Tori stared at the back of Sam's unprotected head in frustration. He had tried to convince her to go without her helmet as well saying the arcade wasn't that far from his place. But if today wasn't a fine example of his skills, then she had a whole bunch of other times to back up her inclination for wearing a helmet.
So here they were.
Heading toward Sam's fathers supposed abandoned arcade. She had not personally ever been to the arcade before. She had always heard about it from her friends prior to meeting Sam but that was as close as it got for her. But Sam…he'd been going there since he was a kid. At times like these she wished she could help carry the burden he did. He was expressive of his thoughts when he wanted to be and she knew him well enough to see some things others didn't. But then there were times when he would completely detach, somewhere she could never get him out of.
The sounds of the city almost seemed to disappear as they drove deeper and farther into the local streets.
Barren.
That was what Tori would describe the scenery as. Store after store they passed, each abandoned and locked up.
As Sam slowed to a stop in front a large structure at a large cross-section, Tori glanced up at the large neon lights with awe. Like a bedtime story, Sam had described to her the nights when the neon lights would be a staple with the sounds of arcade games echoing through the doors. She wished she could have seen it.
Feeling Sam beginning to get off the bike, Tori immediately clamped down onto him to keep him from leaving. When he glanced back at her quizzically Tori stared at him through her visor. He couldn't see her but she knew what she was asking.
A nod was all she got.
Sam slipped out of Tori's grasp after she had relented and helped her off the bike as well. Instead of letting go of her warm hand, he held it with him as they made their way toward the large glass doors. Her hand seemed to be the only proof that what he was seeing and doing wasn't a dream.
He wasn't a fool. The chances of finding anything were slim to nothing. There weren't any cars around and nothing that indicated anybody has been around in years.
Letting go of Tori's hand, Sam pulled out the keys Alan had given him and choose the key he knew would unlock the door. Déjà vu was almost instant. How many times had his father allowed him to come with him at the crack of dawn to open the doors with him.
When he froze, his hand and key an inch away from the lock Sam couldn't help but think that coming here was a mistake. Staring through the glass, he could barely see anything through the dark and shroud. This would only bring painful memories.
The key left his hand suddenly.
Startled, he looked down to see Tori's hand pushing the key into the lock. But when her hand moved to open the door, Sam placed his hands on top of hers.
He still believed she was psychic when her hand paused in her action. Waiting for him to move.
With pursed lips he squeezed her hand and opened the door.
They could hardly see anything. Plastic coverings were everywhere including in front of the door but a gust of wind sent debris into the arcade. The sounds of the plastic ruffling were the only sounds.
Tori left the door open considering the only light was the light coming in through the door. Not really knowing what to do, she watched silently as Sam whipped out his trusty flashlight.
'Seriously, him carrying that thing around tells you a lot about what he does in his spare time,' Tori thought dryly as Sam walked over toward the control panel and flicked a couple notches.
The couple were instantly hit with loud gaming sounds. The lights of the game booths were bright and loud, even through the plastic shrouds. Tori was pretty sure the only thing missing were the kids that filled the seats of the games and the sound of their laughter.
"Wow,"
Her comment drowned in the sounds and music but obviously her expression wasn't as she caught a glimpse of Sam's smirk of amusement as he crossed in front of her. He stopped by the juke machine and touched it for a second before heading off. Poor guy.
Looking around she edged toward the nearest game and smiled as she recognized what was playing on the screen. Pac-man. She couldn't believe all the games she had played younger was now considered old-school.
Here we stand
Tori looked up and could barely spot Sam's silhouette leaving the room up top through the blinds.
Tori made her way down the aisle of games with a sad smile. Guess he didn't find anything but old memories.
Sam made his way back toward the first level with a hint of bitterness. There was nothing here and he didn't plan on staying here longer than needed. He planned on shutting the power down when he spotted Tori hunched over a particular booth. The large neon lights above her gave away what she was looking at.
Tron.
Worlds apart and hearts broken in two
Two
Two
Hips rocking back and forth to the beat, Tori had long since removed the plastic covering the iconic game. She unfortunately didn't bring anything with her so she settled for watching the demo. She had never played tron but it sounded exciting enough from what she heard about it, mostly from Sam. And it probably helped that it was the number one game in the world.
Sam walked over with a steady eye on Tori and the game.
Sleepless nights
'She's never played or been here before,' he remembered, 'Guess it wouldn't hurt to stay a bit longer.'
Losing ground
As he got closer, Sam couldn't help but feel a bit more comfortable. Leave it to Tori to make him always feel somewhat better even though she didn't do anything as she would call it.
'Yet she did everything I needed,'
I'm reaching for you
You
You
"Enjoying yourself?"
Feelin' that it's gone
Tori didn't have to look back to see who was laughing at her but she looked nonetheless with a challenging look in her eye.
Change your mind
If we can't go on
"I bet I could beat your score."
Ha.
She knew she couldn't but she wasn't going to say that, it didn't sound as cool.
"You don't even know how to play," Sam pointed out as he tucked himself next to her when she moved over.
"Then show me superstar."
Taking the mocking tone in her comment with a stride, he pulled out a coin and slipped it into the slot.
To survive the tide love divides
Clink.
The coin had slipped right through.
Tori let out a dissatisfied grunt.
Noticing Sam wasn't getting back up, Tori glanced down to see him fingering something on the ground before he looked right up at her and the game.
Someday love will find you.
Break those chains that bind you
"What?"
"C'mon, help me move this thing," Sam said as he looked to the side of the machine before bracing himself against the ground. He could tell she was confused and didn't see what he did but she helped anyways.
One night will remind you.
How we touched
And went our separate ways
Strangely, the booth didn't move sideways but rather swung away from the wall.
It was hinged to the wall.
"Wow, your dad is weird," Tori commented with raised eyebrows as Sam stood to join her.
"Tell me about it," Sam muttered as he flushed the light of his flashlight against the rusted metal door.
If he ever hurts you.
The music seemed to drown away as they both pushed at the door to crack it open.
Sam glanced at Tori to see if she was coming and was startled when she took the flashlight from him and went right in before him. With a small laugh he moved in behind her.
You know I still love you
Though we touched
And went our separate ways
Tori paid no heed as Sam closed the door from behind them. There was a bit of a hallway before it turned into a staircase leading straight down. She wanted to scream out that this whole thing seemed like a bad horror movie but kept it to herself. Besides even if it were, she wasn't planning on turning back.
As they hit the staircase a deep beat rattled them as a new song went on.
Sweet dreams are made of this
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
At the bottom another set of heavy doors met them to their left.
But this time there was a lock but…
"Someone's been here?" Tori questioned in a whisper as they both stared at the keys jammed into the lock of the door. Well, more like someone had been here a long, long time ago. Like the rest of this place, the keys were covered in dust.
Everybody's looking for something
Some of them want to use you
Some of them want to get used by you
Looks like they did find something worth coming here for.
This time Sam went forward and opened the door without a second thought. But this time, Tori couldn't even get out the amazement that caught in her throat at the sight. It looked like a laboratory. Talk about nerd central.
"Son of a gun," Sam got out in disbelief.
Some of them want to abuse you
Some of them want to be abused
"Is that a laser cannon?"
Sweet dreams are made of this
Sam moved the light around the room.
Pinned to the walls were pictures of a kid and a woman.
Who am I to disagree?
Travel the world and the seven seas
Tori was stuck gawking at the cannon thing and had to reach over to grasp Sam's hoodie to steady herself.
What kind of man was Sam's father anyway?
She was pulled away from the machine as Sam moved toward a desk.
No.
A computer that looked like a desk.
Everybody's looking for something
This whole family was insanely genius.
Sam had spotted the blueprint layout that hung above the computer.
The Grid.
This was where his father always went to.
This was where all the stories he was told originated from.
This was where he knew he was going to get his answers.
He knew it.
The desk whirled as Sam touched the screen to move the dust away.
Tori didn't recognize anything on the screen.
That was how old this was.
Like Alan's pager.
She moved to help dust away the rest of the screen. As Sam began typing away at the digital keyboard, Tori continued looking around with her hand still firmly grasping San's hoodie.
"Huh…what about the backdoor?"
Tick
Tick
Beep
Tick
Tick
"What were you working on…"
Thinking Sam was asking her, Tori looked down at the screen and read what Sam got through.
"Aperture Clear?" Tori read out loud.
Sam looked around before shrugging and confirming Yes.
Then she heard it. Snapping her head upwards she turned her head toward the cannon.
What did Sam do this time?
Vertigo.
Vertigo and the pain of landing on her ass fogged her brain for a second. She opened her mouth to ask what had just happened but she was interrupted.
By a huge beam of light cutting through the small window and everything around them rattling.
Holy shit.
With a firm grip of Tori's hand, Sam shot out of the room and back up the stairs. Anxiety hit his whole body as he rocketed out of the arcade.
"Oh my god," Sam could hear Tori whisper as they took in the sight.
They weren't where they were supposed to be.
This was not their home.
Black and neon lights splashed every surface.
Towering slick buildings lined up towards the skies.
The only thing that seemed similar were the baren streets.
Everything was so….surreal.
Pulled away from her thoughts, Tori was dragged behind Sam as he shot down a street and into another cross-section.
"This isn't happening," Sam got out as he looked around frantically.
He knew where they were.
"Sam," Tori got out but it wasn't anger that filled her but fear.
Sam turned to face her but she was looked up toward something with her eyes wide.
A bright light surrounded them.
Sam immediately raised his arms, taking one of Tori's limp arms with him as he looked up.
Tori wasn't looking at his face but if she had she would have seen the recognition and fear in his eyes.
The Recognizer.
"Oh man, this is happening."
