Sugar Rush receices two new racers who are, in fact unofficial characters, who everyone thought death nine years ago. Threatened by a mysterious hidden virus and the girl's out-of-control powers, the twins count with the Core Four help to adapt and discover the realit behind the unplugging of their parents' games. But new mysteries rise up on the way, like unprogramed powers and memories, a high-tech Cy-Bug bracelet, time travels and mysterious stalkers, like a glitchy Cy-Bug, a shadowy girl and an enemy that isn't what he seems. It's all the beginning of a new life change and a series of new adventures.
Well, I'm trying to finish this story once again. I was never satisfied with the final results as aways it would have disnecessary things, troubles with characters and various other problems, besides the grammar and all this. Now, no matter what the final version of it will be, but I learn a lot with my first errors, it's the definitive version of this story. I'm well satisfied with the results for once, but I still added some new scenes and made some editions to the chapter
Arcade's Children - Between Light and Darkness
Chapter 1: Connecting
The bike ran down the street, slipping in puddles. The night storm had passed, leaving behind only wet streets, as slippery as ice rinks and gray clouds that made the environment a bit depressing, the wind also diminished to a light breeze, but cold.
The bike racer didn't seem to care much for these little details. He was smiling, excited, while driving his vehicle, not too fast but with confidence, using only light clothing.
Finally he slowed the bike, which slipped a little out of control until finally stopping in a puddle.
"Hey! Look where you're going, barber!" A voice shouted angrily.
Luke got off the bike and watched his victim, a girl, about his age, with clothes half wet and an angry glint in her neon-blue eyes.
"Sorry." He muttered simply, chaining the bike to a sign post, not taking his eyes off her.
Luke couldn't help but be surprised at how much the girl was looked like him. Red hair - though hers were slightly curled and seemed on fire, while his were smooth and had a darker tone - the same eyes - although his had a more crystal blue tone while hers were mostly neon, but still the same eyes - the same freckles ...
"What are you looking at? If you like take a picture, it lasts longer." She challenged him; only then Luke realized he was still staring at the girl.
"Sorry." He muttered again, cheeks glowing slight red.
"That's all you can say?" Sabrina asked, assessing his new acquaintance. He seemed to be about her age. Looked like a year or two younger, by the innocent look, but his clothes made him look a few years older, with its high collar shirt, slacks and shoes that should have been polished or glazed before being wet, hair appeared to have been well combed before being messy by the wind, the glasses gave him an intelligent air, although his attitudes seem to say otherwise, at least in Sabrina's opinion.
The black cat that accompanied the girl growled with basket in front of the boy's bike, where another cat, this white, looked up and immediately growled back. Then the girl's cat jumped on the bike, but didn't reach its goal because Sabrina immediately grabbed her, not without receiving a scratch in the process, but that didn't bother the girl.
"It's way of meeting new friends, Trinity?" The girl scolded her, just pretending to be angry, and then put the cat on the floor. "Now go play and behave." So she walked away towards the Arcade, ignoring the boy and his cat and the wound on her left arm. She only cared with injuries when the blood out of it was too much, which wasn't the case. Moreover, they used to disappear rapidly, sometimes rapidly than normal.
But Luke wasn't going to ignore her. People with red hair and blue eyes were very rare. What were the chances of two accidentally meet that way, more of the same age and so looked alike in the rest... and he had never seen her around before, even attending the Arcade almost every day. Apparently they were going to the same place, so he ran to catch up with her.
"You live around here?" He asked casually as they entered the Arcade.
"Not far." Sabrina shrugged. She would never admit to someone who she had just met she lived in an orphanage.
"Look, I really feel sorry for wetting you. I pay a game for you, even if it don't solve too much." Luke offered cordially.
"I didn't come here to play; I'm trying to solve a mystery." Sabrina looked around, but nothing seemed really suspect. Maybe she should talk to the owner, that was why she had come, right? Find people who could give her information, and there was no better option to start looking.
The truth was that Sabrina was passing in front of the Arcade every day, since she heard the story of how she was found one morning a little less than ten years ago inside that Arcade, but never had the courage to enter, ask questions… She doubted that would be getting more than the clippings of old newspapers had already given her, and at the bottom of her heart, Sabrina felt a fear of what she was trying to figure out, but learned from little to overcome her fears and challenges, and after arguing with two of her colleagues once again that morning, the girl finally lost the remainder of her patience and decided she would not return to the shelter unanswered.
It wasn't as if she was one of the normal children and someone would send the police after her if she wasn't back after curfew. Usually people there, adults and children, barely remember her, at most noticed one kid was missing, but when they called the police were far away from giving any information about the identity of the missing. Or at least that was what Sabrina heard.
It was as if Sabrina was a ghost among the others, always a stranger to most people.
That's because you do not belong here. She heard the voice of the strange man had met in a fair few years earlier. Most of them do not give you attention, as much as they give to the others. It makes no difference who you are if you have nothing to mark in their memories. You have no reason to be here.
Remember the voice and smile of that man caused an icy chill in the girl. A strange figure among the crowd, but a figure that seemed not to belong to that world and whose words made no sense.
Luke still felt bad for the accident, and wanted to find out more about his new friend. He had an idea of how to hold her a little and gain a little more of her confidence.
"Come on. I am challenging you! Let's see who can survive longer in Hero's Duty. It seems to be your kind of game."
Sabrina looked at the game the boy pointed out, where a girl a few years older played. A first person shooting game, with creatures that seemed a kind of mechanical mutant insects. She had never been in an Arcade before, because of a subconscious fear, nor played any game before, as her few short term friends were street children or normally poorest children who usually had no video games, but she felt that, and certainly didn't understand how, the boy managed to evaluate her very well.
Part of her mind said she had no time for that, but Sabrina learned that she couldn't back down a challenge without look like a coward, and it certainly she wasn't.
"Okay if you pay, because I have no money with me."
Luke watched the confident smile of the girl and laughed. She probably underestimated him by his more adult and intelligent appearance. If she knew the type of game she was getting into... The boy handed the coins to his new friend and the two went together to the game.
Sergeant Calhoun wasn't having a very good day. The game was busy as ever, but the gamers... Mostly of them rookies, who couldn't even make their way to the tower, or more than a few floors up before dying.
Now there was her, preparing herself to another game, just hopping that next pair to be just like others, but surprises were waiting outside.
There were a boy and a girl who looked like twins. But it couldn't be, she knew the boy since her game was plugged in. He was her first gamer, in fact and had come to play almost every day in the past two months. In just a week he'd built a score no one looked able to bet. Hisfriends calls him Hunter because of this, and it was how he was known around the Arcade as well. But she'd never seem him with that girl, and no one else never mentioned he had a twin sister. And it definitely was the girl's first time playing.
As the game begun, she got surprised to see the girl's ability could rivalize with Hunter.
"Ready to give up, geek?" The girl laughed, like she had no idea who was she playing with.
"In your dreams, princess." Hunter replied with a laugh.
"Now you're asking for it." The girl's smile was gone. She really looked like she'd entered a real war now.
The duo exchanged a rivalry look and for the first time the sergeant saw Hunter get a little scared by the girl's look.
And once more that day, there was her, surprised by a young rookie as she heard the voice echoing through like it wasn't coming from outside the game.
"That vixen, she's a master of disguise!
I see danger, when I look in her eyes.
She's so foxy, she could lead to my demise.
So I'm running, 'cause I've run out of time..."
The girl's eyes still showed that fiercely look, like she was a real part of the game still, the music sliped from her lips so naturally as if she was more of a singer.
It didn't got long to things begin to get strange. For a second Hunter seemed to stop and as he got back his aim wasn't at it's best, he'd just slowed down a little. The girl's voice looked like it was getting louder. Calhoun had no idea if it was just her or if there were really ghostly musical notes all around. So came the energy wave running all over the game.
The truth was that things were getting a little strange for the two children as well.
For Luke, it started as a light headache, which used to happen only when he played for too long time, never in a single game, but he thought it was sign of a cold. For Sabrina, it was like an electric current reaching every part of her body and another strong energy, like little hooks that were attached to her palms, chest and the front of her head, deep enough to be attached to her brain, the sound of gunfire vied with her voice and the only presence that looked solid for her was the boy at he side. The static noise followed, strongly echoing in her ears and she felt increasingly exhausted, the hook that seemed stuck in her mind causing an increasingly noticeable and severe pain, the world around her seemed to dissolve, the hooks now seemed to exert some sucking in her body, like trying to drag her somewhere.
But Sabrina wasn't going to be overpowered by it. She tried to stop singing and focus on the problem but found she couldn't, so she just pulled her body mentally in the opposite direction until she felt the hooks become loose, the force exerted between them throwing her to the ground in reality, but she was unable to feel anything around.
The girl took a deep breath, that air pocket sucking her back to reality, but she just let herself siting there until she felt fully recovered.
Luke also felt the hooks on his chest and in the center of his mind, with the pain, preventing him to concentrate, he couldn't resist as his friend did, but when Sabrina broke her connection he also couldn't take much more, soon getting himself in the game trapped and giving up to his fate without resistance. It was the first time in two years he gave up a game like that, the first time ever he felt a strong connection and retraction with the games at the same time.
Sabrina laughed, recovering herself.
"Wow! I've never seen anything like this." Exclaimed excitedly. She would'ot let him know she was still a little hurt where the hooks were held, as wasp stings. "So what we'll play now?" The games also wouldn't scare her. Maybe she just had to get used.
Luke still had a slight headache, and whatever had happened to him during that game certainly had frightened him, but while he already had friends, he had never been so close to one before. But maybe she would never come back if he let the opportunity slip, he wanted to ensure the contrary, wanted her to trust him and find out more about her, he couldn't just say goodbye now. He probably could stand one or two more games.
"Make your choice!" He smiled, making a sweeping gesture toward the Arcade.
"Are you sure? You can regret it."
"I always play for fun, never regret it. Also I have played all games in this Arcade, I don't need something special."
"You have a favorite racing game?" Sabrina studied the games around with no idea what to do.
Luke pointed out one of the games with a trembling finger. He still didn't feel very well. Sabrina examined the game in question and held a laugh. Sugar Rush, looked like a girly infantile game, a little too sweet for her taste, but a race was a race, no matter what it looked like, looks were just a fake. She was just curious the various impressions that she could have of a single person, the new game made a great contrast with the previous, making her new acquaintance a little hard to understand. If she were suspected to say anything, the boy had been right in supposing that the game for which her invited her suited her well, and Sabrina had no doubt in saying that the new game suited him well too.
But she wasn't suspected to say anything. Her look could fool enough about her personality. She was a warrior and rebel girl as they normally thought, but first of all she was a child, lonely and even sometimes a little lacking, although she never left that be the first impression someone had of her.
"This will be worth a best of three, then. And don't think that I will not want a rematch of last game next time we meet."
Luke didn't expect less of her so smiled.
"As you wish. But next time you pay." This sentence appeared to make her hesitate a bit and made him wonder what led a girl to an Arcade without any money. What she had said bout solving a mystery… "If you have money, of course." He added quickly.
Sabrina really would like to give to such a rare soul as Luke a repay, but she doubted she would have any money to anything, so just shrugged. They received no money in the shelter, yet she sometimes did presentation of dance numbers or small street theater with a group of children in a small community where she usually wandered and sometimes help people, and it was with this that usually her money was spent, to help people who needed more than her.
But she had never felt that connection with someone before, as if she knew him from a long time. Even her guard, that usually kept people away from her mind and heart, had been quickly lowered with him. Of course the game had helped, and there was also a strange connection, she didn't know if good or bad.
"So what's your name anyway?" Sabrina asked to distract herself from her thoughts.
"Wow, what rude mine. My name is Luke. And yours?"
"Sabrina." She shrugged.
"Are you new in town?"
"No. I've lived here since I was born ... I think." The last part she mumbled aloud without him hearing.
Then they saw the last children left the game and the conversation ended there. Luke explained briefly to Sabrina how the game worked; she just nodded, seemed easy for someone who learned everything easily.
The look of the two ran by the characters' list, Luke's no more than a few seconds, locating easily one of his favorite characters. Sabrina stopped in a couple of characters. She knew nothing there, but something on them caught her attention, deciding quickly Vanellope would be her companion for her first race. Luke wanted to say something, but changed his mind. His friend was a little too confident for a newcomer, but she was too experienced for it too.
This reminded him of the first times his father had taken him to the Arcade. Luke was the kind of kid who began naturally and learned quickly. His father sometimes joked that he had a gift for games in his blood because he was found in the Arcade. Luke just laughed at the time, but after a few years of playing and especially that day, he really felt a deep connection.
Vanellope was happy as she saw the next pair of gamers who came to her game. Hunter was like a veteran gamer. He looked just around her age, but he was there almost every day, as if he lived in the Arcade.
His companion she'd never seen, but looked like his twin sister in appearance, except she looked too rebel in comparison, but there was certain rivality in her smile. And it was the player she would be racing with that day.
She wasn't expecting to win against Hunter and Candlehead. She'd learnt not to in the last two months since she become a racer and Presindent of Sugar Rush. But she also wasn't expecting to get a third place with a new player, especially one who took her time to sing while playing, but the girl looked like she knew what she was doing.
So they went for their second race. Vanellope and Sabrina looked like they could understand each other and both were expecting a better performance on that race. But so things got strange again.
Lucas, for the first time felt a kind of electrical current, which ran from the tip of his fingers, grew stronger in his chest, right where his old medallion, which he always wore hidden under his shirt, touched the skin, then ran to his head, leaving him a bit clouded and with a slight headache.
For Sabrina it began lighter this time, her attention to the game had doubled that she almost could no longer feel the world around her again, but this time, there was also the music that seemed to fill her mind completely. The static feeling came after, this time without sound, or perhaps couldn't overcome the music, which seemed to echo becoming stronger. The hooks tried to pull her, yet the girl tried to resist, even against the suction again, then she tried to get out, move away from the controls, didn't mind to give up the game, but this time it was too late, she could no longer feel her body, as if all the static paralyzed her. The electric current followed, Sabrina tried to scream, but the cry was left alone in her mind.
Vanellope had no idea what was happening during that second race. The girls voice begun to look like it was coming from somewhere near, not from outside the game. She glitched out of control, saw the Candlehead's kart stop, her own kart slowing, Taffyta crossed the finish line, a single, violent glitch wave crossed the entire game before everything went out. A single thought occurred to all characters in the game: They were lost! But why?
Luke wondered if anyone was able to realize what was happening with them. He tried to call for help when the electricity in his body increased but his voice didn't come out. The music seemed to dominate his senses, stunning him, and he saw the game's screen black out before his conscience follow.
Once the game went out, Sabrina felt everything back to normal, but felt tired ad slight electricity still running by her body. She had no strength to move away, just closed her eyes and waited for it to pass, as always, the feeling wasn't new to her, although usually caused by other things and with different symptoms, but something seemed wrong that time.
By far, the Arcade's owner watched them since they had entered. It was so long since the last time he had seen that girl. She was just a baby when he found her out in his Arcade. As if it wasn't already strange enough to find an abandoned child in a closed Arcade, without any sign of forced entry, two so was an almost impossible situation, which made him wonder how and why. And adding the fact that he had lost two games on the same morning, one of the games which the girl, now grown up a little, reminded him a lot of...
The boy, on the other hand had been there with increasing frequency, since he was six, or maybe it was five. He had a talent with games like nobody else, but it was all he could say.
Finally he saw the two together again. Did they know? It was likely than not, the looks were not very familiar and the girl's smile was more challenging than friendly. Should he tell? Better not yet. Maybe before they left the Arcade. It was better to give them time to get used to each other, but he couldn't let the girl would go away again.
But he didn't expect what happened next. He was too busy to notice anything wrong with the double till Luke and the game they were playing blacked out. He approached quickly, worried. Some other children also surrounded the two, curious, worried, some scared.
The girl was awake, but still, staring at the game screen without understanding or believe what had happened. It was her to who Mr. Litwak addressed.
"What happened?" Asked, concerned. "Are you all right?"
Sabrina blinked a few times, before shaking lightly his friend's arm and call.
"Luke!"
The boy mumbled, opened his eyes and sat up, but didn't seem able to anything more.
"We're fine." She finally smiled, faintly. "As for the game, I think it's just a slight off," as she said it the screen lit up again. "See, it's already coming back, nothing to worry about. But don't ask me what happened, to us or the game, because I don't know. We will just go home and everything will be fine, no need to worry"
In the game everyone woke up slowly, stunned and frightened. The first thing that occurred to them was a sigh of relief, they were alive. But what happened to the game? The second thing was the ad that ran throughout the game: Connection Initialized... But what that meant?
Vanellope was one of the nine who had an insider's view of what was happening outside. She saw Hunter looking half asleep and his game partner trying to convince Mr. Litwak everything was allright with them and the game. Not that Vanellope could say she was wrong about Sugar Rush, everything looked back to normal after the blackout, but the pair didn't look very well.
Sabrina rose up, slightly wobbly and helped Luke up to his feet as well. The boy still looked weaker than her and she wasn't sure if they could get anywhere with her supporting him that way, but they had Luke's bike, they would have to find a way.
"You can't go out like that, you two need..." She simply ignored the protests of the Arcade's owner and was already out the door, too proud and determined even to look back.
The lyric piece at this chapter is from Bombshell Blonde from Owl City. I don't own the music or Wrec-It Ralph and it's characters, but I do own Luke and Sabrina.