"As a warning, I'm not too sure how to do this," Jet said nervously as he opened Roxie's file. He could feel his heart lurch. "I don't know if they can even be brought back." No, there's got to be a way, otherwise her file wouldn't still be here, right?
Aside from her avatar's appearance, there wasn't very much inside Roxie's file. Just files for her gum, gun, and knife as well as a few root beers she had hours earlier were contained inside.
"Well if it would be any of these files, I think it's obvious which one it would be, right?" Turbo asked incredulously as he tapped on the file for her avatar's appearance. He frowned when all that did was make a small holographic image of her pop up in front of them. Well so much for that. Damn it, there has to be something.. He sighed frustratedly and side before crossing his arms. "Alright, I'll just leave it to you then." I'll just sit back and be useless.
Jet glanced at Turbo apologetically before closing the small holographic image of Roxie. This isn't working out so well. Maybe there's some other kind of option. He scratched his head and closed out of her main file before selecting it again, this time using his right hand. A small holographic list popped up. On that list were most notably Delete, 'Merge with..', Properties, Rename, and Security. Properties sounds about the closest to what we're looking for. I know exactly what 'Merge with..' is for and it's a very bad thing, so is Delete.. Konami.. What if they decide to delete us when we're on our way out? He swallowed hard and selected Properties, prompting a small holographic box to pop up in front of them. I should probably check out Security as well.
"You seem to know a lot for someone who isn't so sure how to do this," Renko said dryly. You know more than I do by the looks of it.
"I assure you I'm just guessing," Jet said seriously as he looked through the various tabs within Roxie's 'Properties'. Creation date, last modified date, file size, etc. All sorts of information was displayed, all of which was useless for the reason they were there until something caught his eye. 'Disabled'? He selected what he recognized as a drop-down menu and selected 'Enable' before selecting 'Save Changes'.
"Do you think?.." Turbo asked hopefully before his mind was overtaken by various possibilities. Is she alive? That's what 'Enable' would have done, right? Would- Is she back where she died? "I'm going back to where she died! Come get me if she pops up in here!" He swam back out of the code room in the most determined and efficient fashion he could muster. Had this been a race, he surely would have won. He completely ignored Freeman who decided to 'escort' him to make sure nothing funny was going on.
Jet sighed and nodded before moving on to 'Security' which as he had hoped, was a way to add a password to a file so that certain people would be unable to access its contents.
Roxie gasped as her code came alive. She was already on her feet. Without much thought she worriedly clutched at her stomach, relieved to find that there was no blood or pain. I'm alive.. She laughed incredulously then found that she was still inside the elevator, which was currently on the surface level. Damn, what was that code Jet entered again? I don't even know if Turbo is still here. How am I alive? Should I go back down or just leave?
Her mind was made up for her as the elevator began to descend again. Okay, well let's just see where this takes me then, I guess. She paced around the elevator with her arms crossed as it went down level after level. Five, Six, Seven.. She sighed anxiously. I hope Turbo is alright. What should I say when I see him again?
Felix gasped and clutched at his chest as he blinked into existence and yelled, "I'm.. I'm alive!" He laughed incredulously. "I thought I was a goner.." Jeepers, that was terrifying.. "Where is everyone?"
"Hopefully still where we're headed," Roxie said with an anxious sigh. Here it is, lucky number thirteen..
"What the hell is taking this elevator so long?" Turbo muttered under his breath with his arms crossed just as the elevator dinged, reaching the bottom floor. The doors couldn't open fast enough, as soon as Turbo saw exactly what he had hoped to see. There she was, jeans and all. He breathed out a shaky excited breath as Felix hopped out of the elevator and out of the way.
"You guys go somewhere else for a while," Roxie said insistently as she waved the handyman and soldier off then pulled Turbo into the elevator. She picked him up for a hug and pressed a button to close the doors. Better.
"You really came back," Turbo said with a laugh. Tears welled in his eyes as he nuzzled his forehead into her shoulder and hair, "You have no idea.." He sighed. I owe Jet a huge debt..
"I think I might have some idea," Roxie said with a laugh as she pulled off his helmet and dropped it on the floor, "Sorry, the helmet just isn't doing it for me." She kissed him on the lips, little more than a peck. You got me crying just a little bit too. Did you miss me that much?
"C'mon, there's nothing wrong with my helmet," Turbo said wryly as Roxie put him back on the floor and wiped her eyes. Is it cracked? He eyed it carefully for any sign of damage.
"Well I don't mean it like that. I get that you're a racer and that's your uniform," Roxie said wryly as she crossed her arms, "But is it so bad to dress down once the arcade closes? I think it would make you look more hmm.. distinguished, yeah.." I guess I'm lucky that I'm already dressed down to begin with.
"Hardly anybody does that, Roxie," Turbo scoffed playfully, "And besides, there aren't exactly a whole lot of haberdasheries or clothing shops around." There's nothing wrong with walking around in my racing outfit, is there? "Anyways that's not the important thing. You're alive!" He began to pace. "I was so worried I would never see you again." I nearly killed myself. And then I considered getting this game unplugged.. Something's wrong with that train of thought.
"So how did things go? How was I brought back?" Roxie asked as she sat on the floor and leaned against the elevator wall.
Turbo chuckled warmly and sat beside her as Roxie's arm went over his head and to his opposite shoulder as he expected would happen. Yep, I knew it. He leaned into her side proudly. "Well, Jet convinced that soldier guy to help us out and he went talk to his buddies. Sorceress was going to join him in doing that but got shot in the shoulder so she came back."
"Is she okay?" Roxie asked worriedly, "She didn't die too, did she? Well, I guess she'd be brought back too though." Plus it's just her shoulder. It doesn't sound life threatening.
"Yeah, she was fine after drinking some of Set's blood," Turbo said with a laugh, "He enjoyed it too, the bastard." He would fall for a vampire.
She's a vampire, I guess. "You're not going to start crap with him again are you?" Roxie asked wryly as she gently shook him and placed her hand on his chest. I sure hope not, he's doing so well right now.
"Nah, not unless he starts it," Turbo said with a laugh, "But I'm getting off track.. So that happened and then they reluctantly let us into the code room and Jet fumbled around and somehow managed to reactivate your code since a copy of your file is in here." Which worries me.. I don't think we should ever come back here. "It wasn't a very long span of time, now that I really think about it.." Just a few minutes or so, right?
"Yeah," Roxie said in an understanding tone, "I suppose death can alter your perception of time a bit.." So they let them use the code room.. I suppose I'll have to thank Jet later.
"I love you.." Turbo said sincerely as he absentmindedly zipped and unzipped one of his red-lined pockets. I know I said it when she was dying, but..
"You should be looking at me when you say that," Roxie said wryly as she trailed off into a brief laugh. But that's still sweet..
"Sorry," Turbo said with a nervous laugh as he turned his head to look her in the eye, "It's not something I say often. I love you." There, better now?
Roxie chuckled warmly as she pull him into another hug and said, "I love you too, short stuff.. I don't suppose you had to fire my gun while I was gone?" Come to think of it, I think that's it in my pocket..
"Nah, it's in my pocket right now," Turbo said wryly, "Still fully loaded. Want it back?" Like I really have a use for a gun right now.
"Oh, is that what that is?" Roxie asked wryly, "Actually I think I have one in my jacket too.." Did it copy another one when I was revived? She reached into her jacket and pulled her gun out. "Well you can keep the one I gave you, I guess.." Maybe it'll come in handy.
"Felix!" Ralph said excitedly before clearing his throat, "It's good to see you alive and well.." Thank Konami he's alive, that must mean Roxie is too, and now Sonny.. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck as Felix and Freeman swam towards them. They were all clustered around Sonny's file after just having finished up his revival.
"It's good to be back, brother," Felix said with a goofy grin, "So what did I miss?" I can't believe they had killed three of us. They don't even seem like such bad guys now if Freeman is any indicator..
"Going see Sonny, don't mind me bros," Bobby said excitedly as he glitched into his ship form to get to the exit of the code room faster.
"Just leave 'em be," Renko said as he held a hand up, "They won't cause any trouble." He scratched his head. Well this is awkward. "So what in the hell have you been doing that everything is so different anyways?" I suppose being from the future, he's changed from when Harry knew him..
"Everything I could," Jet said with a sigh, "Harry really did more harm than good when he told you about all this, considering I had it under control more or less. I didn't have any intention of ever even coming in here to be honest, whether our game got unplugged or not."
"And him?" Simons asked as he pointed to Set with his thumb. He destroyed all the obstacles in the game among other things..
"I find that a bit insulting," Set scoffed as he cocked a brow and crossed his arms, "Why would I care about coming to this game?" I get the feeling that these guys think I'm some kind of criminal. Of course I'm used to that to some extent..
The soldiers shared a few confused stares before looking to Jet.
"Like I said, I have it under control unless Harry makes things difficult again," Jet said pointedly. I'd really rather not have to explain it..
"So are we done here?" Felix asked curiously, "No offense intended.." I'd like to go home and forget about this place..
"None taken," Renko said, "Jet here just wants to make sure we won't delete you guys on your way out. Can't say I blame him." He chuckled knowingly. Not like we'd have done that.. Or at least I wouldn't have.
"Who else is left?" Felix asked. It's a good precaution to take considering three of us died to get here..
"Well we did Sorceress', Bobby's, Ralph's, and Set's," Jet said with with a sigh. In that order. "So the last ones are mine and Turbo's. And you can see pretty easily where Turbo's is." He gestured to the massive file out in the distance that still clearly read, 'Turbo'. Why does his file have to be so much bigger? It sticks out like a sore thumb.
"Yeah, he's a show off.." Set scoffed. That file size is going to get him in trouble one of these days, I just know it.
"Bromigo! Sonny!" Bobby said excitedly as he met him out in the hallway, back in his human form, "Dude it's good to have you back in the world of the living." That's beyond a relief.
"Yeah, it's good to be back," Sonny said with a chuckle, "So I take it everything worked out okay? What happened?" I never even saw it coming. Had I known that soldier was going to shoot again I'd have turned him or something. Hindsight is 20/20..
"Well, after you died, Roxie died," Bobby said seriously, "She and Felix are okay now, by the way. Like, perfect condition. Anyways, Sorceress got shot in the shoulder, she's fine now, uh.." What else?
"It's okay, take your time," Sonny said with a laugh, "So who brought us back?" I take it they worked it out with the soldiers somehow.
"Ah, that was Jet's doing," Bobby said with a goofy grin, "It didn't take him long to figure it out, actually."
"Somehow I'm not too surprised," Sonny said with a nod, "Are they still in the code room? Is that where you just came from?"
"Ah, yeah," Bobby said, "Well Turbo and Roxie are probably waiting in the elevator right now. They didn't go back to the code room yet." They're probably just spending time alone with each other. In an elevator. Where nobody can see them.
Author's Note: Bobby, would you kindly get your mind out of the gutter right quick ;)? Renko's name is a reference to the game Singularity it's a first-person shooter. It deals with time travel as well so in a way I wish I had given it to Harry instead. Oh well, it's just a passing reference anyways.