Hello, readers! Wreck-It Ralph is one of my all-time favorite movies (due to the fact that I'm a huge fan of video games), so I thought I'd try my hand at a fic. Enjoy!

This goes without saying, but I don't own Wreck-It Ralph, Sonic the Hedgehog, or any other video game/video game series/console/etc. used or mentioned in this fic. They belong to their respective owners. Please don't sue me; I have no money anyway.

Prologue

"Mr. Litwak, hi!"

At the sound of the childish voice, the middle-aged arcade owner spun around to face its owner; a little girl of six years. She wore a simple pink T-shirt, blue shorts, and white tennis shoes. Her shoulder-length reddish-brown hair was pulled back by a matching pink headband with a small glittery flower. Around the child's neck was a rather long chain of small, earth-colored stones, ranging from a gold color to dark brown; at the base of the chain was a large stone of genuine amber.

"Hey there, Amber!" the man crowed enthusiastically, ruffling the child's hair. "How's my favorite little customer?"

"Great," she giggled as she gestured to the people behind her, a teenage boy and girl. The boy had messy blonde hair and wore a white shirt with loose blue sleeve that draped down to his elbows, jeans that sagged a little, and black tennis shoes. The girl wore glasses, a white T-shirt with a pink flower in the middle, jeans, and white slip-on shoes. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Neither teen resembled Amber in the slightest. "Stacy and Jeremy brought me here to play!"

"Well, then get to it, girl!"

The child chirped excitedly and dashed off to her usual favorite: Sonic the Fighters. Amber loved to play many games in Litwak's arcade, but Sonic had always been her favorite. Ever since Jeremy had gotten his Sega Genesis for Christmas all those years ago, Amber had loved watching him play Sonic. Sometimes he even let her play it for herself. She wasn't very good at it, but that didn't stop Amber from enjoying herself. In fact, Jeremy was the one who had gotten her into video games in the first place; even before the Sega Genesis, Amber loved watching him play many games at the arcade, sometimes he would let her play with him if multiplayer was available.

Speaking of Jeremy, Amber's teenage brother's attention was seized when he heard Litwak speaking to him.

"Jeremy, Stacy, you're both looking well yourselves."

The boy turned back as his twin sister spoke up for them. "Yes, Mr. Litwak, we're doing fine. How's your nana?"

"Not well, I'm afraid. She put her keys in the refrigerator again; if she can't get some help soon, we may have to put her in a home." Shaking off his sadness for the sake of his first customers of the day, Litwak smiled again. "Going well otherwise. Why don't you kids have some fun, too?"

"Yeah, I've been waiting all week to play me some Fix-It Felix Jr.!" Jeremy nodded, rushing off to the console on the other end of the room. When the boy rushed off, quarters jingling in his pocket, Stacy lingered behind, watching her sister. Amber had recently begun complaining that the other children in her first grade class were being mean to her. It was probably just normal teasing, but lately the girl hadn't been her usual chipper self. Only when she came to the arcade did the Amber Stacy knew return. Sometimes she would come home from school with bruises on her body, but Stacy didn't know if they were connected to the supposed bullying, or just playing around at recess.

"Yes! I finally did it! I finally beat him!"

Stacy looked to see Amber jumping for joy in front of a screen with a defeated Bark the Polar Bear; she had been struggling with him for weeks. Looking closely, it almost looked like Sonic was…smiling back at the little girl. A few consoles away, Jeremy was pumping his fist and grunting with excitement upon beating level four of Fix-It Felix Jr. She had to laugh at her siblings, they could be such kids.

"Come on, Stace," Mr. Litwak smiled; he'd known the girl since she and Jeremy were little and was one of the few people allowed to call her by her nickname, "you should go play, too. After all, you probably deserve a break from studying for those SATs, huh?"

Stacy gave a small laugh. "I guess you're right." With that, she dug some quarters out from her pocket and took a seat at her favorite game, Sugar Rush. Glancing at the side of the arcade cabinet, Stacy furrowed her brow; why was the character pictured on the console never in the race roster? The racers were changed daily, weren't they? Shrugging, Stacy inserted her quarter and selected her usual avatar: Taffyta Muttonfudge. Soon, more and more customers began to enter the arcade, some of them joining Stacy at Sugar Rush, others against Amber at Sonic the Fighters, and various other games in the arcade. Finally, Stacy pushed her last quarter into the slot and prepared to start the race.

"Wait! I wanna play, too, Stacy!"

Looking to the next chair, Stacy saw Amber push herself up into the pink leather chair and clutch the brightly colored steering wheel. The blonde had to chuckle as the girl stretched her neck as far as she could to see the screen while feeling around for the pedals. Amber nearly slipped out of the seat trying to press the gas pedal to select her avatar.

"I think you might be a little small for this one, Amber," Stacy gently said, pulling the girl upright onto the seat. The six-year old frowned and folded her arms.

"Aww!"

"It's okay," Stacy laughed, ruffling the child's hair, "when you get bigger, we'll have the most awesome race ever!" Amber kept pouting, but couldn't hold back a smile. "Now, let's go get Jeremy. Mom said to be home by noon." Nodding happily, Amber jumped off the Sugar Rush chair and followed her big sister over to a first-person shooter called Time Crisis. As Stacy struggled to pry her brother away from the game, Amber's sapphire eyes wandered around the arcade, looking at all the games. Someday, she would play them all and be the best player ever. The last game her eyes landed on was Sonic the Fighters. As the boy currently playing the game celebrated his victory against Espio the Chameleon, Amber swore she saw the blue hedgehog look in her direction and wink. She couldn't be sure, though.

Suddenly, the power strip on the floor caught Amber's eye. Amber felt the carpet fibers and tiny bits of popcorn and chips sink into her skin as she looked closer. In one of the empty sockets was a small, hard to see white light. It wasn't bright by any means, but Amber could clearly see it. Confused at the sight, Amber reached for the power strip. Her hand was less than an inch away when Stacy's voice jerked her out of her thoughts.

"Amber! Don't touch that," the girl cried, sounding almost panicked. "You could shock yourself," she said as she calmed down, "you don't want that, do you?" The child shook her head fearfully, clutching the offending hand to her chest. "That's what I thought. Let's go guys."

"Stacy, everything okay?" Mr. Litwak asked with concern, noticing Amber's scared and ashamed face. He didn't miss the child glance once more at the power strip.

"Everything's fine, Mr. Litwak," the girl answered politely, "just had a little scare with the power strip."

"I see," the arcade owner nodded. "Well, you kids shouldn't keep your folks waiting. You better go on home."

Jeremy nodded. "See you, Mr. Litwak."

"See you, Jeremy, Stacy, Amber." Litwak gave a friendly grin as he said the child's name, satisfaction washing over him as she regained her familiar bright smile. As the trio exited through the double glass doors, his gaze turned to the power strip on the floor. There was only one empty socket, and even now in his middle-age he could plainly see what had caught Amber's eye. Sighing sadly, Litwak walked away and returned to the counter, his eyes landing on a missing person's poster from 1997, depicting a teenage boy.

Reviews are very much appreciated and constructive criticism is welcome as long as you don't flame. Thanks a lot!