Game Central Station. It had been years since King Candy dared to set foot in the large room that held the arcade together. Oh, sure, he'd talked to plenty of people from other games - they ended up in Sugar Rush sometimes - but actually putting himself out there in the huge hall was a bit... daunting for him. It was probably because he was still public enemy #1, technically. However, King Candy did have time to kill. Besides, he was a master of his glitch now. He could hold it together for a few hours.
As the tram approached the end of its path, a female announcer broadcasted "Now arriving in Game Central Station."
King Candy drew in a breath. It was bigger than he remembered. The entrance to his game was dark, and there was graffiti everywhere. "Aerith lives" he read aloud. "Campers suck. The cake is a lie." His eyes wandered toward the looming entrance to the main terminal. King Candy stepped through the archway.
BEEP. A red grid flashed up as soon as King Candy had set one foot into the station.
What the - !?
"Random security check, if you'll please step this way." called a short, blue security guard as he zipped out of the floor in a bolt of electricity.
"... What?"
"Just doing my job as a Surge Protector, sir. Answer the questions and you'll be on your way. Name?"
"King Candy."
The Surge Protector flipped through his clipboard. "Really? Because according to this register here, there is no such character as King Candy."
Fuck.
"That simply can't be. I'm King Candy! From Sugar Rush!" King Candy looked around. A few of the passerby had taken confused glances at him, but the longer he was with the Surge Protector the more characters took notice. He had to get out of this situation. Security only stopped bad guys, and he wasn't one. Well, he was, but not by the terms of the arcade.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here, hmmm?" King Candy froze. A female, yet slightly metallic voice had suddenly come from somewhere behind him, near the entrance to Sugar Rush. King Candy turned in surprise.
His eyes fell upon the figure of a girl. She was in a long, black trench coat with a silver lining. Her white hair offset her otherwise very pale skin. The sleeves covered black gloves, and her legs were solid black as well. Her face was obscured by a white mask with purple markings on it.
"Where the hell did you come from?" King Candy asked incredulously. He was sure he'd have noticed such a character when he first arrived in Game Central Station. The room was empty when he had passed through, and there was no way anyone could have gotten past the Surge Protector.
The girl tilted her head to the side. "Does it matter? Besides, I'm not sure you're in a position to ask any questions." She took a step toward the bewildered king.
"I'm certainly in a position to ask questions!" snapped King Candy.
The girl took another step forward.
"Actually, sir, unless we get this name issue sorted out I'm required to take you into custody." The Surge Protector stepped between the girl and King Candy.
The girl took another step forward.
King Candy suddenly snapped back into character at the first sign of a pun.
"Custody? I think you mean custard-y! Hoo hoo!~"
The girl stopped taking steps forward.
The metallic voice of the girl had turned from playful to cynical. "... Custard-y? Really?" A step back. "My god, you're as annoying as I thought you would be."
"Annoying?" King Candy was fast losing his temper, and the faster and louder he got the more his slight lisp intensified. "I'm the annoying one? Me? Really? Rather than thith dastardly and ineffectual station as a whole? Rather than thith detainment, the humiliation, and now this pesky teleporting masked instigator insulting my well developed senth of humor?"
On a better day, with more time spent planning how this would have played out, King Candy would have realized the smartest thing to do would be to walk away.
This was not a better day.
King Candy squeezed his eyes shut. If he had to go Cybug and tear this place apart, so be it. The other games here weren't necessary for Sugar Rush's survival. A voice in the back of his mind warned him from completely letting loose.
If she makes one more stupid joke at my expense, I swear to god I'll just kill her right here and now.
Silence.
"Uh... sir? Remember, I still am required to take you into custodyyyyyyyaaaaaaaaA*(#$&%(* ! SYSTEM ERRO^&"
… What?
King Candy opened his eyes. Surge was gone, and the masked girl was back inside of the short tunnel. She had pulled off one of her gloves and had placed her hand, which was glowing slightly, into a mess of wires inside the wall of the station. The covering to the wires had been pried off with what looked like excessive amounts of force.
"H-How did you do that?" King Candy stuttered. He'd been around for over 40 years, and he had never once seen anyone affect the security in Game Central Station.
The girl took her hand out of the wall. Her lack of glove revealed a spiral purple tattoo that matched the markings on her mask ran down her arm and ended on her palm. She looked at her hand, which had slowly faded from its previously glowing state, and closed her bare hand into a fist.
The masked girl looked right into the eyes of King Candy. "That's not your concern. Perhaps you should be thanking me instead. After all, I did just save you."
"I had it under control." He muttered under his breath.
"Hah. Right, right, that's hilarious." She turned toward the entrance to Sugar Rush.
"Don't get the impression I'm a helpless old man, you impudent little brat." King Candy had discarded any attempt to remain calm. He'd been shown up by a masked character who'd somehow appeared behind him - all while being pestered by a safety system he should have been able to get around.
The girl started walking down the tunnel. "I never said that. Helpless? No. Clueless? Maybe." She looked over her shoulder, her metallic voice slightly disjointed by the echo. "Dangerous? Without a doubt."
King Candy glared at the retreating figure.
What impudence. I should teach her a thing or two... or maybe I should just kill her.
He suddenly jolted with the realization of where she was going.