the scene opens in a sprawling, glitching mall. neon signs flicker overhead. lollipop’s just discovered her credit card is missing, and everyone’s gathered around, murmuring nervously as four hovers nearby, hands behind their back and a suspicious grin on their face.

lollipop (hugging the crumpled letter against her chest, voice trembling): “my credit card—it’s gone! i swear i had it when we came in…” (her eyes scan everyone’s faces wildly) “someone here took it. someone here is the thief.”

four (floating upside down, arms crossed with a smirk): “oh, what a terrible tragedy. or maybe… an opportunity for some fun.” (their single eye flickers like a glitching screen as they chuckle) “i’ll give you a game: whoever returns the card first… doesn’t vanish.”

(a tense silence falls. suddenly a flash of light — bubble pops like a balloon into glittering pixels. everyone gasps.)

blocky (dropping his metal detector in shock): “b-bubble?! four, you can’t just do that!”

flower (holding up her phone, screen glitching with weird camera feeds): “wait, look — my security footage is glitching too. there’s a cursor on the screen moving like it’s alive.” (she shoves the phone toward gelatin and taco)

gelatin (leaning close, eyes wide): “whoa. you mean someone’s controlling it? like a hacker?” (he looks around the mall nervously, then whispers) “maybe we’re not alone.”

taco (crouching to inspect the floor, one hand on the tiles): “hey, these footprints lead to the arcade. whoever took the card ran that way.”

match (nibbling nervously on a handful of popcorn): “i don’t like this. whoever they are, they’re cruel.”

four (spinning wildly mid-air, voice echoing through speakers overhead): “tick-tock! you better hurry — every second counts.”

(another glitch ripples across the mall as the group glances at each other. neon machines hum in the distance, light spilling into the dark corridor ahead.)

ruby (hugging her arms tight, voice shaky): “this is like some kind of haunted game… are we really gonna chase whoever did this?”

blocky (stamping one foot defiantly): “no choice. we find the thief before someone else disappears.” (he looks back at everyone, his sharp eyes gleaming with determination) “let’s move, team.”

(one by one, they dash toward the glowing arcade as the glitching lights flicker faster and four’s eerie laughter fades into the background.)