Author's Note: Hey, look! I finally wrote the sequel to Return of a Racer! It sure took long enough, huh? I have had little to no time to write in the past few months, but now, here I am. Hopefully, you guys all think it's worth the wait…
Before I begin, let me refresh you on what happened last: Teddy and Jack have finally become close again, Felicity has been saved, Turbo is gone for good, and the evil witch Deyanira has been vanquished. (Though, going based on the title, you probably have realized that she wasn't truly defeated.) I don't really have much more to say other than that I'm sorry this took so long, and I hope you enjoy! J
It had been a particularly slow day at Litwak's Arcade, due to a major blizzard that had swept the area the night before. Stanley Litwak, having not much else to do, opened up shop despite the three feet of snow on the ground. The two kids that lived across the street were the only customers all day, though it didn't really bother the owner. It was nice to see them so ecstatic to have all of the games to themselves. Not that they didn't still argue with each other.
"I want to play as Vanellope!"
"That's not fair! You always get to be her!"
"Do not!"
"Do too!"
"Alright, kids." Mr. Litwak had interrupted. "Why don't you just take turns?"
"Because Vanellope is the best racer, and my stupid brother here keeps hogging her! It's my turn to be her, and he knows it!" The girl complained.
"Okay, you know what?" The arcade's namesake said, pulling a quarter from his pocket. He had only kept a few extras today. "I'll flip a coin to see who gets to be Vanellope first, okay?"
"Alright." The boy moped.
"Heads!"
"I was gonna call heads."
"Alright, tails." The girl sighed. Litwak flipped the quarter into the air, caught it in one hand, and slammed it onto the back of the other.
"Tails." He announced.
"Yes! Ha! I get to be Vanellope!"
"Fine. I'll just be Swizzle." The boy sighed, selecting his second favorite racer. Mr. Litwak walked back to the prize booth with a chuckle.
Ever since Vanellope came in, no one can ever agree on who gets to play her. He thought. Maybe there wouldn't be so many arguments if there was another character as good as she is. I suppose King Candy was, but he hasn't shown up on the roster in months. I wonder why? He quickly shook off his doubts, and returned to his work. After about an hour, he heard footsteps heading towards the door.
"Later, Mr. Litwak!" The brother and sister called in unison. He sighed, knowing that the arcade would be empty for the rest of the day if they left now. Then, he remembered something: the back room!
"Wait a minute, kids!" He called after them. "I've been working on a new addition to the arcade. Do you want to check it out?"
"Sure!" The siblings exclaimed, running towards the man that had become more like a cool uncle to them than an authority figure. He led them to a closed door, and quickly unlocked it, opening it up for the first time to the public.
"The computer room." He announced. The kids gawked at the sight before them. At least fifty computers, all equipped with different software and add-ons, and a huge mural of various video game characters on the surrounding walls. "I figured that so many games are played online nowadays, I may as well add all of those in, too."
"Wow!" The girl exclaimed, adjusting her glasses.
"Can we play?"
"Of course you can!" Mr. Litwak replied. The two children examined the computers, which all had labels of which games were equipped in them. They both recognized most of them, but one specific one caught their eye. The logo was dark and mysterious, with a full moon in the corner. The title, written in big, bold letters, seemed to jump out at them. Prophecy of Ilargia.
"Hey, Litwak." The boy called out. "What game is this? I don't recognize it."
"Ah, well I wouldn't expect you to. It's brand new. In fact, this is still the beta version. It hasn't even been released to the public."
"How did you get it, then?"
"Well, it happens to be a sequel to a classic arcade game that I used to have plugged in called Saviors of Ilargia. The old cabinets didn't do very well, but they developed a small, loyal following, and those people demanded that it was given a sequel. I've heard that it is much more enjoyable than the original, so when they offered to give me this version, I decided to try it out."
"Cool!" The boy said, turning one of the computers on. "I want to try this!" The opening screen came on, accompanied by eerie music, a clap of thunder, and a wolf howling at the full moon. A layer of fog rose up to fill the screen, and a disembodied voice echoed through:
"When darkness falls at the hands of light,
A spirit grows strong in the blackness of night
At first, all seems well, but there is danger to all.
For this darkness is growing, and light, too, will fall.
All of this will leave comrades unsafe and unsure,
For such evil grows richest in the soul most pure."
