That Little Game Called Life
Chapter Twenty One
Now in the meantime, while Turbo had still been trying to recode General Hologram into a body, Rosie had found the Brig after a few minutes of searching the hallways and was rather overwhelmed at the receiving she got. Her co-cheerleaders, Summer and Raven, nearly passed out upon seeing her and they stuck their arms through the bars of their cell in attempts to hug her. Felix was the only one that seemed a little less than thrilled to see her, though he was glad she was okay of course. He had been worried about the General finding out about her existence and using her life as blackmail to threaten Turbo with. The handyman shook it off, not wanting to make anyone catch wind that he was bothered by something.
"So does this mean Speedy's here?" asked Raven after she and Summer were released from their cell.
"Yeah, he and Ralph went somewhere in the tower," Rosie answered, unlocking Felix's cell. "Hi there, Felix! Long time, no see!"
He raised his hat briefly at her. "It certainly has. I must say you look much better than the last time I saw you."
She winced as she recalled their last encounter, back in 1997 right before she disappeared off the grid. "Yeah, sorry about that," she apologized, tensing up her shoulders above her neck line. "Wasn't very lady-like of me to throw a beer bottle at you."
"It's not lady-like to throw a guy out of a public establishment either," drawled Officer Bob from a few cells down, a few of his fugitive pals snickering behind. "Shut up, idiots!"
Bob's superior, a large man with a double-chin and black mustache simply known as Chief, shook his head wearily at his officer and continued to relax casually in his purple housecoat in his own private cell, reading one of Paperboy's newspapers as if he were at home lounging in his recliner. He looked so at home there that it was almost like he didn't realize he was anywhere different.
(Speaking of Paperboy, he had somehow managed to avoid being found so far. Then again, he was always a pretty street-smart kid.)
Rosie shot a piercing glare as she looked at Bob, a small ginger-haired man with a similar colored 'stache, smirking at her with what she called the "stalker smile". Being a police officer, he'd been one of the most aggressive advocates about preventing people from "going Turbo" in the beginning and he never failed to make Rosie feel like a criminal herself just because she'd been "associated with the enemy". Finally, he'd pushed enough buttons to make even Tapper lose his temper with him and promptly evicted him from his bar.
Felix knew how she felt about Bob and even though he was personally on good terms with the guy, he didn't want any trouble started so he took the jail keys himself and went to go let the A.P.B. men free. The only people left were those guys and the two cheerleaders. Vanellope had done okay with the Angel Kids, Q*bert's group, and the Pong characters (she'd been able to carry all of those in one trip).
"So, like, what exactly is the plan?" Summer wanted to know, getting back to the current situation. "Did he tell you anything?"
Rosie wasn't sure how to respond. "He didn't exactly tell me anything. He got all excited about some Tapper's napkin Ralph had with him and he scribbled something on it, so I guess that General What's-His-Face wants it."
Felix's ears perked up as he headed back towards the girls. He didn't say anything out loud but he knew what she was talking. Jimminy Jamminy, he made up a fake code. That's...mighty brilliant actually. Not that I know what else he had in mind. Hopefully it works, whatever it is.
"Where's Vanellope?" he asked instead. "She hasn't come back from her last trip yet."
"Oh, she said for me to break you guys out and meet her together near the outside door," Rosie explained, having forgotten why she came down there. "She said it would help cut her trip shorter so she won't be so exhausted."
"Then what are we waiting for, dudes!" one of the convicts that was with Officer Bob exclaimed, and he and the others shoved past everyone. "Get us outta here!"
"I'm with the tattooed freaks," Summer agreed dryly. "This dungeon is no good for my natural curls."
Rosie allowed herself to roll her eyes but she smiled as she did so, having secretly missed the girls. The blonde was still obsessed with her looks, it seemed. She and Raven ran off to the join the men, leaving Rosie with Felix. Officer Bob sauntered along at his own pace, yielding momentarily to look the redhead up and down with a dirty look on his face, causing her to cross her arms self-consciously, and he proceeded to follow everyone else.
The Chief finally rose his bulky frame and tucked the newspaper he was reading under his arm, reaching into his robe's pocket for his pipe and lit up a smoke as if he were still at home. He exited his cell, closed the door behind him, walked forward, paused to nod at the two remaining persons in the Brig and slowly strolled along wordlessly to the exit.
"So," Felix began, clearing his throat. "I take it you and Turbo worked everything out?"
Rosie smiled brightly. "Oh yeah, we're going to fine, I think. I know we've both been through a lot since we last saw each other, but he's still my charming champ."
He smiled in response, genuinely glad to hear that.
"Well hopefully he's working on getting my wife back for me," Felix said to her, changing the subject as they directed themselves out of the Brig. "I really miss her."
Rosie knew how that felt. "Don't worry, I'm sure he's got something up his sleeve."
Felix stopped when he saw the still unconscious body of Gamgee laying on the floor and taking up the hallway. A hand went to his heart.
"Oh my lands, is he…is he?" Dead was the word he couldn't make himself say.
"Heavens no, I just knocked him out," Rosie told him matter-of-factly as she skipped around him. "He was being a total perv anyway."
"You did? And he was?" He looked a bit squeamish as he walked around the body, pausing a second to feel for a pulse anyway then sighed in relief when he felt one. "I bet he apologizes when he remembers himself. He's usually quite the gentleman."
Ralph had made it out of the tower remarkably easier than he thought he would. Elevators made life so much easier! Imagine how boring Felix's game would be if they utilized wrecker wasn't a hundred percent sure what he was supposed to be doing exactly, but he guessed he might need to get Vanellope so she could do what Turbo needed her to do.
Not that he thought that was the best idea in the world.
Ralph started out into the dreary landscape, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of danger. He wondered where all the other soldiers were. He heard something behind him and he turned with a start, barely missing the blinking blue light that passed him by.
"HiStinkbrain!" he heard the unmistakable rushed sound of a certain president as she glitched hurriedly by him.
"What the? Hey, what are you doing here?" he called out but she couldn't hear him to respond because she had already vanished out through the portal. It was about twenty seconds later that she came back, coming to a dead halt in front of him.
"I can't believe you deliberately disobeyed me!" Ralph scolded her, shaking a disapproving finger at her. "What do you think you're doing?"
She shrugged her shoulders and rocked on her heels. "I'm busting out the prisoners. You know, being useful. What are you doing? Taking a leisurely stroll?"
He crossed his arms. "I was going to go get you, but guess I don't have to do that anymore."
Vanellope jumped onto his shoulders and pinched his cheeks. "Aww, is the diaper baby mad? Did you miss your nap today?"
"Shut up."
"Aw, come on," she grinned, sweetness dripping in her voice. "I'll take ya to see your buddy Felix, would that make you happy?"
He sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Where is he?"
She stood up and leaned on his head for support with one arm. "Thatta way," she pointed back in the direction of the Brig.
"He did what?" Rosie nearly shrieked, the fear evident in her eyes.
"I know, but damage was done before I could do anything." Ralph had told her about Turbo going back to the General.
The only people besides them that were there was Vanellope, Felix , and the A.P.B. Chief. Vanellope had already stated that she was not going to be able to glitch him out due to his size. It had been hard enough getting the normal sized guys out. He was just going to have to walk out once this predicament was over with or at least catch a ride from someone. His feelings hadn't been hurt, he just silently shrugged, took his paper and headed back to the Brig to chill out.
"And you locked my Tammy up in some room?" Felix asked, a little peeved that his wife got man-handled.
Ralph looked affronted. "Hey, she was going to start trouble. I was doing my best not to hurt her. Gimme a break, this was happening all at once."
"And he really said he needed my help?" Vanellope was wearing a smug expression of her own. "That means a lot coming from him."
Rosie was in a panic. "What are we standing around here for, come on!"
She would've rushed off except Ralph blocked her with a hand. "Whoa, hold on, sister. Where you think you're going?"
She glared up at him as if he just asked the dumbest question on earth. "Where do you think I'm going?" she bit. "I'm going to go get him before he gets himself killed."
Felix stepped up, clearing his throat. "I don't think that's a good idea; if the General finds out you're alive, he could use you for blackmail against Turbo to make him do whatever he wants. Then we really will be in a pickle."
"What does that matter if he's dead?" She tried to punch Ralph's palm but it didn't even hurt him. "If you think you can stop me from going, you are badly mistaken."
Felix threw the jail keys over to the Chief, who just simply nodded and hung them on a nail in the wall above his head, then went back to reading his paper.
"Sorry, miss, but we can't risk you going out there," he told Rosie, who Ralph just dragged into a cell.
"Fix-It Felix, Jr., you let me out of here this instant!" she yelled angrily, kicking the door hard enough to rattle the whole cage. "I am not some damn damsel needing looked after!"
"Look, Turbo would kill us if we let you in the middle of danger," Ralph tried to explain to her. He coughed when realized what he said. "Not that I think he'd do it literally..."
"Don't worry, we'll make sure he's safe," Felix added, patting his hammer for good measure.
"He better be!" She grabbed the bars to shake them. "He better not have a scratch on him, you hear me? Not a scratch."
Ralph tried to hide a grin, shaking his head at how violently protective women could get sometimes, and walked out. Felix raised his hat at Rosie briefly.
"I'll do my best, ma'am," he told her, hopping out after Ralph.
She kicked the bars again then plopped down with her legs and arms crossed, taking a second to glance over at where Chief was sitting. "What are you looking at?"
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Turbo was still being dragged like a ragdoll by the General, his strength failing every minute. His breathing was getting coarser as they went on, his feet scraping the floor beneath him as he tried to keep up with the much taller man's long strides and his hands grabbing at his collar in order to keep from choking against it.
It was so simple, he thought. It was such a simple plan. Go in, give him the fake code, lead him on a merry chase out of the game where he'd be able to get killed. Why did I not think that he'd try to kill ME himself? Stupid, I'm so stupid!
His ego got in the way is what happened. Things were going along so swimmingly that he thought nothing could have gone wrong this late in the game. He got too sure of himself. It wasn't a bad thing to be confident, but he tempted fate one too many times and it looked like it was about to catch up to him this round. He should never have gone back to that room.
When he finds out that code I gave him doesn't do squat, I'm a dead man.
He only hoped it would be quick, though he had a feeling it would not. Hologram was already delaying his death as it was, toying with him this way. Admitting failure was not something Turbo liked to do. He had failed to keep TurboTime from getting unplugged, he had failed to keep his life at Sugar Rush from going literally up in smoke, and now he had possibly failed in his mission to keep the arcade out of the clutches of another psychopath.
I guess I can find some consolation in the fact that he can't take over all the games, Turbo tried to think positively. He still doesn't have what he wanted. I can only hope that someone else can stop him from finding a way to continue his plans. I might not be able to kill the bastard but maybe someone else will. Maybe after he kills me, everything will still turn out okay. Maybe the arcade will go back to normal.
Then again, I could have just been wasting my time and this whole place will go to rot anyway. Not to mention I'm most certainly going to die and my poor sweet darlin' is going to join me in Game Over. If I'd known ahead of time that I was going to be crossing life's finish line, I almost wish I hadn't found her again. At least she'd be wherever it is she calls home now with her (he cracked a little smile at the thought) ninja family and be safe in her warm bed instead of being in this dump.
Turbo was so lost in his delirious mental state, that he almost didn't notice when he stopped being dragged. He felt this strange sensation surround him (he'd describe it as a static charge later) and he felt himself being pulled off to the side somewhere. When the charge went away, he was a little disoriented to find himself no longer with the General but with-
General Hologram halted when he no longer felt the racer in his clutch. He swung around in a few wild circles, puzzled as to where he could have gone. One second he was there, the next he wasn't. It made no sense. And things that didn't make sense only served to piss him off.
"Another trick of yours?" he asked loudly, still looking about the area in vain. "You cannot hide from me forever, whatever black magic of this it is you are using!"
He decided not to waste any time trying to find him and instead began to run further down the hall. He was almost there, almost at the Code Room's area. He practically tore the door open to get into the hidden hallway and was so lost in his excitement that he didn't even hear Calhoun down on the other end beating on the door to try and get out of her temporary holding cell.
Hands shaking, Hologram reached into his pocket and pulled out the napkin with the code written on it. A terrifying grin spread across his face as he punched in the order of the arrows plus the two letters on the end and then START.
And nothing happened.
The smile began to slowly fall into a frown. Had he punched something wrong in his hurry? He tried it again. Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
Again.
Nothing.
The frown became a snarl. Tricked. He had been tricked. It was the highest degree of insult imaginable.
"You just wait until I find you, you little bastard," Hologram growled as he ripped the worthless napkin into small pieces, letting them float down to the floor. "I will make you suffer greatly for making a fool out of me."
"Jimminy Jamminy, you're a mess!" Felix gaped as he gave Turbo a once-over.
The racer was understandably baffled at hearing his friend's voice and seeing the sudden change in location. Felix pulled his hammer out and tapped him with it, and immediately this warm fuzzy feeling came over him and all the pain vanished.
"Can I have one of those for my birthday?" Turbo asked right before Felix nearly jumped him to give him a squeezing hug. He shot the handyman a look that said he was more than uncomfortable at the sudden show of affection.
"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Felix said happily as he continued to hug him.
"Get off me!" Turbo told him firmly while shoving him off, even if he had to admit that it was nice to see him again too. "And never do that again."
"Hi, Turd-o!" Vanellope greeted him chipperly from the other side of Felix.
He lowered his eyes at her and replied flatly, "Hello, Vanello-puke."
She stuck her tongue out at him. "Is that anyway to thank the person that rescued you?"
He gritted his teeth at the idea of thanking the little munchkin...for the second time today. "Thanks."
"You're welcome!" she grinned triumphantly.
Turbo looked back and forth between the two. "What are you guys doing here anyway? And where are we?"
Felix spoke first. "Well, Ralph said you went back to see General Hologram after you made him real and—"
"We thought you'd need some help!" Vanellope finished for him. "And we're in this hallway that's on the other side of the one you were in. I glitched through the wall and pulled you over."
"So what's the plan now?" Felix wanted to know.
Vanellope started punching the air. "Are we gonna gang up and fight that big turkey?"
"Shut up, both of you!" Turbo hissed, getting tired of the noise already. He pointed at Vanellope. "You need to go to the Code Room and glitch the memories out of that big golden box I made over on the far right. The combo's-"
"Eight B's plus start, I know!" she replied in exasperation, acting as if she had heard it a hundred times already.
"And you have to tie yourself to this rope thing just outside the door or else you'll float off into nothingness," Turbo added as he picked himself up off the floor. "Fix-It can keep an eye on you in case you need help."
Felix adjusted his hat. "What are you going to do?"
At that moment they heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the other side of the hall followed by,
"TURBO! GET THE HELL BACK HERE IF YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR YOU!"
The racer smirked at that. I take it you figured out that code doesn't work.
"I need a way to get the General physically out of the game," he answered Felix. "Preferably something fast."
Felix pondered a minute then punched his fist in an open palm in a "eureka" moment. "I've got it! The top floor has escape pods. Just lure him up there and use one of those to get to the Station." He pointed on down the hall. "Ralph's standing guard on the other side of that door, he might be able to help you out somehow if you want."
"Hey, not bad," Turbo told him, patting him on the back. "Let's just hope I can learn how to fly faster than I did learning how to ride a motorcycle."
Felix shrugged. "Well, Tammy makes it look easy."
Turbo turned towards Vanellope, a solemn expression suddenly present in his eyes. "And just in case something happens...for what it's worth...I'm sorry I took your game from you."
He didn't see the approving smile Felix was giving him from behind. Vanellope hadn't expected to ever hear those words so her jaw dropped slightly as she regarded him with a dumbfounded look.
"I know how that feels and I shouldn't have done it to someone else, especially when you didn't even have a week to enjoy it first," the racer continued, not really looking at her. It was embarrassing for an adult to apologize to a kid after all. "So, I apologize."
Vanellope smiled at him appreciatively and hugged him. Turbo was frankly surprised at this, expecting her to tell him to go fudge himself, looked back at Felix with some confusion and then patted her awkwardly on the back with one hand.
"Just don't do it again," she warned him as she pulled back.
"Trust me, I don't even want to think about candy," he kidded lightly. "Cheeseburgers on the other hand..."
Whoop whoop, thanks guys made it past the 100 review mark! :D I feel like I should reward you somehow. If anyone cares, I went back and wrote a *cough*maturecontent*cough* extension to the chapter 8 flashback. It's actually not THAT dirty, I get too embarrassed lol. So I'll post it if anyone wants to read it just let me know. I have a bigger surprise later but not gonna say it right now :P Thanks for sticking with me guys!