Arcade Armageddon

Chapter 10

"So this is your game, huh?" Red and Felix was exiting the Niceland building, having been through every floor and meeting the Nicelanders. Especially Mary, who had enjoyed having the fairytale figure around. And as Felix guessed, the female Nicelander had been tickled pink that she met someone who was good at cooking like she was. "Another thing I've noticed," Red continued, "Everything in here kinda looks...simple, you know?"

"Well, Ralph and I have been around for thirty years, so..."

"Fix-It! There you are! Been looking all over for you!"

Oh...

Recognizing the voice immediately, Felix turned to see Calhoun approaching, who was relieved to see that he was okay. Then the sergeant's expression quickly changed to slight irritation at the sight of Red. Jiminy jaminy, this is not good at all! The Good Guy glanced from Red to his wife, feeling a little tension coming from the latter.

"What's going on?" Red inquired, confused.

"Something consumed that Fashion-whatever game and now Surge wants everyone to evacuate their games until the arcade opens."

"Must be something big," Felix guessed, "Does anyone know what it is?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm certain it's not a Cy-Bug that got loose again. Anyway, we need to go."

"Sarge, there's a problem in our game!"

Everyone noticed Kohut coming from Game Central Station, disembarking the small trolley before it even came to a stop. He wasn't panicking, which made him Tamora's second-in-command, but he appeared serious.

"Kohut, what's going on?" the sergeant asked.

"We just found out that there was an intruder in our game during arcade hours today. Kowaltski did a check on all of the cameras in the game a few minutes ago and noticed someone who wasn't supposed to be there. Neither of us could tell who it was, though. We need you to see it right away." Kohut then noticed Felix and nodded. "Fix-It."

"Hi, Kohut." The Good Guy smiled sheepishly, shifting a bit. Though the second-in-command wasn't as intimidating as Tamora, the handyman was still a little shaky.

"I'll have to check out those videos," Calhoun decided, "In the meantime, is everyone out?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kohut nodded.

"Fix-It, you need to get the dwarfs out of here."

"I'll help too," Red chimed in.

"No, Red. You go with Tamora and Kohut," said Felix.

"Besides, you're not from this game," the Hero's Duty's lead stated firmly. "If something happens, and you're caught in it, you stay dead."

"Um, don't you fall under that category too, blondie?"

That was like a slap in the face, but it was true. It was beside the point, however, as Tamora was already starting to grow irritated with Red. The latter's game had only been plugged in for a week and Red already thought she knew it all.

"Look, Tammy's right. Besides, she's been around longer than you. You're still trying to know your way around Game Central Station let alone one game, so please cooperate. I can get the Nicelanders out, and you get to the Station and make sure everyone in your game's okay."

Red sighed, darting a glare at the sergeant, who smirked triumphantly. "Fine."

When Calhoun, Red, and Kohut got outside to Game Central Station, there was even more drama and madness afoot. Shouts and curses were heard as the residents were hounding the Surge Protector with questions.

"What the hell's going on?" someone roared.

"Yeah, what gives?"

"Tough crowd, huh?" Red was glancing around at the angry characters.

"No kidding," Calhoun agreed.

"Hey, Sarge!" Vanellope, followed by Ralph, pushed through the crowd to join the three, carrying what appeared to be cotton candy and a large plush Yoshi. "Thought we'd never find you through this crazy crowd. Ralph and I were in Pinna Park in Super Mario Bros. until we had to leave."

"Where's Felix?" the wrecker asked, glancing around, then noticed Felix coming out of Fix-It Felix, Jr., with the Nicelanders, and the bonus level characters not far behind.

"Everyone's out, Tamora." Then Felix noticed the raving crowd. "Oh my lands."

"Yeah, Felix, it's apparently a riot," Red stated, "And they're crazy."

"We can see that," Gene said, arms folded.

"I wonder what's happened?" Deanna glanced around the mob.

"I don't know, but we need to quiet it down." Calhoun pulled out her pistol, ready to bring order to the hub. "All this panic's not helping anything. And Surge isn't really doing well at calming this crowd." The sergeant nodded over to the hologram at the front, who was still trying futilely to tame the rioting characters. She raised her pistol, firing it upward.

The entire arcade fell silent, with all eyes on Tamora, who was headed toward the front of the crowd.

"Alright, pussy-willows, you all need to stop the panicking," she ordered, now in full sergeant mode, "Because it's not helping your cause!"

"And firing your gun isn't quite what I call helping either!" A Hammer Bro. in the front retorted, shaking his hammer at Calhoun. When he saw the business end of her pistol in his face, he backed into the crowd. "N-Never mind..."

"That's what I thought." Tamora faced the crowd again. "I know you're all panicking like a bunch of Togepi, but you must keep your heads as we get through this and find out the cause of this. My second-in-command believes he's found something that might be connected to what happened to that fashion game."

"And Frogger!" A Toad shouted from the back.

"Wait, there was another game?" The sergeant whispered to Surge.

"Indeed," the hologram replied, "On Tuesday, to be exact, during arcade hours. Fashion Trendy was the second."

So that changes everything. Whoever's doing this has been planning for a while, obviously.

"Did you hear all that, Stinkbrain?" Vanellope asked, jumping off her perch on Ralph's shoulder.

"I know I did," Gene interjected, "And it doesn't sound good."

"Someone's had a lot of time on their hands to plan this," the wrecker guessed, "I mean, there's no way anyone could bring down two games overnight. Whoever's behind this has been spending plenty of time plotting."

"And they probably weren't alone in it, Ralph," Felix added.

"Wait, you think it's more than just one person doing this?"

"I'm not jumping to any conclusions, Brother, but that could be the case." The Good Guy shrugged. "Who knows, Frogger and Fashion Trendy was probably their way of saying hello, which means it could get worse later if we don't get to the bottom of this."

"But we need to find out who's behind this first," Vanellope reminded, then noticed an empty spot in the corner of her eye. The princess turned around to see that Red was nowhere to be found. She glanced around the crowd of characters, then saw a silhouette moving along the wall of Fix-It Felix, Jr.

Okay, creepy. But it could be the diaper baby who destroyed those two games. With that, Vanellope started after the shadowy figure, quietly sneaking off to the 80s game's port while the adults continued to talk.

"You don't suppose what happened to those games was an inside job, do you?" Gene asked.

"We don't know, Gene," Ralph said, "But we do know that their plugs weren't pulled, so..." The Bad Guy froze mid-sentence when he noticed Vanellope gone from his side. "Kid?"

Felix and the Nicelanders glanced around, looking for the Sugar Rush lead.

"She was right next to you a second ago," Deanna wondered. "Where'd she run off to with this huge crowd?"

"She must've headed off to try to meet up with Taffyta and Candlehead," Felix guessed.

Ralph glanced over the crowd, searching for any sign of Vanellope or the other racers. After a second, he noticed what appeared to be a candle moving in the back. The wrecker fought his way through the tight gaps between the other characters, hoping he would find the princess with her friends, excusing himself as he went. But when he got there, he found that the "candle" was just an enormous Podoboo from Super Mario Bros. and a few Waddle Dees from Kirby.

"Hey! We're walking here!" The Podoboo complained when it saw Ralph.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone else. I was looking for Vanellope von Schweetz. You've seen her come this way?"

The Waddle Dees shook their heads in unison.

"You got your answer, now move it, you big ape!" The Mario Bros. baddie shoved its way past Ralph, singeing the latter in the process. The two Dedede followers were behind it.

Ralph patted the small flame on his shirt sleeve. "Okay, then..." The Bad Guy sighed. Seriously, where'd she run off to in this crowd?

...

Vanellope quickly disembarked the trolley of Fix-It Felix, Jr., staying on the silhouette's trail. The princess made sure to remain quiet as the figure entered the Niceland apartment, but not before Vanellope noticed a little tuft of dark-blond hair and the slightest hint of a creepy smile revealed by the building's light.

Okay... not even you-know-who looked as creepy at that. But what is this guy planning?

The princess continued to tail the intruder, following him/her into the apartment and watching as the figure entered the elevator, pressing down. Vanellope felt blue binary coursing through her body, knowing there was only one room that was below the Niceland apartment.

Sweet mother of monkey milk! Vanellope realized what the figure was planning to do, and it had everything to do with the code room. She knew she had to catch the intruder or who knew what he/she would do to Fix-It Felix, Jr.

Taking the elevator down to the basement, Vanellope saw the figure make a sharp left. She followed, stopping in her tracks when she saw the figure ready to punch in the code.

"Who are you, you creep?" she screamed, pointing an accusing finger at the hooded figure.

"And here I thought I was alone," it said, a Southern drawl to his voice. It turned a little to regard Vanellope, that creepy smile still crossing his still-obscure face.

This guy's freaking me out right now. The racer thought. Then the next thing she knew, Vanellope was blinded by a flash of light, shielding her eyes from the strong blaze. When it faded, and her eyes recovered, the figure was gone.

What the...? Where'd he go? The princess wondered, glancing around the hall. Suddenly, she felt a conk on her head, causing her world to go black.

"Sorry, sweetie, but Mr. Candy said there can't be any witnesses to this," the hooded intruder said, placing a hand on Vanellope's head and emitting a stream of energy into her mind. He smiled at his handiwork, ensuring that his tracks were covered. There was only one more thing to take care of. He turned his attention back to Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s code vault, sneering and knowing he was going to enjoy this.