Tiana boarded to leave, and rode back to the entrance back to Game Central Station.
As Tiana was leaving, Surge Protector stopped her.
"You! You have a lot to ask for!" Surge Protector replies, angrily.
"I... I do?" Tiana asks as she tilts her head.
"You're not even on the list for Dance Dance Revolution!" Surge says.
"But, I was just visiting." Tiana says sheepishly.
"During arcade hours! In fact, you're not on the list of any games..." Surge looks down at his clipboard. He starts flipping through the pages angrily as he speaks, making loud sounds from the paper that was aggressively being flipped over. He stops mid-sentence and stops at a certain page. He stares at the page with a flabbergasted expression. Tiana notices this, and gets on her tippie-toes in order to get a better, even though it doesn't help much.
"Umm... what did you find?" Tiana asks with curiosity. Surge Protector continues to look at the page, moving his glasses in order to get a better look at it. Tiana gets a little impatient, and tries jumping to look at the paper on the clipboard. "Can I see? Can I see?"
She decides to forget waiting, and tries to snatch the clipboard from him. She only swipes the air, for Surge pushed the clipboard against his chest. Her sudden action snapped him out of his shock.
"Don't take my belongings." Surge replies, looking back down at Tiana. "You're... on the list. For Dance Dance Revolution, it shows your name here: Tiana Belle."
Tiana's eyes widen. "This is my chance. He can't let him know the truth." She thinks to herself. She returns back to a happy face, acting casual. "Yeah, I knew I was in there. That's because I'm in this game. You feeling alright?"
"Maybe I need better glasses..." He adjusts his glasses again.
Tiana tries to pass, but Surge Protector stops her. "Name."
"Tiana Belle. Forgot my name?"
"I'm just a surge protector doing my job." He replies.
"Well, you do know that you're not like many Surge Protectors, right? Surge Protectors regulate how much energy is being used for a single appliance, and they can protect the said appliances from volt spikes or power surges. That's where-"
Surge Protector stops her lecture. "That's enough Fourth Wall Breaking for you, young lady."
Tiana tries to pass again, but once again is blocked by Surge.
"Hold on, why are you leaving, anyways? The arcade hours aren't done yet." Surge narrows his eyes for intimidation.
"Well... you see..." Tiana tries to think of a way around it, but then she gets saving grace, as the whistles blow. Characters from their respectful games start to leave their games. "I got let out a little early!" Tiana recovers on her lie.
"Hmm... you're safe. But only for now, Mrs. Belle. I'm keeping my eye on you." Surge replies.
"Eww! You can take out your eye and put it on me?" Tiana giggles at her own joke.
"Hilarious." Surge says, monotone. He steps aside, and Tiana finally passes by him.
"I've got to be more careful of that guy." Tiana notes to herself in her head. She takes a seat as she notices more and more characters passing by. Tiana's eyes gleam with happiness when she sees how busy the central gets after arcade hours. She could see tons of iconic characters passing by: Mario, Sonic, Duck Hunt Dog, Ken, Ryu, Pac Man, Taizo, Frogger, the list never seems to end as Tiana looks at all of the characters passing by. She becomes mesmerized at the way other characters talk to each other as best friends. They get along so well, and don't seem to have much problems. It reminds her of her... family.
She shakes off the thought, and moves on to the subject of where to stay. Even if it's momentarily, she'll take it. If she tries to sleep in the Game Central Station again, Mr. Surge Protector will probably stop her, and tell her to go back to her game. She looks around for anywhere else she can go. It seems like most of them are just hanging out in several areas, while others are just taking a break. However, she does notice one place a lot of characters are going to. It's the entrance that says "Tapper" on it.
She was about to get up and go, when suddenly a tall woman sits down next to her. By her light blue dress and her silver crown, she could tell it was Princess Rosalina. She doesn't notice Tiana at first, until she turns to her left. Tiana was hoping she didn't spot her, and keeps her back away, hoping she doesn't say anything. However, she does speak up in her gentle, calming voice.
"Tiana? Is that you?"
Tiana still tried to get up and walk away regardless of Rosalina seeing her.
"Tiana, wait! Please don't leave, it would be better if you talked to me. I don't know what happened, but I'm here for you. Don't run from your problems."
Tiana pauses.
"Please, sit back down. We can figure this out and help you instead of Game Jumping. We might be from different games, but I care about you. Don't go." She says this in a soothing tone. In a way, it calms down Tiana on the inside.
As much as talking to Rosalina might help her out, in fact, it might really help out her internal battle within herself, Taina knows she can't. "I'm sorry, but I can't right now. I have too much on my mind."
"If you could just-"
If Tiana let Rosalina continue talking, she might have cried in front of everyone. So, she starts running into the crowd of people pushing them away to get by. Tiana can still hear Rosailina's distant plead.
"I don't want it to be like this! Come back!"
She continues to ignore her cries, and runs into Tapper. Tiana knows that since she moved through the crowd, she'd be able to lose Rosalina. As she enters the loading area, she boards along with a bunch of other characters. They're taken into the game, and she takes a look around. She's in a bar, with several long tables. Many people are set up at each one, drinking root beer.
She thinks about something, and pulls out her mirror. She takes a look again, and it's as she expected; her clothes changed again. She's wearing a big pink dress with a white apron in front. There's a silver badge with a turquoise gem in the center, pinned to the chest of the apron. The apron is tied up from the back, as she looks behind herself to see a white bow tied. She turns forward again, and looks back in the mirror. Also as she expected, her bunny cap is still on. Again, that made her happy that she brought it wherever she went. With another glance, Tiana finds herself cute dressed as a maid.
After she's done looking at herself in the mirror, she puts it away and sits down. She watches as a man in a blue suit, with a really big bow tie serves some of the people in the bar. He stops when he notices her, and walks over.
"Well, never seen you around here. Must be new." The man says. Now that he's closer, Tiana can notice his slick black hair and blue eyes. She smirks at the sight of his funny mustache. "Ah yes, the mustache. Pretty cool, don't you think?"
Tiana nods. "It's silly looking!"
"Interesting observation. Well, I honestly love your outfit. My name's Tapper, and as you may know, this is my bar." Tapper introduces himself.
"Thank you. I'm Tiana. Tiana Belle."
"So, where you from, kid?" Tapper asks.
Tiana shies away from the question. Tapper notices, and seems surprised by her response.
"Touchy subject, I presume?" Tapper asks.
Tiana nods.
"Okay, no need to worry. So, would you like a drink?"
"W-Well, do you have anything for minors like me?"
"Of course I do. I've got my specialty Root Beer. Want a glass?"
"Root Beer? Mmmm." Tiana rubs her tummy at the thought of creamy, carbonated root beer. Tiana can remember all of the times she wanted to drink soda, but wasn't allowed to. Now, she can drink whatever she likes!
Tapper smiles at the response. "You ain't had root beer like this before! It will knock your socks off!" She slides her a drink, and she grabs the glass when it reaches her. She decides to take a big gulp of soda, chugging it down. She places the glass back down, a quarter empty. She can feel rumbling coming from her chest, as it rises up to the top. She lets out a big belch when it reaches the top.
"Whoa! That was awesome!" Tiana exclaims after her gulp.
"Glad you like it. So Tiana, how old are you?"
"Seven." Tiana smiles.
"Well, you seem really nice. Seven year old don't come around here often."
"You too. You're really nice, and-"
Tapper stops her train of thought. "Hold that thought, gotta use the leaker."
"Leaker?" Tiana asks in confusion.
"It means bathroom." Tapper replies.
"I see. Take your time."
Tapper rushes to the back of the bar, and Tiana waits. Suddenly, she starts hearing the others complaining.
"Hey! Where'd he go?" Ryu replies.
"I want a refill!" Bowser exclaims.
"I request another!" Eggman pounds the table.
"I'm starting to get thirsty!" Frogger hollers.
"Bartender, come back!" Paperboy exclaims.
With so many people requesting for drinks, Tiana decides to help out. She jumps over the table to the brewery. She cracks her knuckles.
"Time to hop to it." Tiana says as she starts filling up glasses, and sliding them down the table to the customers. She starts off slow, and starts to speed up. Soon, she's served all of the characters. Tiana smiles at their satisfaction. She goes to jump back to the other side of the table, when she notices Tapper behind her, staring.
Tiana giggles and sways from side to side. "H-Hi, Tapper..."
"How, how did you..." Tapper's mouth drops open. He looks at Tiana, and then to the customers. They're just as surprised as he is. Tiana turns around to see that they're shocked, too.
"I wish I could-"
"If you want to talk about this in private, then that's fine by me. But I still want to know how you did that."
Tiana hesitates. She takes a moment to exhale. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you, but only privately. I don't feel comfortable with so many people around..." She looks at the people sitting at the bar, and quickly back to Tapper. She walks to the back of the bar to talk with Tapper.
Meanwhile, Ralph at one of the tables still tries to register what he saw. "I've never seen that kid before, especially pulling off moves as fast as the bartender. I've only seen Tapper do stuff like that!"
Bowser nods in agreement.
Ralph thinks about where she's seen here. Nowhere. He's never seen her before. Ralph decides to stand up. He starts to speak to everyone in the bar. "Has anyone seen that girl? The girl in the bunny cap?" He waits for a response. "Anyone?" Still, no one speaks up. He decides to sit back down.
By the time he's done, they both return back to the front. "Please, I would really appreciate it if you could give me a place to stay." Tiana says as they return.
Tapper thinks, and leans in so that only Tiana can hear, but Ralph was able to still hear the whisper. "Listen, I'll help you out. But, I'll only give you a place to stay for tonight. The rest is up to you. I know you'll find a place to stay. I'll also keep this conversation just between you and I. I know how important this is to you. All I want you to do is be back in Game Central Station before the Arcade opens tomorrow. I'm still a little hesitant about you intervening during gametime hours."
Tiana nods her head. "Thank you, Tapper! I feel so tired, that it would be nice to have a place to sleep anywhere. Now if you excuse me, I've gotta use the lavatory."
Tapper tilts his head.
"It means bathroom." Tiana replies, smiling. She walks towards the restroom. Ralph takes the chance to slide near Tapper.
"Tapper, who is she? No one here has seen her before. What'd you two talk about?" Ralph starts asking.
Tapper shakes his head. "Sorry Ralph, these lips are sealed. I promised to her that I wouldn't say anything. You'll see her the rest of the night, 'cause she's staying with me at Tapper. You don't have to worry, nothing will happen."
"How are you sure?" Ralph asked.
"These lips are sealed. If I said something, problems will arise for more than just Tiana."
"What do you-" Ralph decided not to finish his question, because he already knows the answer. 'These lips are sealed', Tapper would say. "Okay, if you think you can handle her."
Tapper nods. "Trust me, I do."
Ralph looks at the time. "It's getting late. I'll head back to Fix-It Felix." Ralph gets up to leave. Thirty minutes later, Tiana sees as each character, one by one leave and return back to their games.
"Well, that looks about it. Time to close up. Come with me, Tiana." Tapper closes up, and Tiana follows him into a room. "This is my room. It has my own bed here-"
"Am I going to sleep in your bed?" Tiana interrupts.
Tapper answers, "Let me finish, Tiana."
Tiana giggles. "Sorry."
"As I was saying, this is my bed, and I do have this fold-out bed, but it hasn't been used in years." Tapper grabs a handle on the wall, and pulls it down to reveal a bed. "It's not in the best condition, but it can still be comfortable."
Tiana smiles. "It's good, thank you." Tiana climbs into the bed.
"Alright, goodnight Tiana." Tapper walks to his bed, but Tiana says something before he gets comfortable.
"Wait!"
Tapper turns to her. "Can't sleep without something?"
Tiana nods. "Can you tell me a story?"
Tapper pauses for a moment. "Well, I don't know many stories..." Then, Tapper remembers one. "But, I do know one. It's a story about a villain called Wreck-It Ralph..."
Tiana smiles as she starts to listen to the story.
"Alright, here you go." The deliveryman says. He drops the big and tall package with caution.
"Thank you, sir. This is going to be spectacular once I get it set up!" Stan Litwak says with excitement. He begins to open the package with a pair of scissors. Once he takes off the package, he reveals a cylinder with screens all around it. The machine has speakers that wrap around it for sound, and has a mic coming out of one of the screens, most likely for a response input. "My very own Arcade Guide! The box says, 'an Arcade Guide will help attract people from all around, and guide players to locations if they get lost!' Once I get this thing running, Litwak will be even better than before!"
Litwak plugs the machine in from a nearby outlet, and hopes for the best. However, nothing happens.
"Hmm... this thing was too much work to take it back. Time to get to work." Litwak pulls out a toolbox.