Hi, Hannah!"
"How was school this week?" Candy asks.
Sometimes he acts like my dad, Hannah thinks. But she replies, "Same as ever."
"Hey, Hannah!" Tori says, hopping up and down with excitement. "For the first time in forever, I came in first in the Random Roster Race!"
Hannah beams. Tori is the only racer who hadn't come in first place in the Roster Race before; all the others had gotten that achievement within the first seven years of the game. "Congrats, Tori!"
"We're all happy for her," Sticky says, hugging her recolor twin and giving a huge smile.
"Oh, and be careful of Cakeway," Taffyta says, playing with her lollipop. "Candlehead accidentally set off a few of the cherry bombs." Everyone stares at the suddenly-sheepish cake-themed racer.
"Thanks for that."
Litwak continues watching their conversation for a while. He's proud of Hannah breaking out of her shy shell - true, she's talking to arcadians, but at least she's talking to someone. After a minute, he turns and enters his office, his grin fading. Litwak didn't show it, but that meeting with the businessman kind of scared him. The visits are becoming more frequent, and it's always that same businessman. Nothing's going to happen to his arcade, is it?
And then the businessman had said that if any glitch of the sort were to happen again, his arcade could be shut down. What would happen to the arcadians then? He's not sure what will happen to them when the outlet extension is unplugged, but he doesn't want to find out.
Litwak plops into his swivel seat with a sigh. If only my nana were here, he thinks sadly. He rests his chin in one hand as he reaches out with the other and grabs the picture frame on his desk, bringing it closer to his face. It's a picture of him and his nana when the arcade first opened. Litwak couldn't look any happier, and his nana couldn't look any prouder. They hadn't had much money, but she had told him right before he put the keys in the keyhole that as long as she was alive, she would help him keep the arcade.
But this picture is more than thirty years old. Nana had died a couple decades ago, and the anniversary of her death is coming up. "What would she do now?" he wonders aloud.
Finally! The arcade opens! Hannah had already finished talking to all the arcadians and stepped back outside when a couple kids started showing up. They asked her if she got to be let in early, and she told them she just had to use the bathroom. She doesn't want herself - or Mr. Litwak - to get in trouble, so she waited outside with everyone. Litwak slyly winks at her as he opens the doors. She darts for Sugar Rush and puts in two coins eagerly, grabbing the wheel.
"Chews your racer!"
Usually, Hannah picks Vanellope, since she's her favorite racer, but right now, she chooses Tori, as a congratulatory gift. "Batter watch out!" the racer cheers, doing her signature pose of crossing her arms and tilting her head down with a mischievous look. The game starts as normal, and Hannah comes in second. Not bad, considering it was a close tie with Vanellope. Hannah goes from game to game, either beating them again or coming very close. (She's a very good player.) The last game for today is Hero's Duty, so she heads over there - only to stop short when she sees someone already there. Though he's not playing it, really, he's just standing there staring at the screen. Hannah carefully approaches him, and says, "Uh, hello, sir? Are you playing that?"
The old man turns to see her. "Oh, no, miss, I was just looking at..." His voice trails as he stares once more at the screen.
She gives the man a doubtful look. "Hey, if you're busy, I can come back later-"
"No, no, it's alright." He shakes his head clear and pulls his blue sweater around him tighter. "It's just that this game reminds me of...something from my old home."
"Oh." Hannah watches the demo that's playing on an endless loop. It is rather horrific and violent. "Was it some kind of war?" she blurts out. Immediately, she feels ashamed asking that.
The older man doesn't seem to notice, continues staring at the screen. "I promised them I'd find help. I left them all behind."
Hannah looks the guy over: on the shorter side, balding hair with a comb-over, wearing a blue sweater, gray shirt, dark blue pants, and black shoes. He's got black-framed glasses, and he seems to be in his sixties or seventies. He doesn't seem like a soldier, she thinks, but you shouldn't judge on appearances, right? "I'm sorry about that, sir," she says.
"It's been many years," he mutters. "I wonder if..." He snaps back into reality again and looks at Hannah. "I'm sorry. You probably think I'm an old kook, right?"
"Um..." Is this the time to be honest or polite?
He just smiles and says, "It's alright. I don't think I could've helped going a little cuckoo. Amelia used to tell me so." His small smile disappears. "I miss her. She's been dead for a couple decades now."
"Hey! Look who's back!" Mr. Litwak says, coming up to the two, a big smile on his face.
The other man also lights up, and the two hug. "Larry! I haven't seen you in years!"
"You guys know each other?" Hannah asks, glancing from one old kook to the other.
Litwak explains, "We met before I opened my arcade, though we've lost touch over the past few years."
His friend frowns. "I meant to talk to you-"
"Don't worry about it. Just stay for a while and play some games. Hey!" he suddenly shouts, going over to the basketball dunking game where some of the kids are taking the balls out and throwing them around.
The old man chuckles. "If only Amelia could see him now."
Hannah makes a confused face. "Who's Amelia?"
"His nana. She used to get on Larry's case for..." His voice trails off, and he's staring at something. Hannah follows the path of his gaze until she sees... "Kingdom Hearts," the man breathes. "When did that get here?"
"Four or five months ago," Hannah says. "I remember it was such a popular game when it first came out. Still is kinda."
He mutters something under his breath.
"What was that, sir?"
He starts, as if forgetting for a moment that she was there. "I'm sorry," he says, heading for the door. "I have to go. Tell Litwak I'll be in touch with him!" Just like that, he leaves.
"Who was that old kook?" Hannah asks aloud to no one in particular. She shrugs and turns towards Hero's Duty - only to find the game bullies are already there. "Oh, great. Now, what am I supposed to do?"
The "old kook" paces at the bus stop. He's been watching the arcade - mainly the parking lot - for the past couple of months now, and he noticed the businessman was coming more often. Of course, he won't be allowed back at the company, but he had to know how far along they were in the "game timeline." He knew that they'd been planning for Kingdom Hearts to be one of the last games there, and when that blonde girl told him it had been there a few months, it nearly sent him into a panic. Time is running out. He has to do something, and do it soon.
If only Amelia were still alive, he thinks. Amelia was one of the first people he met when he came here. She'd known how to handle those people, and she would know what to do now. She never told Litwak anything while she was still alive - he's not even sure if he should tell Litwak everything yet. If he can just find a way to change the system...
He stops pacing, thinking about the blonde girl. He had walked by the arcade earlier and noticed she had been talking to a game - as if the people on the other side of the screen could hear her. She was so deep in conversation she never noticed him, but nevertheless he hurried away before the businessman or Litwak or anyone else could spot him. That scene plays over and over in his mind. Does she know the truth, then? Could she maybe help?
The bus pulls up at that minute and opens the doors. He steps on and plops down in a seat near the front. If that girl does know, he thinks, that those games are alive...maybe she can help after all.
A/N: Hope you guys liked the first chapter!
Besides this story, I am working on other stories, too, and will not update as often as I'd like to. I will try to post a chapter a month, but it may take 4-8 weeks for me to post the next chapter. Sorry if you guys don't like waiting, but I want to make sure I have a chance to work on all my stories and take care of my busy schedule.
Second, I'm changing the hours of Litwak's Arcade for the story, only because I couldn't find a way to fit in the story with the hours it had already. So just assume that during the week, the arcade doesn't open until after school, like, say, 3ish and goes until later in the night, like around 10.
And now, to kick off the phrase game! For this chapter's phrase, the hint is: something relating to a song from Frozen. You can leave your guesses in comments, and I'll reveal the next chapter what the phrase was and who got it right. And if you have any suggestions for future phrases, let me know either by comment or PM. Good luck everyone!
Oh, and fun fact: this day last year, I posted "Connections." How about that? :)