The Glory Games (REVITALIZED!)

Chapter 1 Part 2: Of Bugs, Birthdays and Black Envelopes

CHEEEAAAA! The robotic insect's battle cry echoed loudly through Alexis's head. She racked her brain for battle tactics, but intense fear stopped her from doing so. Cowering close to the ground, she could only imagine all the possible ways the shuttle-sized creature would consume her, and she would become a horrid bug-human hybrid, like the Turbo guy everyone still talked about. Pushing her fears aside, Alexis looked up at the menace, slowly advancing closer to her, coming in for the kill. She grabbed the heavy, black machine gun from the sling on her back and aimed it straight at the threat. She knew very well about the possibility of being thrown back by the blast, her mother had taught her the correct way to plant her feet on the ground, but as frightened as she was about the bug ten times her size looming over her like the grey, swirling, stormy clouds overhead, Alexis tended to act on impulse far too often. CREAAA! Another furious shriek from the cybug alerted Alexis that she wasn't dead after all, and that she'd only wounded it. Struggling to stand up again, she noticed her gun was lying several feet away-dangerously close to the cybug. She stood and jogged over to the weapon. Picking it up and taking her aim once more, Alexis squeezed the trigger as hard as she could, letting out as much ammunition as she possibly could to kill the thing once and for all. After her rounds were all but extinguished, she bent over to inspect the corpse. That's when it caught her eye, something was stuck in its mandibles. Prying them open was no easy task, they were jammed shut. Finally, they gave way and a partially singed black evelope was revealed. But before Alexis could grab it, the envelope was carried off by a gust of wind, she'd never see it again. "Lexi, Lexi!" Alexis turned to see her twin sister, Sasha, racing towards her, the entire military unit at her heels. "Where have you been?" Sasha scolded through gasps. "I was just chasing a cybug, that's all." Alexis managed a believable explanation for her absence, even with Kohut, Green, Silivan, Johnson and Markowski staring at her in annoyance. Sasha's eyebrows raised as she brushed her long, stringy, blond bangs behind her ear so her piercing, baby blue eyes were focused directly at Alexis. "Yeah, and Sugar Rush go-carts are edible." "But they are!" Sasha sighed. "That's not my point," She turned, then, realizing the men were still standing behind her, addressed the problem. "Private conversation, guys! Leave us!" The guys gave each other concealed smirks as they began to walk out of earshot, the girls were virtually copies of their mother. "I know you didn't just chase a cybug over here." Sasha stepped closer to Alexis. "I saw an envelope flying through the swarm and a bug tried to eat it, but before it did, I killed it, and then it flew away again." Sasha shrugged. "Probably wasn't too important to be blown away." "So, go time?" Alexis turned to face yet another horde of the horrendous beasts, swirling about three yards ahead of them. Sasha loaded her gun and grinned deviously. "On your command, sis!" Both girls raised their guns over their heads and ran screaming mildly vulgar insults at the swarm of cybugs. Once the cloud was obliterated, a familiar female voice barked strictly first at the men, then at the girls. "That was the last of them, Kohut! Activate the beacon! You two, get your butts over here! Arcade opens in four hours!" "Aww, mom!" Sasha complained. "Five more minutes!" Alexis whined. "The beacon is up, Tamora!" Kohut reported. "Good, and no, you cannot have five more minutes, you were here for three hours straight!" Tamora shouted over the subtle hum of the beacon. Both girls let out sighs, put their guns back into their slings and began to head over to the exit of Hero's Duty, where their mother was waiting. "Everyone's waiting for you at Tappers." She commented. "And dad's there?" Sasha asked hopefully. "He was setting up, last I checked." "Come on, let's go!" Alexis was about to start walking out, but her right shoulder was tugged back, preventing her from going any further. "Where do you think you're going with that?" Tamora motioned to Alexis's machine gun. "To Tapper's." "I don't think so." "Aww, please?" Tamora's face soften at her daughter's plead. "Fine, but only because it's your birthday." As the trio were about to enter Tapper's, a red grid appeared and an annoying beeping alarm sounded. "Please step to the side." The Surge Protector stated. "What now?" An exasperated Sasha gasped. "I just wanted to say happy birthday to the girls." The Surge Protector looked up from his clipboard and smiled. "Please proceed." The red grid disappeared and they all sighed in relief as they got into Tapper's. "Hey Tammy," Wreck-it Ralph greeted their mother at the doorway. "And, okay, which one's which again?" It was true, though Alexis hated to admit it, she and Sasha were identical twins, and it was practically impossible to tell them apart, save for a small scar under Sasha's left cheekbone that almost stretched to her hairline, that she had gotten when a misfired bullet struck her when she was three, the first time she'd ever come to Hero's Duty. Tamora spoke up before any of the girls had a chance. "Sasha's the one with the scar, Alexis doesn't have one." Ralph's eyes flashed with remembrance. "Oh yeah! That's right!" Sasha rolled her eyes. "Is Vanellope around?" Ralph scanned the room. "Yup, I swore I saw her somewhere...." The pint sized president ran from the Sugar Rush racers' table to where Ralph was. "I heard my name being called, what do you want?" Vanellope turned to face Sasha and Alexis. "It's been a while, Private Pull-ups, Cadet Cooties, nice to see you again." "Always with the nicknames, huh, short-stack?" Alexis snarled. The girls soon broke into a detailed conversation about what would happen if people were really named things like Cadet Cooties or Private Pull-ups. After about half an hour of doing so, the cake was brought out, and Felix hung a banner that read: Happy 8th Birthday, Alexis and Sasha! The cake was soon cut, (and no, Ralph did not smash it like he did eight years ago on the thirtieth anniversary of Fix-it Felix Jr., that was a tale that never got old) and the large group of guests began to dissipate. That's when Alexis and Sasha decided to crash for the night at their penthouse in East Niceland. But their parents had other plans. "Lexi, Sasha! Get down here now!" Tamora called just as the twins had entered their room. Alexis was completely confused. What did they want? Heart pounding with anticipation, she and Sasha slowly descended downstairs. "Look at this," Tamora held an open black envelope, pulling out the paper within. "It's an invitation to something called the Glory Games." "Can I see?" Sasha was handed the paper and Alexis looked over her shoulder. It said what would happen if you refused, where to be picked up, (the top of the Hero's Duty tower) how old you'd have to be and that only the best could go. "I think we should go, I'll be your mentor, it'll be fun, you'll see!" Tamora nodded toward the paper. Felix did not look convinced. "I don't know, Tammy, they just turned eight and it could be dangerous, you know." Tamora seemed to ignore him, however. "There's no one better in this arcade who can win the games than you two, I'll teach you everything I know!" Alexis was brimming with excitement. "So we'll do it?" Felix looked at Tamora. "I suppose we could." "Then it's settled, we're going up that tower tomorrow." A morbid thought crossed Alexis's mind. "Wouldn't you be abandoning your games?" "Already taken care of that, Surge Protector said he'd clone us. So, I expect you two to get plenty of sleep tonight, you have a big day ahead of you." With that, Alexis and Sasha said goodnight, but lying in bed trying to drift off, Alexis couldn't stop thinking about the Glory Games, and what they would be like. Little did she know, that in the weeks to come, she'd wish more than anything that they had never received the singed, black envelope.