Twisted Wonderland Book 6: The Watchman of the Underworld

Chapter 48: A Sequel Cut Short

Vil has finished playing the game Ortho recommended.

Ortho is impressed, "Wow, you're good! You blew through the first boss like it was nothing!"

"Something clicked for me while I was playing. Wasn't there a live-action movie adaptation of this game?" Vil questions. "Ivaguely remember the story from a film I saw with my dad."

India and Ortho are surprised to hear it.

"Dude! You saw the movie?!" Idia asks, surprised.

"I didn't know it was based on a video game," Vil says.

Then Ortho says, "The movie was highly regarded among fans, but it appealed to a widespread, mainstream audience too. That led to Star Rogue hitting the big time.

"Yup. Game sales spiked after the movie's release, and they finally announced a sequel!" Idia says, excited.

But then says, "But right after that, the development team had a falling out."

"It was TRAGIC," Idia says.

"What happened?" Briar asks.

With that, Idia explains, " The narrative writer, character designer, and game designer... all argued so much they ended up leaving the industry and going their separate ways."

And Vil says, "With the original team gone, I suppose any sequel that got made would be an entirely different game."

"Exactly," Idia says, "I mean, props to the company for stickin' to their principles. They didn't just slam together another team to churn out a sequel.

"But alas, the sequel to Star Rogue was left a dream unrealized," Idia says.

And Ortho says, "And because of that, plans for a second movie were also suspended indefinitely."

"I still hold out hope that those top-tier creators will get back together someday... and we'll finally get our miracle the Star Rogue sequel," Idia says, and sniffs a bit. Sad and disappointed.

"So all you do is hope?" Vil questions.

India looks at Vil, confused, "Uh, what?"

"If you love it that much, why not make it happen yourself?" Vil questions.

"WHAT?" Idia asks, shocked.

Leona says, "He's right, y'know. With your family's resources you could just pay the creators and get 'em back together."

Idia yelps in surprise, "BWHAAA?! No! None of you get it! I want the original team to make a sequel to STAR ROGUE... A game that was made with PASSION, by a team that truly believed in it and knew it was going to be AMAZING! What value would there be in a game they made grudgingly just because I threw money at them?"

"Is that how it works?" Jamil asks.

"YES!" Idia shouts.

He then sighs, "Ugh, bunch of casuals. You know nothing of a nerd's heart!"

But Vil says, "Not to burst your bubble, but that's actually not what I meant."

"Oh?" Idia says, confused.

Then Vil says, "For a start, you could go visit each of these creators... and let them know how absurdly passionate you are about this."

"Huh...?" Idia replies, confused.

And Vil says, "Perhaps you'd make a difference by showing them they have an ardent fan eagerly awaiting a sequel.

"I dunno..." Idia says, unsure, "I've seen plenty of superfans doing that before, signing petitions and stuff...