Chasing Ghosts

**Chasing Ghosts** is the second chapter in Arcade Spirits. It takes place two weeks after the first chapter and the Protagonist's first day.

## Story

### Pre-Date

The chapter begins with the usual narration from the Protagonist, explaining the various problems they've faced working at The Funplex over the past 2 weeks. Despite the "chaos and grossness" they've come across, they insist that they really are happy working there.

It cuts to the Protagonist and Juniper in The Funplex, with Juniper responding as if the previous narration was directed toward her. She seems overjoyed that the Protagonist is happy, saying that this is the best she's seen them in weeks. The Protagonist explains in thoughts that Juniper has taken to stopping by during her lunch breaks. They explain to Juniper that although it's been hard work, they finally feel as if they're happy.

Iris interjects with her own comments, which annoys the Protagonist since they had asked them to pretend as if they weren't listening in on their conversations. Despite this, the Protagonist explains to Juniper how Iris has really pulled through for them, despite the fact that she's ordered three months worth of pizza bagels on their behalf.

The Protagonist offers a few games of pinball to Juniper, however she declines, stating that their new Assistant Synergy Manager needs them to do a team building exercise. She explains that it although it was a boring job it had good pay and was a good entry level to middle-management. She admits that although she knew of the opening when the Protagonist was looking for a job, she decided not to tell him since the job was boring.

This upsets the Protagonist a lot, especially considering they were struggling for money. They reminisce on how although they've been happy, the job has come with a multitude of problems, and they still would've been better off if Juniper had just let them know of the job offer. The player then has the option of whether to lie to Juniper about how they're feeling, tell the truth or tell the very harsh truth.

Choosing to tell Juniper the truth will leave both parties happy, and Juniper will apologise sincerely. Lying to Juniper will cause Juniper to assume that the Protagonist is fine, however any romance option between the two will be closed for the rest of the game. Telling Juniper the harsh truth will open up an option for the player as to forgive Juniper or reprimand her. Staying angry at her will cause Juniper to argue back, claiming that all she wanted was to drive them out of their cycle of depression.

### Date

Once the Protagonist is done talking to Juniper, they decide to talk to one of the romanceable options. Since they are featured more dominantly in the chapter, Gavin and Naomi are not available to take on a date.

#### Percy

Talking to Percy will reveal that he's had bad luck in both Moopy and in the stock market that day, however he keeps his optimistic personality, claiming that "every day's a gift". The Protagonist claims that they're hungry, and Percy will question as to whether they're having pizza bagels or not, much to the Protagonist's disgust. Percy claims that it's okay, stating that he once subsided on nothing but peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Percy decides to take the Protagonist to Hole Story, the part doughnut shop part used book store. There, the Protagonist meets Ben and Matt for the first time, who discuss what it's like working next to The Funplex. They claim that they don't wish to interrupt their date, to which the Protagonist quickly affirms that it is not a real date.

During the date, Percy discusses why he has such a fascination with Moopy, and it links to his now deceased sister. He explains that she was a child prodigy who had a devotion to mazes. To satiate her desire, Percy saved up as much money as he could to buy her her own handheld Moopy. She was amazing, even better than Percy. The player can choose to either comfort Percy on his loss or to leave it where it is. Percy also claims that when he beats the high score, he'll put her initials on the high score board, Stella Isabel Sinclair.

#### QueenBee

The Protagonist finds QueenBee frustrated with her fault streaming equipment. To take her mind off it, the Protagonist decides to invite her for lunch, to which she suggests they go the Hole Story.

There, the Protagonist meets Ben and Matt for the first time, who discuss what it's like working next to The Funplex. They claim that they don't wish to interrupt their date, to which the Protagonist quickly affirms that it is not a real date.

While eating their food, QueenBee notes that she feels the Protagonist has been stressed lately. The Protagonist says the same thing to QueenBee, and she admits that the pressure to do well has been mounting a lot. She expresses her fear of losing, claiming that every mistake she makes is judged by her fans and team. She explains that her streaming equipment breaking was causing her anger earlier since she doesn't want to miss a stream in case she starts losing followers. She tells the Protagonist that if they have something worth fighting for, then they should fight for it like she does.

#### Teo

Before the Protagonist can invite Teo out somewhere, he approaches them, noting that they look incredibly hungry. Teo suggests that they got to Hole Story before the Protagonist dies of hunger, something which the Protagonist eventually obliges to, sick of eating pizza bagels.

There, the Protagonist meets Ben and Matt for the first time, who discuss what it's like working next to The Funplex. They claim that they don't wish to interrupt their date, to which the Protagonist quickly affirms that it is not a real date.

While there, Teo explains why his dance crew weren't at The Funplex as they were having their break day. The Protagonist wonders as to why Teo showed up anyways, and he explains that he has to work as to not let his dance troupe fall. He expresses that he would have no idea what to do if that happened, however he is comforted by the Protagonist who claims that they would be there for him. Teo states that he thinks the Protagonist is a true friend and an inspiring person to look up to, although afterwards questions them on whether they're truly happy doing the same thing over and over.

#### Ashley

The Protagonist catches Ashley in one of their rare moments where neither of them are working at one time. Ashley suggests that they go out for a bite to eat, and they decide to go to the Hole Story, but not before Ashley creates a hypothetical on how they make pizza bagels.

There, the Protagonist meets Ben and Matt for the first time, who discuss what it's like working next to The Funplex. They claim that they don't wish to interrupt their date, to which the Protagonist quickly affirms that it is not a real date.

Ashley comforts the Protagonist for having a rough morning and let's them know about her fears whenever she looks at herself. She explains that she doesn't really know who she even is, and that she's been trying to find the answer to that question for a while. She also links this in with her love for cosplay, stating that she can be whoever she wants to be without anyone judging her.

### Post-Date

When the Protagonist returns to The Funplex, Gavin intercepts them and Ashley, explaining to them that Hamza is around. Confused, the Protagonist asks who Hamza is, to which Gavin explains that he's an auctioneer who finds rare arcade games and auctions them off. Gavin tells the Protagonist that they're gonna have to run The Funplex solo while he, Ashley, Naomi and Francine all go to the auction.

However, after keeping the words of the person they went on a date with in mind, the Protagonist convinces the two to let them switch places with Ashley. Ashley says that she can handle the floor by herself, so the Protagonist joins the others in Gavin's van.

The four set off, and Gavin reveals that Hamza has set up in an abandoned estate. Naomi announces her love for arcade raids, which Gavin protests to, calling in an auction instead. The Protagonist expresses their confusion, unable to tell the difference. Francine explains the meaning of both words to the Protagonist and states that it's both at once.

Francine then explains who Hamza is and what he does for a living. Naomi chimes in, claiming that he's a whimsical person, making an example of when he auctioned off an arcade game for a chili recipe. Gavin and Naomi have another argument on whether Hamza's method of auctioneering is profitable or not, with Gavin insisting that there is a much simpler way that he could go about it and makes a point about how The Funplex doesn't have the floor space for many more games.

The Protagonist asks the group why they don't compromise with what they have. Francine gives them a talk about how you should never go either way. Always compromising will lead to no development at all, but too much compromising could be a big risk. Deciding to change the subject, the Protagonist comments on the nice weather, but as fate would have it, a storm begins immediately after.

Despite their differing opinions on the true value of arcade games, Naomi and Gavin find common ground on the fact that arcade games should have immense care taken in them. The van begins to near their destination, and the Protagonist has an inner monologue wondering where or what the auction will be.

The van arrives at the destination, which appears to be a dark and ominous mansion. The Protagonist blames their family's long lasting bad luck for the location choice. The gang arrive a little late and hurry inside, although not before commenting on the mansion's creepiness.

As soon as they enter the building, they are greeted by the jovial Hamza, complementing each one of them. He then acknowledges the newcomer in the form of the Protagonists, and questions as to who they are. The Protagonist introduces themselves, and Hamza does the same. Before the two can get into a deep conversation, Hamza ends it abruptly, clapping his hands together to begin the proceedings.

Hamza introduces to those in the foyer to the late Donna Michaels, the owner of the estate, DonnaWood. Donna had her own private arcade, which is why Hamza is auctioning at the manor. Hamza allows the guests to browse the arcade cabinets, and Naomi exclaims about how she should've guessed they were at DonnaWood.

After questioning who she is, Naomi gives the Protagonist a lecture on everything Donna Michaels. Naomi claims that she doesn't wish to mingle and would rather check out the games, and dashes off, leaving the others behind. Gavin thinks rather the opposite and goes off to schmooze with others. With Francine asleep, the Protagonist is unsure who to stick with. The player is given the choice of hanging out with Naomi or Gavin.

If the player chooses to hang out with Naomi, they will go down into the basement where all the arcade games are. When they go down there, they're amazed at the sheer size of Donna's collection. The Protagonist finds Naomi huddled by a T.M.N.T. machine. Naomi explains that this is a rare two-player variant released only in Oceania, to which the Protagonist questions as to why they would even consider buying it due to the original being four-player.

The Protagonist puts the eager Naomi's ideas into perspective, having her realise that they don't have the time, space or money to take all of the cabinets home. Naomi expresses how she doesn't believe it's fair, too caught up in her dreams to see the truth of reality. She admits that fixing arcade games is all she's ever wanted to do, which makes it all the more frustrating that The Funplex is struggling as it is, and she can't bring home all of the games.

She expresses fear that The Funplex will go under, explaining how she wouldn't know what to do if it did. The Protagonist reminds her to cling on to the hope that she has, and she happily agrees. The two discuss what kind of game they want to buy, with Naomi dissing high definition screens for not looking authentic, despite the Protagonist's best efforts to tell her otherwise.

Naomi then decides to thank the Protagonist for sticking with her, explaining that she's never really had anyone by her side until they showed up. She also gives a little insight into her issues with social situations, explaining that it's hard for her to make proper friends.

If the player chooses to hang out with Gavin, the Protagonist seeks out the man by Hamza's table of foreign delicacies. They ask Gavin if he sees any friends, to which he responds with a harsh remark that they are technically all his rivals. Despite the Protagonist's protest, Gavin declares that his point of view is practical, as he has to look out for his own emotional benefits instead of focusing on other people's.

Gavin expresses that he finds it hard to declare true friendships with his colleagues or business rivals thanks to the business aspect of things. He feels it's unfair to the other person in question, as he will always focus on his own benefit rather than theirs. Gavin then proceeds to introduce the Protagonist to some of the competition, including a strange woman who he's never seen at any of the auctions before.

Gavin recognises someone who he can't place, so he snaps a photo and asks his Iris to perform facial recognition. Gavin comments on how he finds it weird that the Protagonist's Iris calls them by their first name. There appears to be nobody else at the auction other than those Gavin's already shown to the Protagonist, so the Protagonist attempts to change the topic.

The Protagonist once again brings up Gavin's issue with people, to which he responds that the only reason he's cold and distant toward Naomi is that he wants to protect her dream more than anything, and he fears that if he let's her try and by all of the arcade cabinets in the world then her dream would never come true.

Gavin's Iris finally finished the facial recognition and determined the man to be Franco Sterling, trader for Nostalgia Commodities. Gavin recognises him from a mini-golf strip and, thanks to the help of Iris, determines that he is a spy for Deco's Palace. Gavin texts the Protagonist, asking them to tell Hamza about the spy while he distracts Franco.

As soon as Hamza finds out, he summons Franco over and sternly tells him to leave. Franco gives Gavin one last disdainful look before he leaves the establishment. Hamza gives his thanks to both Gavin and the Protagonist for finding the traitor, claiming that nobody from Deco's Palace is welcome at any of his auctions.

Depending on who you chose to hang out with, the lines will connect at this point, with the Protagonist either running back upstairs during the ruckus or witnessing first hand Hamza's dismissal of Franco.

At this point, Naomi leaves to go find her apron and Gavin leaves to coordinate a wish list, leaving the Protagonist alone with Hamza. Hamza strikes up a conversation with the Protagonist, wishing to get to know them better. He asks the Protagonist why they're at The Funplex, to which the player can respond either bluntly or passionately. Either way, Hamza decides to explain to the Protagonist his own story.

Hamza describes his time in Dubai and how he worked finding rare items for a trader he owed a debt to. In due time, the trader let him go from his debt, and Hamza kept these years of his life as a lesson on how to achieve his goals. Now, he uses his power to help those who are struggling stay afloat, just like the trader did for him.

After they question what trade-offs you have have to make to be successful, Hamza decide to tell the story of Donna Michaels to the protagonist. He tells the tale of how she was so caught up in the fame that she failed to maintain the work that had brought her success, producing a disappointing second album. She died mysteriously in the halls of her own arcade, starved to death while clutching the joystick of Polybius.

Hamza claims that since Naomi clings to only her dream and Gavin clings only to the world, neither of them will truly be happy. He states that you need a balance of both in order to find what truly drives you forward. He asks the Protagonist whether what they truly seek is happiness, but before they can answer Hamza starts the auction.

The cast of the auction move into the basement where the arcade machines are. Naomi makes the point that Francine isn't with them, but Gavin claims that she trusts them enough to make their own decisions. Naomi decides to recheck the games to see if she's missed any, while Gavin stays with the group to participate in the auction. The player is once again given the choice to stay with either Naomi or Gavin.

If the player decides to stick with Gavin, they'll ask him whether they can join the auction. Gavin agrees, and the Protagonist sits down next to him. Gavin tells the Protagonist how Naomi has sent him a list of "must-haves" and "would-be-nices", but the Protagonist instructs them to keep a clear head as they may not have either the cash nor the storage space for too many games.

Hamza begins the auction, but not before wishing the spirit of Donna Michaels as well, something that the Protagonist wonders to themselves as to whether Hamza actually believes it. The first major turning point of the auction is when Hamza offers up a Joust cabinet, something which is on Naomi's list of must-haves. Gavin admits that he thinks it's a bad idea since they already have one, but the player can choose to try and convince him to buy it or not. Regardless, another bidder bids $1000, prompting Gavin to call off any bidding of his.

The next major bid is what appears to be an off-brand football game. However, the Protagonist astutely notices that it's actually a T.M.N.T. machine in disguise, and asks Gavin to put a bid on it. Gavin gets away with a low bid, and once the cabinet is sold, Hamza gives a wink to the Protagonist, suggesting that he knew it was a T.M.N.T. machine all along and that he's okay with the low bid.

Gavin gives his admiration to the Protagonist's knowledge of arcade games, to which they explain that they used to frequent arcades when they were a child. Gavin notes that they'll be able to relive those memories once Naomi restores the games. Gavin explains that he still does have a concept of fun, as he enjoys playing pinball quite a lot, however he also recognises that his idea of fun may not be the same as the others at The Funplex.

The major bid afterwards is for a controversial rare game named Death Race, which is the last item on Naomi's wish-list. Gavin disapproves, however, if the player chooses right, the Protagonist convinces him otherwise, and Gavin ends up bidding and winning the cabinet, but not without some competition from other bidders.

After the auction is over, Gavin is pleased with the result, and thanks the Protagonist for their hard work. Depending on whether they have flirting enabled or not and whether they have decided to hang out with Gavin both times, the Protagonist can choose to flirt with Gavin at this moment. If done so, Gavin's dialogue will change for the rest of the game to match this.

If Naomi's route is chosen, the Protagonist goes to find Naomi in case she needs help. She appears to be huddled by a corner, and tells the Protagonist to come look when they come over. In the corner is a mother cat with multiple kittens, which Naomi assures that she's already taken a picture of to upload to the internet. It appears that the kittens have settled inside of one of the old arcade cabinets, which Naomi frets over since somebody will be buying it soon.

The Protagonist notes how they thought Naomi would care more about the game than the cats, which Naomi denies. Naomi asks the Protagonist for help with moving the kitties, so the two use the internet to figure out the best way to handle the situation. They gather the equipment they need, including food, water and a box to put the kittens in. Naomi instructs the Protagonist to find them a blanket, to which they immediately resort to the blanket that they know Francine has on them.

The Protagonist makes their way back up the stairs, tempted to take Francine's blanket. The player can either choose to steal it, ask Francine for it at the risk of waking her up or to look for an alternative. No matter which option, the Protagonist will either end up with the blanket or the tablecloth from the refreshment table.

The Protagonist moves back downstairs, and helps Naomi move the kittens into the box. Soon enough, they're in the box and ready to be transported. Both Naomi and the Protagonist comment on the cuteness of the cats before, which prompts Naomi to discuss her collection of stuffed animals, explaining how she's always kept on buying them to keep a general cute aesthetic surrounding her.

Naomi explains to the Protagonist how she won't be able to help move any of the arcade games, so they'll have to find Gavin. If the player has flirting enabled and has hung out with Naomi both times, they will receive the option to flirt with Naomi. If they do so, then Naomi's dialogue will change for the rest of the game to reflect this.

The two paths cross here, with both ending up with the Protagonist looking for either Gavin or Naomi. They will stumble across the Polybius machine that Hamza was telling them about and, entranced by the joystick, feels no option but to play the game, hypnotised by the screen.

The player is given no option to not play the game, and they are transported inside of the cabinet. The first "opponent" they face is a shadow version of Juniper, who coddles the Protagonist with overprotectiveness.

The player can choose to either summon one of their friends to help them defeat the Shadow Juniper, to refuse to believe her or to fight her themselves. If the latter is chosen, the player will lose health even with defeating the enemy, however this does not have an effect in the long run.

The second enemy that the Protagonist faces is a shadow version of themselves who tries to convince them that they're a failure. The options that the player gets are the same as the last time, except with a different pool of friends that are able to be summoned.

The third and final opponent in the game is the lost soul of Donna Michaels, trapped in the game forever. She explains why she stopped singing and tried to hide away from the rest of the world, making her very own private arcade. She tells the Protagonist to "go with the flow" and to give up on their dreams, as she did. However, the Protagonist fights against this, claiming that they're done with always compromising.

The player will be given the option to either try and save Donna or to just run from the game. If the former is chosen, the Protagonist will convince Donna to not give up on her dreams anymore. She will thank the Protagonist for trying to help her, however she claims that the game has already trapped her and her soul will be trapped there forever. If the latter is chosen, Donna will attempt to defeat the Protagonist in order to keep them trapped in the game forever.

No matter which choice you take, Iris will always intervene by overloading the Protagonist's phone's battery. This'll cause them to regain consciousness as their pants set on fire, which they quickly take off to stomp out. They realise that Iris is fine as she's saved to the cloud, however their phone is completely destroyed. They rush over to Gavin to tell them exactly what happened.

Gavin questions as to why the Protagonist isn't wearing any pants, however they ignore him and tells him to bid on Polybius so that it can't hurt anyone else. However, they're too late as it has already been sold to the woman in black for an undisclosed amount of money. Despite their pleads, Hamza claims that he doesn't want to cross federal authorities, something the Protagonist realises they probably shouldn't do either.

As a favour to the Protagonist, Hamza provides them with a new pair of pants, which the player questions as to why he has them on demand. Hamza claims that he must be prepared for all eventualities. He announces that there are only three more games left to auction off: Phrase Invaders, Wyvern Keep and Zombie Meltdown. All three are incredibly rare games, sought after by many.

Naomi returns to Gavin and the Protagonist, seeing the three games. She tries to convince Gavin to bid on Phrase Invaders due to its rareness, however Gavin suggests that Zombie Meltdown would be a better money maker for the arcade. However, the Protagonist has a flashback to when they went to the beach every summer with their parents before they had to move, and they remember playing one of the three games endlessly.

The player can decide which of the games they used to play when they were younger, with Phrase Invaders pleasing Naomi more and Zombie Meltdown pleasing Gavin more. No matter which game the player picks, they will receive a chance to give a last minute bid to Hamza, although Gavin stresses that they have no more money left to spend.

Iris then contacts the Protagonist from Gavin's phone, introducing them to the Intense Identity Situation. The player will only be allowed to answer the question based on their top two personality types, excluding Basically, in order to win over Hamza. They can choose from bidding a joke (Quirky), an opportunity (Steady), their dream (Kindly) or revenge (Gutsy). If there is a tie, the first personality type in the list will take priority.

Hamza will always accept their offer, and the group will return with one extra arcade game than planned. Luckily, the rain had cleared up, so the group get back in the van and on the road, with the Protagonist narrating their disbelief that they actually own an arcade game.

The Protagonist expresses how they want to do more for the arcade and explains how they want to be promoted to Event Manager, inspired to create a "re-launch" of The Funplex. Francine admires the Protagonist's ambition, and although sceptical at first, Gavin ends up accepting the Protagonist's request, although with fair warning that it is their responsibility and theirs alone.

The Protagonist ends up making the decision to stop going with the flow and to stop compromising and instead makes a vow to start believing in their dreams. On the rest of the trip home, Naomi plays some of Donna Michaels' music.

The Protagonist made it back to their apartment and either has a friendly or an unfriendly encounter with her depending on what the player picked earlier. They find a package containing a new phone and ends up going to sleep, although they do ask Iris what they knew of Polybius. However, the topic of discussion quickly shifts from Polybius to Iris herself, as the Protagonist notes that she has a lot more freewill than they thought she would have.

Iris explains how when she found the Protagonist, she was so devastated by their lack of hope that she overrode her code and registered them for premium access. She also admits that she was the one who ordered the phone, and that she had to hide her footprints to do it. Iris asks the Protagonist to trust her, despite her self-aware nature, and the Protagonist agrees to. She vows to help The Funplex grow to the best of its ability.