Chapter Twenty- Pin Point
It had been hours.
Too long.
Mouse was at her computer, trying again and again to pinpoint the exact location of two of the arcade's missing residence. The arcade would be open in a few hours and if Felix were not back in place before then...
Disaster
"Aw coconuts." Ralph mumbled to himself, pacing back and forth "COCONUTS COCONUTS COCONUTS!"
Was this what it felt like, all the worry of knowing you had a game to provide for but with one element missing, it could all go down hill in an instant? Memories of Ralph's own jump were flashing through his head as well as the panic that Felix and the Nicelanders had endured over it. He remembered people commenting about it afterwards, how they deserved it, how they deserved to be scared.
No.
No one deserved this.
After his near fatal fight with Tor, Ralph felt as if he were going to break up at any second but it was more than just the injuries he had gotten, how the lack of Felix's hammer meant they weren't going away anytime soon.
Felix was gone and he had never felt so panicked in his life.
It was Ralph's turn to be the air of calm in the game with the hero gone but he soon learned that no matter what he said, no matter how much he tried to ensure everyone some did not listen, some did not hear. Many from East Niceland were panicking more than a Nicelander, the thought of them losing their homes again spreading so much grief throughout the game. When that didn't work, Ralph found himself assisted by the Nicelanders but even with the additional help it still didn't bring as much hope as Ralph had wanted.
He felt sick, he felt scared.
He began to feel like Felix.
It was yet another lesson of what it meant to be a real hero, why so many people counted on Felix over the years. It was a massive responsibility and with everything happening so suddenly, with so many attacks going on at once, Ralph wasn't sure if he could handle any more.
He remembered how the day began as a celebration, that a wedding was to be held.
He just wanted that to happen.
He just wanted his friend back.
"DAMN IT!"
The big man turned, seeing Mouse pounding on her keyboard.
"Stupid virus made certain to cover EVER possible trail! I'm connecting to any known server around an' I can't get a single blip!"
"I-! I don't get it!" Ralph said "Tha lil munchkin can go wherever she wants, I guess...but isn't there a limit? I mean, I don't know a LOT about tha internet as much as you do but-! Even she has ta come ta a block or-!"
Ralph began to breath harder, his hands shaking.
"I DON'T KNOW THA TERMS! She would have ta stop SOMEWHERE if she hit a place with no connection right!?"
"Yes." Mouse said, her voice gruff and cold "An' viruses like her usual do leave some sort of trail. When they say ya can't track it back, don't believe 'em. There is ALWAYS a trail!"
"Then why can't we find HERS?" Ralph panted, feeling breathless.
"Christ Ralph, I'm tryin' tha best I can!" Mouse roared, scaring the man a bit "We've already had too many people hurt from that lil monster as it is an-!"
She stopped.
She was getting distracted again, letting her anger cloud her thoughts.
She thought of Calhoun, her commander and leader; Mouse could not let her down. Even as the deadline ticked by painfully she knew she had to keep going.
"If I hafta dress as Felix an' cover for him, I'mma figure this one out!"
"Mouse, don't do that." Ralph said "You've already got enough on your plate as it is!"
"An' I intend ta FINISH it!" The cadet said as she continued typing away, Ralph feeling light-headed and dizzy at the flashing sights before him "I was coded for this, Ralph an' I'm not backin' down now."
Even in the face of such a catastrophe, Mouse was not giving in. It was something that Ralph had to admire about the young marine but just how far was too far with her? She could only do so much on her own...
And what kind of hero would he be should he leave her alone?
The man felt his brows furrow as if something else in his mind were control his body and before he knew what he was saying...
"Maybe I can lend a few brain cell in this?"
What?
What did Ralph know about the internet?
"Heh, thanks." Smiled Mouse "Maybe an extra pair of eyes WOULD help. Mine are tired as it is."
Ralph could only wonder what the symbols on Mouse's computer meant as they whirled around him but to him it was all Greek but there had to be something he could remember. A small idea or clue, anything!
"O-Okay..." He stammered "Ya said ya tried lookin' at other hot spots or whatevr?"
"Yuuuuu-UP."
"An' ya made contact with them an' nothin'?"
"All in the immediate area that I can contact with but our reach can only go so far."
"What do ya mean by that?"
"What I mean is tha entire arcade is connected ta a network an' only a few games, ours included, can access it. Now, ya always asks us why everyone is on their phones in here-?"
Ralph nodded, the question always going through his mind especially in the past few years.
"It's because people can access a network here. With some things like phones, they can access a hotspot easier but for other things-"
"OTHER things?" Asked Ralph "Ya mean more than phones?"
"Well, yeah." Said Mouse "Where have ya been, big guy? Nearly everythin' electronic can connect ta a server today."
"Sorry for bein' plugged in durin' tha DARK AGES." The big man grumbled, his head starting to ache "It's just I'm stil tryin' ta take in tha fact that Mal can even move so freely like that. I mean, whenever we heard tha term VIRUS back in tha day, it was all homebound. It had to start from WITHIN ta actually cause some trouble."
"Times have changed..." Sneered Mouse "It explains why we were visited by those two in the first place"
"Okay so...wh-what if Mal dropped him off into a phone if that's what ya mean?" Asked Ralph.
"We put that into thought but we would have gotten a signal right away." Mouse said "Mal may be NUTS but tha girl knew what she was doin'. She wanted ta make certain that where she took Felix we could not follow yet she would stil be able to use her powers SOMEHOW."
"It just doesn't make sense!" Ralph roared "There aren't any other arcades for MILES an'-! An' Mal couldn't have gotten that far so fast?!"
If only he knew.
"I could call up again." Mouse said "I think there is another Hero's Duty game...maybe...five hours away?"
"FIVE HOURS?!"
"Don't fret! Tha connection Litwak has here keeps us on an' since we're on tha global point trade, all Hero's Duty can connect in a flash."
Maybe that could lead somewhere but Ralph still wasn't so sure. If Mal had dropped Felix off into another arcade THAT far away they still would have gotten a call. As Mouse had said, Mal was NUTS but she was not STUPID. She would want Felix and anyone else in her claws to SUFFER and that meant cutting him off.
But would that mean she would cut herself off as well?
Ralph thought and thought, trying his best to string all the information he had gotten together but it still tangled.
Hot spots?
Connections?
What did it all mean?
Mal took Felix, and she took him with ease and then Calhoun had disappeared with Tor and as anyone's guess he would have gone back to Mal which could only mean they were somewhere nearby...
Hopefully.
This was a game, a terrible, agonizing game with only hours before EVERYONE lost. If Felix did not return, the game would be unplugged! And if Calhoun were not returned, some security in the arcade would be LOST! It was if Mal had left a gaping hole for more viruses to come in and it was up to the few who even knew what was going on to close it but rather than being given the right tools, it was like they were given nothing but gift tape and paper to fix it.
So much information.
SO MUCH-!
TOO MUCH!
Without another word, Ralph slammed his head on the desk.
"Yeah, burn outs suck." Said Mouse, her eyes not even glancing away from the screen.
"She's playing us..." Ralph moaned "Playing us like a game. Her sick, twisted game!"
Game?
GAMES!
Upon hearing those words, something went off in Mouse's head.
"RALPH!"
The man let out a shout as he looked over, Muse springing to her feet, her eyes as large as dinner plates. She pointed towards the man.
"SAY THAT WORD AGAIN!"
"W-What word?"
"SAY IT!"
"GAME!?" Ralph spat out "Y-Ya want me ta say-BLLURGHTH!"
"GAMES!" Mouse cried as she grabbed Ralph around his face, pressing his cheeks hard "IT'S ALL A GAME!"
"U-Um, YETH!?"
Ralph dropped to the ground like a stone as Mouse put her fingers to the keyboard.
"I should have know, I should have KNOWN!"
"I think I'll just stay on tha ground for a bit..."
"Of COURSE Mal would have less power if she isolated herself someplace she couldn't get connect to." Mouse said, a massive grin forming on her face "But if she could get to a place WE couldn't connect to because we're out of RANGE-!"
"Urgh, Mouse!"
"Ralph, I think I figured it out!"
The big man's heart skipped a beat as he struggled to get off the floor "Then tell me, TELL ME!"
"Tha thing with tha phones ya brought up!" Mouse began "Mal pulled a move close ta that!"
"Um...EXPLAIN."
"Mouse didn't use a PHONE as a jumping point!" Smiled Mouse "SHE USED ANOTHER GAME SYSTEM!"
"W-Wait, hold on." Said Ralph "What game SYSTEM could she have used!?"
"Open your eyes, Big Guy!" Mouse grinned as she once more launched herself onto Ralph's face, smashing his cheeks "With as many kids goin' through this place, she had the perfect opportunity ta leap into one of those pocket systems!"
"An' those connect online?"
"YES!" Mouse cheered "But only when you're in a network and can get access! Ol' Litwak has tha pass posted for customers for ANY game ANY kid had was an open door for her!"
Ralph began to smile...but then he felt weak.
"Oh no...oh NO!" The man said, as he tumbled onto the flor, feeling breathless "With as many kids as we get...Felix could be in ANY of those games! ANY of 'em!"
"Yeah, but we got one thing I'm sure Mal isn't even aware of!"
"An' that would be-?"
Mouse tapped the keyboards again, the files for Calhoun's audio transmission coming in.
"She has to be within a close radius." Mouse began "If she weren't she wouldn't have been able to send tha files ta us but it's too weak ta send characters back, let alone TWO of 'em!"
"So we're stuck again?"
"No!" Said Mouse "Now that I have a better inklin' on what device I am lookin' for I might be able ta send a stronger relay back which means-!"
Mouse froze, the look on her face sending a clear message to Ralph.
"O-Okay, we'll still be in a LOTTA trouble but if we can somehow find a way ta get those guys to a stronger access point an' get 'em close enough ta here-!"
"Then we can get 'em back!"
Mouse's fingers were flying away at the keyboard, eyes darting back and forth as she typed in code, numbers and letters appearing everywhere.
"C'mon, c'mon..."
A map flashed on screen, Ralph making a guess that the dots that were blinking before him were possible locations for his missing friends but there were so many of them! Just where could they be?
"Please, Felix. PLEASE!" The man begged to himself "If you're out there buddy, send a signal! Anythin' just-!"
"WE GOT OOOOOOOOOOOOONE!"
Mouse's loud cry nearly sent Ralph to the floor, the cadet standing in a victory pose.
"W-we got WHAT?"
"We got it."
"Huh?"
"We got it!"
"Mouse, SPEAK COMPLETE SENTENCES, YES?!"
"They're close!" Mouse said "I mean, in HUMAN TERMS they are close!"
"How close?"
"Right there!" Mouse said as she pointed to a weak looking blip on the screen "Whoever has it can make it back here but-!"
The cadet stopped, thinking to herself.
"How in tha WORLD are we supposed ta contact whoever could be in ownership of this thing?! It's not like we can just relay a message an' go 'Oh, hewo! You have our friends an' we need ya ta give 'em back!"
"Maybe we DON'T hafta tell tha player."
Mouse looked over, Ralph standing next to her "Scuse me, Wreck-It?"
"Ya said it yourself. If ya can manage ta connect ta Calhoun in any way maybe ya can tell her what's goin' on an' then SHE can take tha action!"
The young cadet felt as if her breath were being sucked from her as Ralph spilled out his idea. It was a rick, a HUGE risk, but at the moment it was one they would have to take. THe young woman took another look at the map, the blip that showed Calhoun's location so much smaller than the others.
So small.
So weak.
The first transmission they had gotten from her came in so badly the first time, any reply would do much the same.
But it had to be done.
Mouse knew she had to count on Ralph, she had to count on EVERYONE.
"Ralph?"
"Yeah?"
Mouse sat back into her seat, puling her goggles down "Tell those Nicelanders ta get tha weddin' back in order."
"...Seriously?"
Mouse gave a grin as a reply, cracking her knuckles "Time me on it. We'll have those two back even before Litwak comes in for his mornin' coffee!"