Chapter Twelve – Unlockable
"The Scribe?" Moppet said as she looked down at the screen "Heh, cute bear costume."
Mickey said nothing as he ran the stylus in circles on the screen; just what in the world was going on here? He had played the game all the way through the end, making sure he did EVERYTHING right to get the good end so he knew how it played through.
But this? A new character? Something about a 'scribe'?
Something was off here but for the sake of keeping everything hidden from Moppet, he knew he couldn't say a word.
Unless things got WEIRD of course!
"So, he's gonna join our party?" Moppet asked, a smile on her face.
"Er, YEAH!" Mickey said, laughing nervously "Um, he adds….he adds."
Darn it, what DOES this character do?
"He adds…really cool stats to your game!" the boy said.
LIAR.
"Oh, SWEET!" Moppet said as she readied herself to play "So should we-?"
"JUST SKIP IT!" Mickey shouted "Er, I mean! Let's go through the action! Y-ya only have a few attacks and they're kinda low but fighting for the first time is cool!"
"Oh…okay." Moppet blinked, pressing A along with her cousin "Hey, look! It just said he was added to our team!"
What TEAM? This was impossible! There were other party members to come but that wasn't until later in the game! To have one show up so soon was a surprise for the young boy.
"Maybe this IS an unlockable mode!" the boy thought to himself "But what in the world did we do to open it?"
Back within the game, the trio headed down the path as instructed, Felix trailing behind the two and hoping that he didn't stick out TOO much. Thankfully, the costume that had been chosen for him was good enough to hide just how different his design looked when compared to the others but it didn't help in keeping his fear down.
"Just keep cool, just keep cool!" the man breathed in, keeping up with the march.
"Hey! PSSST!"
Felix looked up, seeing Antares making a glance towards him. To his surprise, she was smiling at him.
"Nice work there, buddy!"
"Y-ya really think so?" Felix meeped, his head still a little low.
Antares winked, "A'course! They're still playing so that MUST mean something!"
"Something?" said the Max from Mickey's game "What are the others going to say when they find out what you two are doing?! It would be easier if your player were just doing this on single mode but on CO-OP!? Don't you know the danger that this-!"
"SHHH!" Antares said, pinching the other Max on the arm "I already explained to you what the crisis was! I'm sure the others will understand!"
Felix gulped. Hearing the words come out of the other character's mouth was more than enough to bring back the fear that had weighed in his mind. Yes, this was a huge risk but as Antares had said, they had gone THIS far. There was no turning back now.
"You have to go through with this…" Antares whispered "This is the only way we can get this lil guy back to his home!"
"Alright…." Max replied, a grunt in his voice "But please don't blame me when-!"
Suddenly, loud music began blaring in the area, so loud that Felix nearly jumped a foot in the air. Bright lights began to flash and the area looked like it was beginning to swirl.
"W-What is TH-!?"
"Quick-time event!" Antares smiled, unsheathing her sword and cracking her neck "Oh-ho-HO! I've been WAITIN' for this!"
Felix slowly began to creep behind a bush. He had heard that term before from a few other characters and if his memory served him right things were about to get a WHOLE lot hairier.
"Oh boy…."
"RAAAAAUNG!"
Felix screeched, nearly jumping out of ALL of his clothing as a beastly looking creature popped from the bushes!
"URRRRRGH!"
Another soon followed, Felix screaming again!
"BLUUUUURGH!"
BLURGH?
Felix blinked, looking at the monster. It DID look rather goofy once he got a second glance.
"Okay, THAT wasn't so scary…."
"Ya better look out!" shouted Max, nearly KICKING the repairman out of the way and just in time too. Even though Felix did land in a tree, had Max not stepped in just in time he would have been grabbed and dragged under by several not-so-friendly looking beast who were not sprouting out of the ground like bamboo!
"Okay, I'm used ta dealin' with bricks an' DUCKS!" the repairman called as he FELL from the tree "So excuse me if I don't have a CLUE as ta what ta do with these guys!"
"Relax, big nose!" Antares snickered "These guys are low level. They look tough…."
The girl acted on Moppet's command, feeling a rush of energy go through her as the attack was chosen.
Double Slash.
"But as ya can see…." The woman grinned, licking her lips and sharp teeth "They're child's play…."
"Uh, is there a reason why her voice shifted DOWN for that?" shuddered Felix.
Max rolled his eyes "Just get back in the tree."
Antares crouched down on one knee but then sprang up, a loud battle roar coming from her mouth.
"EAT MYSTICAL METAL!"
She moved in, landing HARD atop one of the monsters and CUTTING their head off in the process!
"OOOOH!" Felix winced "O-Okay, BLAST are one thing but DECAPITATIONS?!"
Just as Felix mentioned the word, what should fall into his lap with a PLOP?
A severed head.
"Uuuurgh!" the severed head moaned, its eyes blinking off as it turned towards Felix "Let me feast upon your SOUL for my rejuvenation!"
Yeah, that was the breaking point.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURGH!"
Felix had never screamed so loud in his life, drop-kicking the head right back into the battle but it was attacked and destroyed by Max, the large man laughing powerfully.
"What's wrong, HERO? I thought you could handle the tough stuff!"
Felix was clutching onto the trunk of the tree he had previously been tossed into, his eyes complexly white and his chest heaving up and down.
"Don't want to talk. Can still feel head in lap. AH."
The battle only swelled, growing more and more violent as the small man hide from view! Bones were being broken, bodies were being slashed!
IT WAS CARNAGE OF WHICH FELIX HAD NEVER SEEN BEFORE!
At least on the INSIDE anyway.
Outside, Moppet only saw a rather cartoonish looking sprite, swiping through the air as the monsters turned into pixels.
"Hehe, cute." The girl laughed, continuing on with the battle "I love how the monsters get those little sweat drops on their foreheads when you slash them!"
"Or when they pucker their lips when they get defeated?" smiled Mickey "Ha, this is so FUNNY!"
"YA WANNA PIECE'A US?!" roared Antares "THEN COME N GET SOME, SCALE BAIT!"
A goblin EXPLODED in the siblings' faces, green muck covering ALL. For a second or two, all stood still, as if they were trying to figure out just what had happened but out of nowhere….
"HAHA!" laughed Max, his muscular arms in the air "IT ONLY GETS BETTER!"
"I WANNA GET THE ONES THAT EXPLODE BLUE!" cackled his sister, the fight continuing.
And Felix thought his darling Calhoun was the only one he knew who loved it when things got messy. He stood before the two characters, watching them completely immerse themselves into the battle, swinging sword and daggers through the air as the monster were cut down from every angle.
Points were being collected, power-ups were dropped….as well as skulls and several bodies but everyone seemed more concerned about the goodies rather than the GOOEYS.
No wonder Antares was so excited to get the journey going. In her mind, there was nothing so much fun as decapitating a few monsters early in the morning.
"HAHA!" the woman laughed, punching another monster in the face "Double it up buddy, you're losin' stats!"
"Oh?" chuckled Max, sending TWO beasties flying into a tree "Green horns like you ALWAYS think you're hot stuff. Better watch out for the-!"
"SURPRISE!"
Both fighters looked up, seeing a MASSIVE monster suddenly pop out of a tree. Felix, still on the sidelines, screamed rather loudly and considering the monster was BIGGER and BULKIER than Ralph, he had good reason to.
"What the HO-HAW is THAT?!"
Both fighters looked up, the massive creature glaring down at them, steam pouring from its nostrils but they were undeterred. Antares raised her weapon, her eyes narrowing.
"First level boss…."
FIRST LEVEL?! After so much insanity, the game had the nerve to throw in a BOSS FIGHT?!
WHAT WAS IT WITH MODERN GAMES?!
"Yo, Nose man…."
"Its FELIX…."
"Okay Cutie-Pie, stay right there…." said Antares "Brother from another Mother-board an' I will take care'a this!"
Felix gulped. He knew he was out of his league with this game but he still couldn't just STAND there. He had to contribute something otherwise he knew Moppet would start to smell a rat.
Or perhaps it was his bear costume that was giving off the scent.
"A-are ya s-?"
"Stay BACK!" Max ordered "Babysitting you is bad enough. I don't want your DEATH to weigh on my shoulders should something happen to you during our quest!"
"Ah, BABYSITTIN?!" Felix scoffed, very much offended by the comment "I've been on tha beat for more than THIRTY YEARS, SON so I don't-!"
Apparently the two had not heard the man, as if it that were surprising. They were too busy being controlled by the players to even notice Felix by now.
"STAR SWIPE!" said Antares.
"LION MANE PUNCH!" roared Max.
There was that feeling again….that feeling of USELESSNESS.
"Hey, when is that Scibe fella gonna do somethin'?" asked Moppet.
Felix looked up, a chill going down his spine.
HIM. They were talking about HIM.
"Er, just wait!" Mickey laughed nervously "H-he comes inta play later!"
Moppet fiddled around with her character maps, surprised to find that for some reason, Felix's stats were on HER device "Well, he's on my team."
"What, really?" said Mickey "Strange. I only have info for TWO characters, not THREE….but I still see him there."
The repairman could do nothing more than stand and fear for his life. He knew Moppet would grow curious and use him but at this point he had NO IDEA what he could do and if something, say a MASSIVE INJURY, were to come upon him….
One that would lead to his demise….
GAME. OVER.
"Gaw, CRAP." Antares said as she looked up, slamming her fist into the monster's eye several times "I was hopin' she would check your stats once we got to the town or something, not during a battle!"
Max stabbed the beast in the back but it did not go down, a few hit points popping over his head "Then what do you suggest we do?!"
"Play it like the script!" replied the woman "But once we get to our first save point we-!"
"TARE!" shouted Max "LOOK OUT!"
The woman looked up but it was too late. The huge fist of the monster came down upon her and with one mighty SLASH of its claws-!"
"AUURGH!"
"SISTER!" shouted Max "I mean….OTHER VERSION OF MY SISTER!"
Fatal blow!
Moppet cried out in surprise as she watched her health go down considerably "Aw, cheap shot! CHEAP SHOT!"
"Gotta watch for it…" Mickey said, using his version of Max to land blows on the monster "Quick, power back up! I've cut this guy down just enough for ya ta take-!"
"Urgh, which power up do I use?!"
"Try the blue heart! Its-!"
The kids continued to argue outside the game, Antares laying on the ground and flashing red.
Not a good sign.
"Oh, PIN FEATHERS!" she gritted in pain "R-red zoned on a first battle?! What's wrong with me?!"
Despite her injuries, she wasn't too worried. If she were to die there, the game would only restart from the beginning, unlike Felix who's own data still hadn't been fully stored into the cartridge.
But as the repairman looked at the flashing woman, his safety was the LEAST of his concerns.
Her cries, her pain…it struck Felix.
He remembered it.
He remembered seeing her lay there on the ground. Injured, desperate.
"Felix!"
"T-Tammy…."
"Felix!"
"TAMMY!"
Calhoun.
Seeing the monster stand over Antares brought back the painful memories of his beloved wife in the clutches of Mal, the virus cackling away as the little monster stood over her, lapping up every bit of pain and blood that poured forth from her victims.
But what had Felix done to help?
Nothing.
ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.
No.
He couldn't let this happen, not again!
Something went off in the man's mind, something that even he could not fully understand or control but whatever it was, he acted upon it. The monster raised its huge fist in the air, ready to make the killing swipe upon the downed warrior but before it could even move…..
"HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"
Antares and Max looked up in shock, seeing Felix FLYING through the air, pure rage and hurt in his eyes.
"What is he-?!" said Max!
"He can't be-!" said Antares!
"GLAUGHGH?!" said the monster!
Even though he knew strength-wise he couldn't do much, Felix knew where to aim. He came sailing down, his BOOTS landing right into the eyes of the monster, inflicting just the right amount of pain to the beast that it fell back, crying out.
"Holy-!" gasped Antares but before she could move, Felix landed beside her, pulling out his hammer "W-what are you-?!"
Clutched within his hands, the magic hammer glowed brightly, as if it were bestowed upon Felix from the heavens above. He then hit Antares where she had been injured, the bright ringing of the hammer heard by those who were still around.
And that included the two gamers outside of the melee.
Moppet looked down, shocked to find that Felix, or better yet 'The Scribe' had moved on his own.
"W-wait, I didn't do that!"
"Well, if ya didn't, thanks anyway!" said Mickey, surprised by the effects "I mean, LOOK!"
Moppet was in awe as she watched Antares' health instantly recover to its original setting, the woman inside feeling every injury she had gotten instantly vanish and her vigor return.
"Oh my….oh my GOSH!" the woman said, looking down at Felix "W-what did you do?!"
The repairman looked lost in his anger, panting heavily as he held the hammer in his hand, not even realizing what he had done. Max looked up, seeing that the gamers were still looking down at the two but he couldn't let them think anything was up. He gave the monster the final killing strike, running up to the two characters but he stopped short of Felix, posing stiffly, a finger pointing towards the sky.
"I-I-! WHAT AN ATTACK!"
Felix snapped out of his stupor, jolting a bit as Max posed towards Antares.
"Sister, are you alright?"
"U-ih, why yes!" the woman followed "B-But I don't think I would have been had it not been for this fella who joined us!"
"W-what powers lie in that hammer…." Replied Max, marching up to Felix "Who knew it do such things!"
Felix looked up at the large warrior, seeing the ANGER in his face.
He knew he was in trouble; BIG trouble.
"Wow…" said Moppet, tapping her chin "This Scribe guy? He kinda reminds me of…."
"Of what?" asked Mickey.
"Felix!" Moppet said brightly "Ya know from that game at Litwak's? He has the SAME fixin' powers, 'cept here, he HEALS ya!"
Mickey rolled his eyes, "Cuz, EVERYTHING reminds ya of that game."
"Well, I just couldn't help to bring up the similarities…." The girl said "But wow, that just came outta nowhere."
"Quite…." Growled Max.
"Maybe we should save the game now?" asked Mickey "I mean, ya almost DIED this time. Had ya really kicked the bucket, we would have had ta start back at tha cabin."
"Okay, okay…" the girl huffed "Just give me a sec…." Moppet scrolled through the options of the game, finding the save button "Ah, here we go!"
There was a soft beep, but then….
"GAH!" cried Felix, falling to his knees in pain. Antares and Max ran over to the small man, the female of the two picking him up in her arms.
"H-hey! You alright? C'mon, TALK!"
Felix could only hold his aching sides as he felt his code twist and crack within him. It was the saving process; he KNEW something would go haywire. None of the characters knew what was going on exactly but whatever it was, it was putting Felix through immense pain.
Perhaps his own code wasn't compatible with the game, maybe his injuries inflicted during the battle with Mal were coming back. Whatever the reason, Felix just wasn't saving into the game.
"Everythin' okay there?" asked Mickey.
Moppet tapped the screen with her stylus, looking frustrated "It's my game. I think it FROZE."
"Uh-oh…" said Mickey, taking the device "Hmmm, I never ran into this problem when I got the game. Somethin' wrong with your copy?"
"Ya KNOW this thing was new when it was given to me!" pouted Moppet "If there's somethin' wrong with it, it's not my fault!"
"I wasn't tryin' ta lay blame on ya…its just odd."
"Ya think we should just shut it down?"
No! No, don't do that!
If Moppet even so much as TURNED the game off, Felix's code would be PERMANENTLY deleted.
"Max, we hafta do somethin'!"
"What?!" the big man bellowed "We don't have any powers over the saving system!"
Felix cried out in pain again, turning over in Antares' arms.
"Hang in there, lil guy. Just hang in there!"
His eyes shut tight and his teeth clenched, Felix had no choice but to bear with the pain he was feeling.
"I-I hafta stay!" he told himself "Think of Tammy! Think of EVERYONE back at Litwak's!"
They were counting on him. Succumbing to the malfunction of the saving process was NOT an option. Felix felt as if everything were weighing down on him, his vision blurring. He could still see the worried look on Antares' face, showing him that even in the midst of her own game, she was more worried about HIM than herself.
So many people.
So many people were risking their lives for Felix and yet he had not the strength, courage, or even tenacity as they had.
No.
No, he couldn't let things end here! He had to make it out! He had to show his inner strength, his inner hero!
He took a deep breath, fighting back against the pain that had come over him.
"T-Tammy!" he growled "I-I'm not gonna leave ya! I PROMISE YA I'M NOT!"
*PING!*
"Ah, there ya go." Mickey said with a smile "Guess it was just slow, that's all."
Everyone within the game looked up; things had returned to normal and as far as they could tell, the game had been saved properly. All the pain that had beforehand crippled Felix to the ground began to fade, the man finding that he was once again able to move and breathe with ease.
"Hold on, here come our sandwiches…." said Mickey, putting his game down "Lemme pick 'em up."
The device echoed as it was place on the table, the characters free for a second.
"You're okay!" Antares cheered, hugging Felix a little too tightly.
"Urgh, my SPINE!"
"Aw man, for a second, I thought you were a GONER there, short stuff!"
Felix could feel his bones cracking again but this time it wasn't due to a malfunction.
"Th-thanks!" he choked, trying to move a hand out of the way "B-But next time-!"
"NEXT TIME-!" roared Max, RIPPING Felix out of Antares' hold "NEXT TIME you better keep your behind down and not jump without a signal! Are you CRAZY?!"
"Max, put him down." The female warrior protested "So he got a lil inta tha action. It didn't HURT anything did it?"
"We cannot allow things to happen in such a delicate operation!" the man blared, shaking Felix "Had his….POWER not went well within the game, we ALL would have glitched!"
"Okay, okay. I can see your concern but that's no reason at all ta act as if the guy-!"
Max marched right up to Antares, her eyes narrowed "Young lady, I only PROMISED to join you n this…SKIRMISH with the assumption that we would RID ourselves of this WHELP soon so we could finish the game on our own! If he continues to act like this throughout out jo0urnay, I can promise you that by the end of it, NEITHER our games nor our devices will be able to function!"
Again, a massive weight was put upon Felix.
Max had every right to be angry with the way he had reacted. The warrior was right; what if things had gone wrong and he caused the game to GLITCH? He could have not only killed himself but EVERYONE within the game.
And all because he got scared over a monster attack that Antares would have been able to recover from had he let things run its course.
But….but he saw Calhoun.
He couldn't leave her there. He would have abandoned TWO people in one day.
"Ya know somethin', MAAAX." Antares growled "Has it ever occurred to ya ONCE that we're the heroes of our game?"
"What are you talking about?" the man growled.
"What I'm SAYINGS is that we're the HEROES here and what do we do? We PROTECT and HELP people!" the warrior snipped, standing up to the larger man "This guy came ta us in need of help but from the way YOU put it, it would be better for us to ABANDON him an' let everyone in his game get unplugged because of it!"
"I-I wasn't implying th-!"
"Sure sounded like it to me!" the woman continued "You've been on the guy's butt since we started and for WHAT reason?! NO REASON AT ALL!"
"Antares….I'm just worried about our games, our owners…." Max said, calming down a bit "You know I DO care for the safety of others but-!"
"BUT? There are no buts!" Antares shouted "We made a promise here and I'm sure as HELL ain't backin' down!"
Felix felt a bit of hope rising from within. Antares didn't have to but she was standing up for this complete stranger she had never met.
"L-Look, I'm sorry Mr. Max…." Felix meeped, removing the hood from his head "I-I just….I just freaked out.
"I'll say."
"MAX."
"No, listen." The repairman sighed "I just wanna get home but if it really is too much of a burden for tha both of ya….m-maybe we can try somethin' else…."
"Somethin' ELSE?" gasped Antares "Felix, we have no other option BUT to lead these two back to the arcade! We're too far from the network to go it now so-!"
"It's just too much of a risk!" Felix interrupted "An'….an'….."
The man looked down at hi golden hammer. In his hands, it felt so useless now. It might have been able to help Antares before but what good was it now? Now, it was just a WEIGHT, NOTHING, JUNK. He held it tight in-between his hands, shaking as his throat began to tighten.
"I-I just don't know what to do!" the man finally cried out, falling to his knees and weeping "This happens all the time!"
"What happens?"
"I-! I'm just PATHETIC!" Felix shouted "I look at everyone around me! You guys, my friends at home…they all have talents an' powers that can carry 'em through NO MATTER WHAT! But me? ME?"
Felix shook his head, bitterness showing in his tears.
"I just have this STUPID hammer but when all things begin ta come ta a head, I can't do ANYTHIN'! I'm just a weaklin' pretendin' ta be a hero!"
"No, don't be like that….." Antares said in a soft voice "Ya helped me from dyin' back there. Don't you think that counts?"
"COUNTS?! AS WHAT?! Proof that I'm an IDIOT?!" Felix shouted "Max is right. I nearly messed up everythin' tryin' ta play tha hero an'-!"
"Stop."
Both repairman and warrior turned, Max looking down at both of them but the anger that had been on his face seemed to have disappeared. He looked at the two before him with pitying eyes, shaking his head.
"Stop it please…."
"Max?"
"I know….I know what I said and I still stand by it. This is a dangerous operation we're doing here and we're risking the lives of EVERYONE in both our games."
The man looked up into the sky, sighing heavily.
"But…but you're right Antares. We are heroes….and as a hero, I'm not going to let this guy down."
Both Felix and Antares felt smiles forming on their faces; had they broken through?
"S-so does this mean-!?"
"Yes, we continue on…." Max nodded but he glared at Felix "But let me tell you THIS, SIR."
The small repairman gulped, the huge warrior approaching him.
"We are continuing this play-through as PLANNED. If you step out of line ONE MORE TIME, I will make sure that until we get you to your destination, you shall be STRAPPED to the back of a PACK MULE."
Max was SERIOUS, a few sharp teeth showing through. Felix nodded, pulling the hood of his costume back over his head.
"Y-Yes, Max….."
Max stood back up, putting a hand on Antares shoulder "Val's not gonna like this."
Val?
"Oh right…." Antares said "The whole hammer thing. B-But I'm sure he'll understand once we explain it to him."
"Hmmph. I'm guessing YOUR Valentine is an understanding person…." Snickered Max "I cannot WAIT for you to meet OURS."
Felix felt nervous once more; from the sound of things, meeting this mysterious VALENTINE was going to be one heck of a thing.