Chapter 3 - Let's Get Some Answers
The next day I woke to the sunlight crawling through my window. Birds sang their songs outside and a soft breeze rustled through the trees. Normally I don't get to see this because my work starts early in the morning. So why am I seeing it today?...
I suddenly remembered that I turned off my morning alarm because I made plans to hangout with my friend. Calling in sick for this seems "justified" enough. I just gotta investigate this, there may never be another chance.
My friend had to hang up before setting a time and place to hang out. So I called them to ask when and where to meet.
We agreed on going to a bakery, one that I personally enjoy. I got my things and drove out to pick them up from their place. After placing our orders, we sat on a high chair table aligned with the glass wall that let us watch the world outside.
"So this is the article from yesterday. Here, you can look at it." I said as I passed the paper clipping to my friend.
They skimmed through it while eating the hot dog croissant they got from this bakery. After they finished reading they pointed to the store's picture and said "Remember that old game shop?... This is them, they renovated and changed their store name a few years ago."
"Really? I didn't know because I kinda quit playing games..." I replied.
"Eh I figured, since you stopped talking about it... But that's fine, it's just a hobby, no worries!" My friend said supportively, but I could sense the sadness they were trying to hide.
"Yeaaah, I just don't have the time anymore… But anyways, on the topic of this article. What do you think? Like, you got a plan or something?" I asked.
"Well I was thinking... What if we get sucked into the game again and beat the evil this time?!" My friend said out loud. We're both adults and in public right now, this was just embarrassing.
"Umm, haha. I dunno about that..." What happened 7 years ago is still clear in my mind. We both lost while fighting inside the Kid Icarus game, and I believe if Pit didn't accidentally kill Dark Pit to snap out of it, we'd be dead inside the game. And there's no "extra lives" in real life.
I had an idea so I pulled out my laptop from my bag and went online. Going through internet stories about games that end up killing people. Some seem like they really happened, but no evidence to prove. Most of them are supposedly "fictional stories", but I can't agree with that entirely. Not after what the two of us experienced...
My friend and I talked about it for a long time, maybe over an hour. We sat together in this bakery theorizing and discussing all possibilities, but to the public we probably looked like nerds.
"Okay I got a new idea. What if we go to the store and ask about it? If anything, they'd tell us their side of the story." I was getting tired of guessing, so with this plan we can actually find out more.
"Hmm, sounds solid. Alright, to the old game store!" My enthusiastic friend blurted out, holding a fist in the air. Still pretty embarrassing but I don't know any of these strangers, so it's fine.
We got in my car and I drove over to the mall, it took awhile to find a parking space because it was crowded, but we find one in a non tow-away zone. Then we headed straight to that store, it looked almost unrecognizable with the renovations. We pushed open the doors and stepped inside...