Chapter 2: Tapper's

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle cautiously made their way down the tunnel of the cord. They could hardly see what was in front of them, and the only light that lit their way was the occasional minor explosion of sparks that climbed upwards from the course electricity that powered the game. But fortunately, Swizzle, who still had his energy powers even though Sugar Rush never got formed in this timeline, provided some light by having his hands glow, which gave off some light that helped them see where they were going.

Eventually, they reached the end of the cord. They paused for a moment in the tunnel because they saw dim, yellow, and hazy light in the distance, indicating the end of the tunnel that opened to Game Central Station. They stayed quiet, leaving them with the miserable silence. There was no sound, not even a gust of wind.

"I don't like this place." Candi said nervously.

Swizzle sighed.

"Yeah, this timeline is scary. But, we have to continue on and find Tapper. He'll know what to do." Swizzle said.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle continued on. They walked towards the light and reached the opening to Game Central Station. The boxed cars of the trolley that once took passengers to and from Fix-It Felix Jr. were off-railed and laying on their sides against the wall. Old blackened bloodstains littered that wall and covered the graffiti that once decorated it with two old rusted halos that laid side-by-side on the floor. The splatter was horrendous, and Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle could only imagine whose it was and how it came to paint the wall in such a way.

They looked away to block it from their thoughts and stared out the archway of the game, where they could already see the piles of ruins that awaited them on the outside. The faint light darkened some of the piles of rubble and created shadows that moved in the corners of their eyes, like phantoms of lost characters that perished there. They slowly stepped out of the archway and surveyed what was around them.

"Oh my mod." Adorabeezle whispered.

Game Central Station looked just as bad as Alternate Game Station did when Dark Vanellope had kidnapped Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky in the real timeline. Swizzle scowled.

"When I get my hands on Overdrive, he's going to wish that he never even messed with time." Swizzle thought angrily.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle continued forward. Occasionally, they had to use their powers to remove piles of burnt debris that blocked a pathway that led to Tapper's. The path was lined with marks on the floor that resembled silhouettes of game characters that had burned into nothing before dissolving into broken code. Old rusted game coins and medals were scattered about, their bright gleam now faded like the good memories of this timeline's Game Central Station, which Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle had decided to call Nightmare Arcade. It sparked a sorrow in their hearts to see them so useless now.

It took a few minutes for them to reach the opening of Tapper's. The archway was dark, ominous, and cold with a smell that wreaked of the stench of death and rotting wires that were rusted over. The blackness was like a monster that stood guard, waiting to eat anything that set foot inside. But, they had to go in. Tapper knew something, and they had to speak to him if he was still alive. With a deep breath, Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle stepped into the tunnel and made their way down the wire. Several minutes passed by as they cautiously made their way through the tunnel until they reached the barrier of the game. The wire floor ended and merged with old faded hardwood that was covered in dust and thickly dried bloodstains. Candi turned to Swizzle and Adorabeezle.

"Are you guys ready?" Candi asked.

"Yes, but be careful in here. You never know if something could suddenly jump out at us." Adorabeezle replied.

They stepped onto the hardwood and carefully maneuvered through the bar towards the blob of green that Swizzle had seen while in Niceland. Sounds came from the game as it throbbed, like a heavy heartbeat that was mixed with sloshing ooze noises.

The bar tables were filthy and covered in dust, ash, and broken glass. Shards of glass littered the floor, causing Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's footsteps to create loud crunching sounds. They kept walking towards the sound of beating and sloshing that made steady and quiet breathing. The end corner of the bar was pitch black, and whatever was in the corner was hiding within the shadows unseen. However, they noticed a bright green fluid soaking the floor. It glowed dimly in the light and reflected off a rugged surface that resembled old dirty putty and skin. They could hear slow struggling breaths as they came closer, and the thumping became louder. They stopped and waited a few minutes, staring into the blackness while listening closely to the noises. It didn't seem to be getting closer or louder.

"Survive." a raspy miserable voice said in a heaved manner, as if the being who produced that word was struggling to breathe.

Candi gasped and held her hands over her mouth, and her pupils shrank in terror.

"W-Who... who are you? Come out of the dark and show yourself." Candi ordered nervously.

"I... can't." the voice said in whisper.

Swizzle frowned.

"Why not?" Swizzle asked.

A few seconds passed, and the breathing became heavier and louder. Candi cleared her throat and stood frozen in her place, praying that whatever was speaking to her, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle didn't attack, even though they could most likely fend it off with their powers. Then, in a solemn tone, the voice spoke up, taking in deep breaths between each word.

"The... candle." the voice replied.

Adorabeezle looked around and spotted an old candle on the bar counter with a conveniently placed match next to it. She walked over to the candle, picked up the match, and held it to the wooden surface of the counter.

"When... you see... me... don't... run... please." the voice pleaded.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle bit their lip, only imagining what the creature would look like. Adorabeezle then struck the match and lit it, and she held the warm flame over the candle, lighting it. She took the handle in her hand and turned around, only for her, Candi, and Swizzle to be utterly shocked and stricken with a fear and horror that they had not prepared for. Adorabeezle dropped the candle and she, Candi, and Swizzle screamed, while the candle rolled closer to the creature that was in the darkness.

It was a horrendous sight to see. It was a massive body of deformed flesh of pink and green and infected yellows and browns. The skin overlapped itself like melted wax, and sheets of metal armor, deformed and warped, wrapped around the rotting flesh. The flesh itself had stuck and formed to the walls of the corners like glue, and green fluids seeped from the wrinkles of overlapped skin. No arms or legs were on the body, but only a head with a mustache, a red crooked bow, and the remains of a torn red and white-striped shirt that was halfway grown into the actual flesh.

This was Tapper... or what remained of him.

His head hung low and weak, and the flesh that was once his chest expanded and retracted slowly in struggled grunts and breaths. Green fluids dripped down the folds of his mass and from his lips as thick mucus and saliva, coating his uncombed filthy mustache. Strings of flesh hung down like vines and draped themselves across the ceiling and walls.

Candi backed up until she hit the bar counter and moved her bangs from her face to see more clearly. She began to whimper and shutter, while Swizzle and Adorabeezle stared in shock at Tapper.

"Are... are you... Tapper?" Swizzle asked.

"I am... the remnants... of Tapper." Tapper replied quietly.

The candle continued to roll slowly, leaving sparks across the wooden floor.

"What happened to you?" Candi asked, once the fear in her body lowered enough for her to breathe steady.

Yet, Candi's guard wasn't down. She was still frightened after seeing this unnatural sight. Never had she seen such a mutated mess. He looked to be in pain all over, and she could see it in his eyes that were dim with life, as if they begged for death. To her, death for this poor character was a more welcoming fate then this.

"Overdrive... infected me. He turned us... into these monsters. He tried to... turn me... into one too… but the game shut down... before I transformed... completely. I am... incomplete... still alive... still sentient... but incomplete " Tapper replied.

Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle's faces turned into looks of pity and sorrow, and they took a moment to fully take in Tapper's appearance. A broken man that was once normal and pain free was truly a sad sight to see. He had his own game, and characters from all over Game Central Station came to him for help, advice, and to vent to rid themselves of their own pain. But now, he was permanently stuck to the walls and floor, forced to live as a blob of flesh and metal in constant agonizing pain, and there was no one around to help him.

"While we were in Niceland, Rancis Fluggerbutter said that you know how to help us and make all of this better." Swizzle said.

Tapper took in another breath, seeming to struggle more and more.

"We... are a hive... a single mind. We know all that... Overdrive knows. You are a part... of him. We are... a part... of him. We share his memories... his knowledge... his feelings... and his insanity. We... the guardians of... his weaknesses... are infected... with his evil... his mutations..." Tapper explained.

"We? Who is we? Are there more like you? What are his weaknesses?" Candi asked, feeling a surge of fear run down her back and a deep anxiety that caused all of her questions to swirl into a storm.

"Yes... there are three other guardians. I was to be... the fourth... the guardian of knowledge." Tapper replied.

"Who are the other three?" Adorabeezle asked.

"Princess Peach... Sonic... and Pac-Man. They guard the artifacts... that can... harm Overdrive." Tapper replied.

"What are the artifacts?" Swizzle asked.

"No...time." Tapper replied.

As he breathed slower, the candle bumped against the wall, and the flame licked the wall and blackened it until it caught fire. The fire was small, but it quickly spread and began to travel to the floor and over the long strands of Tapper's flesh. He didn't budge as he began to burn. The flames grew taller and taller with each passing second, and the smell of burning flesh filled the dense air. Heat filled the bar quickly, and smoke fogged up what little light there was. Candi, Swizzle, and Adorabeezle gasped, and they backed away from the flames.

"Kids... find the artifacts... take them to Sugar Rush... and defeat Overdrive. Once he is gone... the games will reset. Go now... let me burn." Tapper said.

Tapper hung his head back down low, and the flames quickly consumed him, burning him alive. The bar quickly caught fire, and Swizzle quickly grabbed Candi and Adorabeezle and turned them and himself intangible before flying out of the game. They flew through the cord until they came to Game Central Station, and Swizzle landed on the ground in front of Tapper's game portal, where he let go of Candi and Adorabeezle. Candi looked back into the tunnel, took in a deep clean breath, and wiped the sweat off of her forehead.

"That was close." Candi said. She then turned back to Swizzle and Adorabeezle, and she asked "So, let me get this straight. Overdrive has somehow transformed three of the most popular game characters into monsters that are guarding artifacts that could be used against him? What could they be guarding that's so important?".

Adorabeezle shrugged.

"I don't know. But if we want to make things right, we needed to find one of these 'Guardians', take it down, and retrieve it's artifact. And from what I can concur, each Guardian is in it's own game. We'll start with Princess Peach in Super Mario 81. After that, we'll move onto Sonic Generations and then Pac-Man. Once we have all of the artifacts, we'll head to 2012 and stop Overdrive there, so the timeline returns to normal." Adorabeezle replied.

Candi and Swizzle nodded in agreement.