Chapter 9

I don't even have a second to think about what I've just gotten myself into before the gate fully opens, exposing the Bug-infested world of Hero's Duty, and at Calhoun's command the soldiers rush forward, pushing the new recruits right along with them. But soon enough it hits me: I've just stumbled through the threshold of what was once the deadliest game in the arcade.

The moment the thought sinks in, all hell breaks loose. A hail of gunfire sounds out as a steady swarm of Bugs engulfs the soldiers. From the looks of it, the newcomers are just as unprepared to fight actual bugs as I am.

I run to catch up to Calhoun, who is currently at the front of the team giving orders to those behind her. "Get back into formation, rookie! Fall back!" she snaps as I finally reach her.

"Sergeant- sir- ma'am!" I blurt out, gasping for breath. "I thought this was just going to be target practice! No one said anything about fighting actual- BUGS!"

Without warning, a gargantuan Cy-Bug lands five feet away and rushes me, tackling me to the ground. I hold my blaster up to my face, trying desperately to fend off its attack.

Calhoun fires three times, and the Bug vaporizes. As I pick myself up off the ground, which the skintight uniform makes more difficult, she gives me a disapproving look.

"Do you Sugar Rush brats have candy for brains? Use your weapon!" she yells before running off to save Tails from his own Bug attack.

"Weapon… right." I pull my blaster out of my pack, but instantly realize I have no idea how to use it. Whoever designed these blasters certainly didn't have 12-year-olds in mind when it came to user interface.

After hoisting the gun into what I believe is the right position, a small touchscreen on its front catches my eye. When I give it a tap, the screen lights up and the gun immediately rattles to life, which startles me so much that I drop it.

This catches the attention of three nearby Cy-Bugs, who surround me as I scramble to pick up my weapon. I glance from the gun in my hands to the Bugs on all sides. If you wanna figure out how to use this thing, it's now or never, I think before pulling the trigger firmly down.

A spray of bullets erupts from the barrel, completely engulfing the Cy-Bugs. After only a few seconds of being caught in my steady stream of gunfire, the Bug directly in front of me dissipates. I spin around to face the other two, but the weight of the gun drags me too far, and I can only swing it around aimlessly as gunfire envelops the remaining Bugs.

Once I've taken out all three, at first I simply stand in awe, admiring my handiwork- not bad aim for a Sugar Rusher who's just fired a gun for the first time, after all. Almost instantly, though, my admiration gives way to worry. Not only have I just fired a gun, I've just killed a living thing. A code-eating abomination of a living thing, sure, but a living thing nonetheless…

What are you doing? I ask myself. Look at what you're doing to yourself! Look at what you've become, Jubileena, the cherry-loving racer, the sweetest, most compassionate girl in the arcade. Do you really want to become Jubileena, the cold-blooded murderer, the deadliest shot in the arcade? Do you?

My mind is reeling from the realization of what I've just done and I double over, clutching my chest, gasping for breath. Do I really want to become something I'm not?

But when another Cy-Bug lands just feet away from me, bearing its razor-sharp fangs with menace, my question is answered for me. Without thinking twice I whip out my blaster and shoot it straight through the head.

As I watch its dead body fall and disintegrate into code, I know I've just done something I can never undo. There's no turning back now, Jubileena, I think. It's over. You're one of them now- a mindless killing machine, capable of loving no one, not even…

Suddenly I snap back to reality as I remember my sister. How stupid was I to just let her risk her life to help me save the arcade? I should never have let her come. I head back in the direction of the troops, trying desperately to reach Citrusella.

But a gang of Bugs is on my trail, and I have to practice attacking moving targets on the fly. With each successful kill, my shooting accuracy increases, but I can only hope that it will all be enough to keep Citrus out of danger.

I finally spot her among the newcomers, and she waves when she spots me. "Jubi!"

"Citrus!" I yell back, not paying any attention to the oncoming wave of Bugs.

"Sur la gauche! (On the left!)" warns Glass Joe as five Bugs touch down right in between me and my sister, their green eyes set on me. Before I have time to react, Felix and Joe jump into the fray and begin to unload on the attacking Bugs.

"Don't you worry, sweetie, I got ya covered!" says Felix as he takes out the Bug on the far right, and the three of us collectively kill three more before the largest Bug swipes at us with its talons, knocking away Felix, Joe, and the gun in my hand.

Instinctively I lunge for my weapon, but the Bug gets there first, eating it and absorbing its essence. A pair of blaster-like appendages sprouts from the fronds on the back of its head. This is it, I think. For real this time. No one to step in and save me. No more guns; no more Vanellope. It's all over for real…

I shut my eyes and wait for the sound of gunfire. But when it comes, I don't feel anything. When I open my eyes, I'm met with the sight of the Cy-Bug that almost killed me reeling around in pain from a gunshot wound, before dropping dead to reveal Citrusella standing in front of me, her blaster in her hand.

A silence falls over the troops as everyone- even Calhoun- turns dumbstruck to face my 8-year-old little sister, the rookie who just took out a Cy-Bug at point-blank range. As if to break the silence, she yells out, "Got it!"

Calhoun beams down at her. "Not bad, civilian," she says. "Not bad."

I run up to her. "That was amazing," I tell her. "Thanks for the save, Citrus."

"No problem, Jubi," she says. "You would've done the same for me for sure."

"Yeah…" I pause. "Citrus, I'm not sure if I like this. I know this training's for the good of the arcade, but… it doesn't feel right. It feels… different."

Citrus just shrugs. "Well, ever since the invasion, everything's been different, hasn't it? Maybe we need to feel different. Maybe… maybe different is good, Jubi."

"Maybe…" I say, when suddenly a siren from within the training bay interrupts me. "Red alert. Red alert. Return to Game Central Station immediately," a robotic voice sounds out from the loudspeakers. Immediately, the soldiers begin to make for the game's exit.

"What's going on?" I ask Kohut as he runs by.

"We have a red alert. The Surge Protectors tell us there's been an attack on Game Central," he says. "Grab a weapon and move out!"

An attack on Game Central?! I think as Citrus and I hurry after him, neither of us prepared for what we'd be finding there…