Hey, StoriesAreMagic here with some important information. I didn't steal this story from daydreamlife, I adopted it. Well, sort of. More information on that in chapter 25. The first four chapters are mostly the original with minimal editing. Happy reading!

Closing time at Wu's Family Fun Center is a pretty lengthy process. The old man gently shoos the groaning kids out, washes the counter, picks up stray change, vacuums, inventories the snack stand and the cash register, dusts and fixes the machines, pulls down the blinds, locks the door, and finally heads home.

Then all is quiet. All is still.

Until whoever is at the screen at the time on Dance Dance Ninjago (the closest game to the door) calls out the "All clear!" That's when the arcade comes to life and the video game characters are free to do as they please.

I'm one of them. My name's Crush it Cole from the game Fix it Jay Junior and for thirty long years I've been breaking buildings, wrecking windows, and generally crushing everything in my path. Whenever Little Mister Fix-it gets to the top of the apartment building I'm taking down, I get thrown off and land in the mud.

Game after game, mud. Hour after hour, mud. Day after day, mud. Week after week, month after month, year after year, I fall off a building and land in the mud. And that HURTS like brick.

You know, it's hard to love your job when no one else seems to even slightly like you for doing it. As Gene (the mayor of the Nicelanders, who really aren't that nice) once so helpfully put, I'm just the bad guy who wrecks the building.

If I'm being honest with myself, it would be nice to be the good guy for once. I just don't want to be the bad guy anymore. Anyone I tell that to says that I can't change who I am.

Well, too bad. Even if I can't change who I am, I sure can try.

COMING SOON...

"Cole abandoned his game. How do you not see how serious that is?" Fix it Jay Junior said desperately, staring up at the two red-clad figures.

"Like this." The male tapped a finger on his chin mock-thoughtfully. "Huh. That doesn't seem that serious."

The girl punched him in the side and he collapsed in a gasping heap. She smirked.

FROM STORIESAREMAGIC PRODUCTIONS...

"Welcome to Game Central Station," a cool, calculated voice echoed through the huge room. "Trains for all stations now boarding."

Cole bit into a big, juicy, bright red Pac Ninja cherry and kept walking, trying to ignore all the gasps that followed him and the characters who ran away.

"Everything changes now," he breathed.

HE'S EXPLORING NEW WORLDS...

"Where's the wrecking guy?" A gamer boy wondered, unhappily poking at the screen.

"Once again, fear is a four letter word here, ladies. If you're too chicken to face a CySnake, you're no Samurai," a stately woman dressed in red and brown armor instructed as she distributed ono axes and quivers full of arrows.

Cole, clad in his own dark metal, raised a hand. "What's a CySnake?"

"Shut up, Private Dareth, I'm not in the mood for your nonsense," the woman ordered, tossing a wicked-looking scythe at him with enough force to knock him over.

HE'S MEETING NEW FRIENDS...

"Um, hi, mister," a small white-blonde boy Cole hadn't seen the moment before piped up. Cole yelped and slid down the tree.

"You're not from here, are you?"

Cole frowned. "Sugar Rush? I'm in Sugar Rush?"

"You're game jumping?" The old king asked in horror.

HE'S GOT ONE CHANCE TO PLAY THE HERO...

"Without Cole, we're doomed!"

"They're gonna pull our plug!"

"Aaaah!"

"What's that?" The boy asked curiously.

"A metal. I won it in Samurai's Duty."

NOW...

Cole sighed, curling up in his bed of damaged bricks.

The samurai commander looked around fiercely, battle ready with a pair of long gleaming daggers. The second in command hefted a hachiwari sword in one hand and a katana in the other.

Racers in candy cars sped down the sugary road.

HERE'S A STORY FOR EVERYONE...

"Everyone here says I'm just a mistake," the young boy admitted somberly.

"You ready for this?" Cole asked.

Jay stared at the woman in awe. She snorted half-heartedly.

WHO EVER NEEDED A RESTART ON LIFE.

The trio zoomed down the tunnel on a hovercraft.

"I'm not leaving you here alone."

They shook on it.

The CySnakes reeled back and hissed.

Cole broke into the room Jay was stuck in and the small blue-suited man gasped.

The line of ghosts saluted.

Lasers sparked and fired.

"Let's close up with the bad guy affirmation. I am bad,"

Excited, Cole blew kisses to the crowd.

"and that's good."

Jay and his Nicelanders danced.

"I will never be good,"

Cole opened his mouth threateningly.

"and that's not bad."

Mystake inclined her head towards Cole and walked off.

"There's no one I would rather be then me."

WITH THE CAST OF NINJAGO...

"Why do I fix everything I touch!? Oh, I am so hooped."

"It's make-your-mommas proud time!"

"I love my momma!"

"I don't get it."

CRUSH-IT COLE.

"Just take it one game at a time."