Sure enough, as Richard stepped out into Game Central from the Fix-It Felix entrance, the place was completely deserted. Not a single soul wandered the station—it was just him and the quiet hum of the overhead lights. "This is a damn liminal space..." Richard took a sigh, as he held onto the two hot dogs Felix had said Sonic had given him.

"Well, at least I can eat these in peace," he muttered

"I never noticed how much this place looks like Grand Central Terminal..." He said, noticing the resemblance to the real world station as he unrapped the tin foil off of the chilli dog.

He licked his lips once the smell ejected from the wrap. He took a bite of it, as he relaxed in the bench, watching the the outlet openings in front of him displaying the games.

As he took another bite of the hot dog, he asked himself out loud: "Geez... I'm going to be here for over 11 hours?" He swallowed. "I'm going to be bored to death..."

He looked around at the other game openings. "I still don't understand how these games work now... but I do know they're in them... playing? I can't go in them now," he glanced up at Sugar Rush's opening. "I could go into Sugar Rush and watch the racers..." But then he remembered the kart camera. "Shit... but what if it spots me? That wouldn't look right on the screen..." He shook his head, "I'm not candy, I look like a real person. Definitely not toon at all like my new frie-... Boyfr..." He blinked repeatedly.

"Uhhh... What is my relationship with the three?" he asked aloud, blinking again. Everything kind of happened fast in that regard, did all three of them like him back in that way? Gloyd and Rancis had both kissed his cheek—Rancis on the lips—and Swizzle hadn't kissed him at all.

Suddenly, Richard sank further into the bench, embarrassed. "Oh my god…" he groaned, the realization washing over him. Two of the three of his fictional crushes had kissed him, "Do they even know what polyamorous means? They might..."

He looked at his chilli dog. "Guess I'll eat on this..." he muttered, taking another bite and sinking deeper into the chair. "Maybe I can ask them this afternoon…"

He finished the first chili dog, eyeing the second. "Should I eat the second one… or save it for later?" he wondered aloud. After a moment's thought, he decided, "Ah, hell. Eat the damn thing-" He grabbed it from the bench, unwrapping it. "Come to papa—" But just as he was about to take a bite, a loud zap sounded next to him.

"Ahh!" Richard yelped, nearly dropping the chili dog. He spun around and saw Surge Protector standing there.

"G-Geez!" Richard grumbled. "You almost made me drop my chili dog!"

Surge pulled out his clipboard. "Is your owner back yet?"

Richard blinked in confusion. "My what—?"

"Your owner. Richard. You said he owns the tablet you're from," Surge clarified, pointing his pen at Richard.

Richard was extremely confused.

"Reality Simulator. The game you're from—"

Richard nodded quickly. "Ohhh, yeah… uh… That…"

Surge scribbled something on his clipboard. "So, he hasn't come back to get his tablet?"

Richard was about to lie again, but then he wondered if he should just tell Surge who he really is. But then he remembered what Rancis told him about what Surge can do to viruses. And considering their talk about how Richard might be code now—he had repawned, after all—he surely didn't want to find out if he could be wiped from existence because he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Uhh… Yeah, Richard… hasn't come back yet," Richard said, his voice cautious.

"Strange. I don't remember him leaving his stuff in the arcade," Surge muttered. "Well," he looked up at Richard. "You definitely can't go into any of the games. I've noticed you've gotten pretty close with the three boys from Sugar Rush, but you can't enter their games while the arcade's open." He paused as Richard nodded. Surge continued, "Your graphics are way too close to human. If a player saw you, it'd be… off-putting." He lowered his clipboard and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not letting someone slip away again, not after Ralph thought it was a good idea to give Sugar Rush a makeover in the middle of the day…" He sighed, turning away. "Hope you don't get too bored," he said, zipping away in a flash of blue light.

Richard sighed and resumed eating his chili dog.

After Richard was done eating, Richard decided to kill time by wandering the station, passing by the various game entrances. Of course, he wasn't about to step into any of them.

"Hmm..." he murmured, eyeing one of the signs. "Missile Command." He moved on to the next. "Wizard of Wor." His footsteps echoed through the quiet space. "Paperboy," he said, shaking his head with a small laugh. "Grandpa sure loves these old games no one even remembers anymore," he snorted. "At least he's teaching the kids about the classics."

He stopped briefly in front of the Tekken entrance. "I remember playing that one when it first came out," he said with a faint smile.

As he passed by another, his stomach gave a small growl. "Burger Time..." he read aloud, blinking. "I wonder if I could actually get a burger to eat in that..." He said, now thinking about more food. Then, he shook his head, "Nah, I can't go in there now," He resumed walking, his eyes scanning the names of the games.

That was until he reached one that made him stop in his tracks.

His breath hitched as he stared at the sign above.

Wi-Fi

"So... that's the entrance to the internet?" he said, looking down into the dark opening. His gaze shifted around the station, "No one... uses Grandpa's computer other than... Grandpa..." He looked back up at the sign. He wanted to go in there, too see really what all the fuss was about what his three racer friends had said.

"Alright... going in," he decided and stepped forward.

After crossing the threshold, he found himself in a small, almost claustrophobic box of a room. A single pad sat in the center. "What?" He glanced around. "No train?" The place felt eerily still. "Uhh... okay?" He cautiously stepped toward the pad, examining it.

"What is this?"

The moment he stepped onto it, a cylinder-shaped wall shot up around him.

"AHH—WHAT THE HE—"

Before he could finish his sentence, the wall disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. Gasping, Richard stumbled backward. "What just—" He froze, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

He blinked once. "This... This is not the same room I was just in..."

The walls, floor, and ceiling were all pitch black, faintly illuminated by glowing green lights.

Two entrances stood off to one side. One sign read "To Monitor" and the other "To Power Supply."

"Okayyy…" Richard muttered, slowly piecing things together. "Am I... in the…" His eyes landed on another sign that confirmed his suspicion. "I'm in the router," he said, nodding to himself.

He looked over, and saw another pad.

This time, this had a weird toothy door. "What's that?" He walked over to it.

As he got closer, he saw a bunch of danger signs.

'WARNING: ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK.'
'DANGER! THIS LEADS TO THE INTERNET.'
'WARNING: THE INTERNET IS HUGE AND DANGEROUS. BRING A BUDDY WITH YOU.'

Among the official warnings, a sloppily written note stood out:

'Don't enter if you're big like me. It won't end well. – Ralph.'

Richard stepped closer, eyeing the pad and its intimidating door. "This leads… to the internet itself," he whispered.

On the ground beside the door sat a bucket with another sign.

'If you do decide to go to the internet, take one tracker. It'll always point back to the Arcade's site. – Surge Protector.'

Peering into the bucket, Richard saw a pile of round devices. He picked one up, inspecting the tiny screen. The arrow on it spun in circles, seemingly broken.

"Uhh... is this thing busted?" He grabbed another tracker, but it behaved the same way. His eyes flicked back to the door.

"S-Should I go?" he asked himself, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

He looked down at the tracker again, then back at the door. Eleven hours stuck in the station felt like an eternity.

Richard took a deep breath. "Okay… here goes."

Stepping onto the platform, he hesitated. "Now what..." His eyes fell on a button near his foot. "Guess I press this?" He leaned down and pushed it.

A mechanical voice boomed from nowhere: 'WARNING: INTERNET SHUTTLE ACTIVATED. NON-PASSENGERS STAND CLEAR OF THE PAD.'

Richard jumped at the sudden noise. "W-Woah!" Before he could react, holographic material began to materialize around him. "Oh my god!" he yelped as a chair formed beneath him, complete with handrails that locked into place.

"Uhhh...?"

'DEPARTING IN 3... 2...'

"Wait—hold on!" Richard shouted, panic setting in.

The spiral door in front of him slid open.

'1.'

Richard blinked. "Oh fuck-,"

The shuttle launched forward with a sudden jolt.

"AHHHHHHH!" Richard screamed as the vehicle rocketed down the tunnel, the door sealing shut behind him.