Well, if it would get Kiku off his back…

Alfred suited up and headed out to his bike, pulled on his helmet, and he was off. The arcade now stood at… A not so good part of town. Far different than when he was growing up. When he was younger, that particular area in town was bustling with activity, shops, and the arcade was full every day. Crowds of kids would come, quarters raining from their pockets, just to get a round at their favorite games.

He pulled up, parking his bike before digging in his pocket. 'Dammit, where did it…? Ah.', he thought as he finally plucked a ring of keys from his pockets. The blonde man looked up at the red sign reading: KIRKLAND'S… It hadn't been lit in ages, and yet… The words were still legible, and not in too bad of codition aside from needing replacements.

Heaving a sigh, he approached the heavy doors; unlocked them, and creaked open an entrance that hadn't seen human life in over ten years.

All of the systems were… Well… Covered. As if it would help much with changing temperatures, but it helped with dust control, right? That's how Alfred saw it, anyway. The teen quietly moved to the breaker, and toggled some switches, grinning to himself when the machines lit up and the records started playing.

Loudly, over the above speakers was some song that rang all too familiar to the American due to those damn Internet memes… He was being Rick Rolled in real life. Oh well… He didn't seem to care as he moved along the machines.

Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Street Fighter, Mega Man, Contra…

Nothing really stood out, this place was empty.

But… Then something caught his eye. A glorified system, the game his dear old dad was most proud of: TRON. It only made sense; it was an ENCOM game, wasn't it?

Alfred smiled a little sadly as he uncovered the machine, then plucked a quarter from his pocket in quiet hopes that maybe his dad was watching him, or that he was playing to win Arthur's return. A bit optimistic, but, that's how he was. He really missed his dad despite not acting like it. He just… He was going to play for his dad. Arthur wasn't there, Arthur wasn't going to be there.

"This is for you, dad…", he said softly, slipping the quarter into the slot. To his surprise, the machine didn't take the coin, instead, it was dropped to the floor. The blonde frowned. "Hey! That's good American currency!", he scolded the machine, as if it could hear him.

He knelt down, "You know how many kids in Africa would kill for-…", he paused, noticing grooves in the floor. He quietly felt them and followed the trail. It was like… A heavy door or something, but the marks lead straight to. To…

TRON.

Alfred stood up and felt behind it, and… there was most definitely a door.

Good thing he was strong. He pushed the heavy machine along the markings, and opened the mysterious door. The path was pitch black, so Alfred simply whipped out his good old cell phone. Stairs. A light switch that probably didn't work. And good railing along the wall that was probably still sturdy.

He held the rails and started down, holding up his cell phone to see, "Hello?", the blonde called cautiously. This all seemed like a situation from a horror film! But Alfred persisted, knowing he could handle any dangers down there. Unless it was a ghost.

He came up to a door at the bottom of the steps, and opened it only to find a studio where Arthur probably did most of his programming and hacking. Alfred felt himself smile a bit. Scattered plans, a few papers tacked to the wall with one titled: "THE SECRET OF THE GRID".

It was amazing…!

Arthur had hi own computer, it was large, but still a brick by all means, and the keyboard was big and bulky, not sleek or anything like technology had come to be.

It was all covered in a thick layer of dust.

Alfred seemed a bit nostalgic as he let out a chuckle, "Well damn. I may be a bit rusty at this."

He sat at the chair, brushing the dust from the screen, only to be greeted with a thick layer of dust on his sleeve, "Yuck…!", oh well… he took a deep breath and blew most of the dust from the keyboard, flinching backward when some of the dust blew back in his face. "Ack!", he squirmed, nearly falling from his chair before pouting miserably at the system. "Dude! Not cool!"

It was his own fault, really…

The disgruntled American cleaned his glasses with his shirt only after pressing the power button on the monitor, only to be met with a blue loading screen. "Whoa! You still work, huh…? Well.", he slid his glasses on, "Lets see what Dad left behind…"

The screen went black, only in the top left hand corner was a "WELCOME".

Alfred hummed, "So you interact, hm?", he then typed in, "whoami", without spaces.

It took a moment for the computer to register before typing: "KIRKLAND"

Alfred frowned, "Of course… Not… Anymore.", he sighed, beginning to probe the system. However… The blonde didn't notice another artifact in the corner…

A matter transmission program.

And it had been activated.

Alfred was targeted, and he only saw a bright flash before everything… Changed.

-AUTHORS' NOTES-

Sorry, but... I really didn't think a touch screen was appropriate. :\

Other than that, keep the reviews coming! I feel all warm and fluffy when I read them. They help me carry on the story. c: 3