The walk turned out to be shorter than Hiro anticipated, which was more than a little fortunate. The smell of sugar was starting to make him dizzy; he'd eventually closed his visor to thin it out. It hadn't helped much, but it was better than nothing. By the time he made it to the top, he was tired, though luckily not winded; his exploits and antics with the rest of his superhero team had a hand in boosting his endurance.

At the end of the rainbow road was a small, oddly dark room, in the center of which was a set of gingerbread carts linked together and awaiting a passenger. Hiro glanced around warily; there didn't seem to be anything better to do here, and Vanellope did say that the train would take him there. He shook his head; he was taking directions from a video game character. Something that, by all means, shouldn't actually exist. He shouldn't even be here. Was this some sort of virtual reality thing? Is it just his mind being put in the game or something? But no, that wouldn't explain those other two guys disappearing. Unless they were hiding somewhere...

He shook the thought. Vanellope said she'd seen them running off in this direction, and he needed to catch them. What he was going to do when he caught up, he wasn't sure, but he'd think of something. He always did.

Hiro climbed aboard the carts, plopping down on a marshmallow cushion. No sooner than he'd taken a seat did the car begin moving, sliding swiftly but smoothly into the dark tunnel ahead. Hiro clung cautiously to the sides of the cart, wide eyes taking in his new surroundings. The tunnel was a stark contrast from sugar rush, seemingly composed of enormous, thick cables of metal. Every so often, a spark of electricity would jump from one to another, but it never came close enough to the cart to be a danger. Still, it was an eerie display for Hiro considering what he just went through - what he was still going through.

Before long, the ride ended, and the carts pulled into a similar-looking station, this one appearing to be composed of more recognizable materials instead of candy. It seemed to be concrete or sheetrock, with graffiti scattered here and there (Who was this Leeroy Jenkins guy?) and an opening in front of him, as well as what seemed to be fairly reminiscent of an LED sign he'd seen before in the San Fransyoko airport.

"Now arriving at dock Twenty-nine. Welcome to Game Central Station."

This was it. Hiro hopped deftly out of the cart and gingerly walked towards the archway leading to the rest of the station. The moment he got close, he was met with a stunning sight.

It was enormous. Like a giant train station, and he would have mistaken it for one if it weren't for the enormous power outlets that stood in place of each station. Silicon chips made portions of the floor, and scattered throughout were brass benches and advertisement stands, all of which were flashing red. Hiro leaned forward, squinting to get a closer look. Judging from the pattern and symbols that he could make out, there was some sort of warning in effect. As he stepped into the hall, his footsteps echoed on the ground, and he opened his visor to be met with crisp, cool air. It was a welcome change from the constant sweet smell of Sugar Rush, as was the non-sticky floor.

Another thing Hiro noted about this place was that it was also surprisingly empty. In fact, no one was to be seen. How was he supposed to figure out where those masked guys had gone if there weren't any witnesses? There were way too many games plugged in here to check every single one. Yet with no other clues, he didn't have any other option. He'd have to look for anything left behind. If there is anything...

The sound of a train returning to its station caught his attention. It wasn't particularly loud; only by virtue of the place being so quiet did he even hear it in the first place. Wasting no time, Hiro made a mad dash towards the station where the noise came from. No one emerged from the station as he went towards it, but a lead was a lead.

The sign above the station flashed with the words "Hero's Duty". Hiro recognized the name; Honey Lemon was telling him just earlier that evening how she managed to get the high score in that game years ago when it first came out, and how she initially thought it was a rip off. Well, at least it was familiar territory. Hiro bounded up the stairs towards the train, swinging inside. The train to Hero's Duty seemed more like a public transit light rail than the trail of carts that was in Sugar Rush, but it would do. He gripped the metal bar in the center of the train, chewing his lip anxiously as the train sped along the track.

Vanellope stayed just out of view, looking up curiously at the screen to see two of the intruders staring through it.

"See? I told you!" The one in pink said, pointing to the screen. "There's nothing there! The demo screen's all blank!"

The one with her - dressed in green, wearing a headband rather than a helmet, took a step back. "Okay, this arcade is officially creeping me out. Are you sure you saw Hiro in there?"

"Hiro...?" Vanellope echoed, keeping her voice down. That must've been the name of that kid in the weird purple outfit. If he was with them, then he was definitely a good guy...and not a good guy in a sense of jobs within the arcade, but an actual good person.

The girl nodded. "Fred said he saw him, too. I think that machine might have had something to do with it. We should get a closer look."

"Don't look at me!" The young man replied, holding up his hands defensively and backing away. "I'm not going near that thing! You saw what it did to Hiro!"

"Well, we have to figure this out somehow!"

The screen faded as the demo screen shifted locations, and Vanellope was left in silence once again. It was enough for her to sort out her thoughts. A strange machine in the arcade? Intruders dressed up like they belonged in one of the games? Something about this was definitely fishy. She'd known from the moment those two masked guys showed up that something was wrong. The arcade hadn't dealt with thieves before, but even then she could tell that these guys were after more than just the change stored in the quarter machine. While all the other games opted to keep their demo screens running, Sugar Rush found itself without its main character while she tried to follow just what was going on...not that it was easy, given the angle her game was stationed at. Before long, suddenly the intruders were within Sugar Rush itself, skulking about and heading for Game Central Station after the one with the cracked mask chastised his partner-in-crime. Although she knew something fishy was going on, nothing else made sense.

But then that other kid arrived, and she had more questions than before. She didn't know much about him, but he was a friend of Aiko's, and something told her he was trustworthy. What he was doing inside the game instead of outside of it was anyone's guess, but by now he wasn't the only one inside.

Hiro and these other people was going after the guys in the black suits, and none of them had any idea how this side of the arcade worked. They were going to need all the help they could get, and Vanellope knew just where to start.

"Attention: A security breech is in effect. Please remain in your games and continue to play your demo screens."

Vanellope rolled her eyes and headed for the rainbow bridge leading to the station. She'd ignored any warnings ever since she caught a glimpse of the two men in black outside the console. She knew nothing about them other than the fact that they were bad news, and she'd already dealt with enough arcade chaos to follow a bunch of guidelines and let that slide.

Hiro grumbled impatiently. The train to Hero's Duty was noticeably longer than the one to Sugar Rush, for whatever reason. The added radio silence wasn't helping. If there were some way he could fix his helmet to where he could still talk to everyone, he would in a heartbeat, but thus far he had no tools and no ideas. His mind was too muddled with the pursuit of the masked men and how surreal this whole situation was to come up with any concrete plan other than tracking down the men and figuring out what they were after. Once he got there, well, what was he going to do then? Whenever he and his group went out on an excursion, Hiro was almost always jockeying Baymax, directing the team, and coming up with a battle plan. Without the rest of the team or Baymax, he was hardly more than a genius in an electro-mag suit and some rough knowledge of martial arts. He had almost nothing to defend himself with like the others did.

If there was a way into wherever this was, though, there had to be a way out. The others were still in the arcade. If he could chase them back the way they came, the others would be able to catch them, no problem, right? It would be tricky with Hiro being nearly defenseless, but at least it was a start. He could work out the details as he went. It wasn't the first time he'd had to improvise a plan, and at this point he doubted it would be the last.

Before too long, the train came to an abrupt halt, nearly knocking Hiro over. The doors hissed open, revealing an enormous, slick-looking train station, dimly-lit and full of what appeared to be steam. Nearby, a corridor led to what appeared to be some kind of hangar, with metal grate floors and various red lamps lit, the light filtering through more steam that slithered along the walls and ceiling. Up ahead, an enormous steel door lay open, sparks flying off the edges. As Hiro stepped forward, he realized that the door hadn't just been opened normally. Judging from the dents and how misshapen the door was, something had forced it down.

Outside, the air was swimming with steam and ash. The sky was a pale shade of acid-green, thickly coated in clouds that muffled the lightning that strobed rapidly beyond them. Ash fell perpetually from the sky, landing on the metal plate ground for mere seconds before disappearing. In the distance stood an enormous, jagged, metal tower built around what appeared to be a slim, luminous pillar. A bridge made with metal grates led up to it, lined by blue-lit pillars. Subtle, metallic whirrs buzzed in his ears, and the distant sound of thunder echoed around him.

Hiro stepped cautiously outside. The air here was thick, cold, and oddly humid; a stark contrast to Sugar Rush. Even without the swarms of Cy-bugs flying around, something about this place felt tense and nerve-wracking. As he walked forward, he felt his shoe hit uneven ground. At first, Hiro thought it to be one of the metal plates underfoot, but as he glanced down, he saw what appeared to be a kunai, attached to which was a set of cords that seemed to be severed abruptly by way of being viciously ripped. He picked up the knife, examining it curiously. While he hadn't played much of Hero's Duty, Hiro knew that knives in the game didn't look like this at all. Even the knives that did exist didn't have anything tied to them.

I bet this belongs to those criminals, he thought. They must've come here after all. They blew the door open, and then they dropped this on their way outside. But what're they using throwing knives for in a shooting game?

He didn't have much time to mull it over when he heard a massive explosion up ahead. Hiro raced forward towards the source of the noise, finding that it came from the base of the tower nearby. As he ran, he found that the doors at the bottom of the tower had been blown open, sparks now spitting out from the sides where the doors once stood. In front of the doors stood two men clad in black-

His breath nearly caught in his throat. It was the two masked men.

There wasn't even enough time for Hiro to develop a plan when the two masked men saw him and immediately spun back around, racing inside the tower. In their wake, a loud, droning buzz filled the air, and a horde of enormous, metallic insects crawled out of the entrance, their eyes and wings glowing with a bright, acidic green that set Hiro on edge.

The horde quickly grew in size, swarming into the sky and across the bridge, blocking out Hiro's view of the tower entirely. He was already under-prepared to take down two masked criminals; there was no way he'd be able to handle an army of giant, robotic bugs.

"Get down, pipsqueak!"

He didn't need to be told twice, nor did he even take the time to discern where the voice came from. The moment Hiro ducked, a flurry of laser shots flew over his head, accompanied shortly by the bursting and fizzling of the robotic insect swarm. Hiro peered upward, not daring to move, to see several soldiers clad in armor standing nearby, their faces obscured by bright orange visors. Among them was a familiar woman, eyes sternly narrowed in his direction, lips curled into a focused sneer. No. Way.

"Get back to the entrance," Sergeant Calhoun barked before she shifted her attention back to the soldiers. "Alright, let's get the outer doors closed, now!"

Rising quickly to his feet, Hiro darted back to the entrance of the field while the soldiers ran in the other direction. He didn't make it far before his progress was blocked by a cybug landing directly in front of him, its eyes glittering hungrily. Hiro yelped, making to dash to the side out of the way, only to be blocked as the cybug skittered back into his path. He faked a left before racing to the right, managing to get partway around the cybug before it lashed out with one of its legs and tripped him. Disoriented and panicked, Hiro scrambled to his feet and continued his mad dash to the entrance. He hadn't even made two steps when the cybug rammed into him, throwing him to the ground and pinning him beneath its pointed legs.

With no alternate escape, Hiro brandished the knife in his hand and slammed it into the cybug's eye. While it didn't penetrate far, the covering of the bug's eye shattered and there was a screech of protest as the monstrosity pulled back. Pulling the knife back out, Hiro dove out of the way just as the cybug was about to bite at his head. As he ran, he could hear the doors to the tower slam loudly shut, but the horde still remained. A flurry of rapid-firing lasers flew through the air behind him, the sounds clashing with the droning buzz of the cybugs.

He had to get out of here. At least long enough to find a weapon. That kunai wasn't nearly enough to defend himself with, not against these things. Fortunately, he hadn't been running long before the booming sound of electricity flaring to life caught his attention, and for a brief moment, all noises stopped.

An enormous pillar of light rose from the top of the tower. Cries of "Beacon up!" and "Cease fire!" filled the air as the cybugs eerily stared at the light, flying swiftly towards it, their legs drooping lazily beneath them. As each of them struck the light, they burst into clouds of smoke and steam, quickly dissipating. Seconds after the last cybug vanished into the light, the pillar vanished, leaving only the falling ash and the churning clouds overhead. Hiro let out a breath and slumped against the wall, exhausted. He was safe...for now.

It wasn't long before Hiro found himself approached by the soldiers from before. He was a little surprised at first; perhaps he'd lost track of time while he was catching his breath. When they came close, however, Hiro stood, straightening himself and letting out a nervous laugh. "Thanks, you guys. That was a close-"

Calhoun strode swiftly up to Hiro and grabbed him by the collar of his suit, dragging him to eye level. "Just what do you think you're doing here, pint-size?!"

"Whoa-whoa!" Hiro cried, eyes widening in alarm as he tried to pull away. "Take it easy! I'm not here to-"

"Don't give me that, kid," Calhoun snarled. "Nobody's allowed outside their games during a security breech, and nobody's allowed near that tower unless they're one of my soldiers and there's a quarter alert. You've got ten seconds to explain what you're doing outside your game before I stuff you back on that train myself!"

"Wait!" Hiro cried, struggling against the woman's grip. "Wait, no! I didn't even go near the tower! I swear!"

Calhoun snarled. "Listen, Pee-wee, either you start talking right now-"

"WAIT!"

Every head in the vicinity whipped up to see a tiny figure exiting the nearby station. Hiro barely had time to discern who or what it was when a blur of blue zeros and ones flashed past his vision and reappeared at Calhoun's side in the form of...

"Vanellope?!" Hiro cried, a dumbfounded stare on his face. He was certainly happy to see her, but what was she doing here?

"You shouldn't be here right now," Calhoun said, not even looking away to greet her visitor. "There's a security breech. Get back to your game and keep your demo screen running."

Vanellope's expression twisted into a determined glare. "Not until you put Hiro down!"

Hiro gawked. How had she figured out his name? Calhoun paused as well, regarding Vanellope with a curious, but still stern look. "You know this guy, sweet stuff?"

The candy-haired racer nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Well...sorta. He came in after those creepy guys in the masks!"

"Those goons?" Calhoun said, frowning before turning back to Hiro. "So you're not with them?"

"What?! No!" Hiro stated frantically, still tugging away from Calhoun's grip. "Why would I be with them? I'm the one trying to stop them!"

"Stop them? In this game? You're not even armed."

"Just let him go already!" Vanellope groaned. "I saw him and a bunch of others walking around the arcade trying to find a way to get those masked guys! I dunno what happened, but somehow he ended up in Sugar Rush, and now he's here!"

Calhoun's stern expression faltered, making way for surprise. "You saw what?"

"It's a long story and I don't know how it happened either!" Hiro exclaimed. "Just- Just put me down, okay? I'll explain everything I can. I promise."

At first, Calhoun did nothing except for stare doubtfully at Hiro. Then, her gaze turned to Vanellope, whom was returning the look with a silent plea. Finally, after a few long seconds, Calhoun gave Hiro one last calculating look and set him down, stowing her weapon. "I'm listening."