Games We Play Three
By Chash
The twist generally comes later in the game. And is a lot less expected. And a lot more normal. Yes, there have been amazing twists in games, but I've never seen anything like this. An unbelievable twist for a game. Like nothing I have ever seen. It wasn't just a twist. It was a conscious effort. By a character in a game.
"You love me?" I ask.
Trowa: Yes.
"How do you even know about me?"
Trowa: I can hear you. Sometimes I can catch glimpses of you, out a window. Mainly I can hear every word you say. And something in me knows I love you.
Trowa gestures to the boy near him.
Trowa: You're like him. Only more beautiful. He's not like us, Quatre?
"Us?"
Trowa: Me, you, Duo, Heero, Wufei. We can all hear you. I'm the only one who ever sees you. Heero doesn't know what to do. He says we must stick to the mission, and that does not involve contacting you. But I couldn't go through with it.
Now I'm just fucking confused. My game has a mind. Trowa is in the game. But he loves me. I'm not in the game, but I love him. Man, Romeo and Juliet had it easy.
"With what?"
Trowa: The mission is to be the game. We have our thoughts and what to say programmed in. We know all about him. We know he's just a shell. We didn't know about you.
"So what couldn't you go through with?"
Trowa: I was supposed to say I loved him. How could I, though? I didn't want you to think I loved him, because I love you.
I am silent for a while. Little dot dot dots appear over Trowa's head. After a lasting pause, I speak again.
"I think I love you too."
Trowa: I'm glad. I wasn't sure if I should say. It's… an unusual situation, to say the least.
"No kidding. Speaking of which, what are we going to do about it?" I ask, sadness in my voice. This is not the best basis for a relationship.
Trowa: I think you need to pick up the controller and take us away from here. He's still the main character.
"Can I still talk to you…?" I can't really see, but I am confident Trowa smiles, and it comforts me.
Trowa: Of course. You can always talk to me.
I pick up the controller and check it for damage. There are no visible scars and Quatre moves when I joggle the joystick, so I shrug and hope it's all right. Trowa and I try to run out, and Heero, Duo and Wufei pile in.
Duo: Hey Trowa, Quatre, what's up?
Trowa: Duo, we need to talk.
Heero: This is not in the mission plan.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault," I speak up at last. They all turn to me, and Trowa gives a reassuring smile (I think).
Wufei: Did you tell him about us?
Trowa: Aa.
Duo: Tro! You're supposed to stick to the mission!
Heero: I have to agree.
"Why's that so important?" I ask. They all turn to me again.
Duo: No offense, Quat, but could we have a moment to yell at Tro-man in private?
"Um… sure. Here, I'll turn off the TV so no one sees you," I pick up the remote to switch it off, but Trowa's speech box appears before I go.
Trowa: I love you, Quatre.
I smile. "I know. I love you too."
I must be insane. The TV stares back at me, blank and black. Tempting me to turn it back on to prove that what I saw was really there. Video games don't do that. No matter how great a twist, they can't do that. Some part of me says of course they can. It's designed to be a surprise. Virtual reality, they want you involved in the game. That's bull shit, though. I'm lying because this is too wonderful. A game cannot do that. It doesn't work. Duo called Trowa "Tro", if the names had been reassigned then he couldn't have done that. He called me Quat, how could they have programmed him to come up with that as a nickname? Subtract last two letters of name turns Anna into An, Chris into Chr and Sam into S. It's not possible for this to have been planned. And I don't want it to have been planned.
God, though, it's so much more complicated if it's real…
"I am in love with a video game character," I say it out loud as a reality check. "He loves me back. If only he weren't in a game, we could have a wonderful relationship. Unfortunately, he's made of pixels and exists in my TV screen. This is not a good base for any kind of relationship. I can't even touch him. I have no idea what his voice sounds like. Yet I am rushing into an insane relationship with him. And he's not even real."
Maybe I should slap myself. Then I'll wake up. Damn, where the hell's the manual for this game…?
I root around and find it, but it's blank. Nothing written in it. Before it was filled with battle tips, pictures and handy reference materials. Now it's pages full of nothing at all, staring up at me. On the last page, finally, I see all I've seen the whole time.
Good luck.
Okay, this is getting weird. What am I saying? This was already weird. The package shows the same bright picture, but no information. Like a manufacturer. I have no idea who made this game.
Computer. Computer knows everything. I rush over, log on and open up GameSages (www.gamesages.com the cure for the common code). Playstation, W… it's not there. It was there yesterday, before I started playing this game. I read the characters. It was there. Now it's gone. Fine, Google search. Nothing. Nothing. Does not exist. Nothing about any Wing Playstation game. I'm playing a game that existed yesterday and is gone today.
The phone rings and I jump about twenty feet in the air.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Quat! It's Henry."
"Hen, thank God. Do you remember what video game I'm playing?"
"You mean you forgot?"
"No. Just what is it?"
"Final Fantasy Nine."
"I beat it, moved on."
"You did? To what?"
"Wing, remember?"
"Wing? Never heard of it. Any good?"
Oh shit. What the hell is going on? Earlier he knew what I was talking about. He'd heard of it. Mech pilots. He said mech pilots. He knew. Dammit, he knew! Now I'm in love with a character from a game that no longer exists.
"Quat? Quat? Earth to Quat, we're loosing you here."
"Oh, sorry. I was zoned out."
"Hey, I got some new anime, wanna come check it out?"
"I'm kinda busy, sorry Hen."
"Okay, cool, see you around, right?"
"Yeah, see you."
I sink back into the chair. I have to talk to them. It's the only thing I can do. Running over, I flip on the TV.
Duo: Quat? That you?
"Yeah."
Trowa: Are you all right? You look like you just saw a ghost.
"I've been checking around. Yesterday this game existed, and today it doesn't. No one's heard of it. All the manual says is 'Good luck'. Earlier it was full of pictures and information. And this is not in any way normal."
Duo dismisses this with a wave of his hand.
Duo: Bah. Normal is overrated.
Heero: We've decided to abandon this mission.
"Really? Why?"
Wufei: You are one of us. You pilot as if you know the machines. You speak to us, particularly Barton. There is no honorable course but to join you.
"Join me?"
Raising his hand to look at it, Trowa is silent (complete with dot dot dots) for a few moments. Then he turns to me.
Trowa: This is not the real world, what we live in. Until I saw yours, I didn't know how imperfect ours was. This is strange, we go through things sometimes, at times we look better, other times less sharp. That is not how the world should be.
Duo: So we figure we'd better join you! Anyone who can make Trowa say that much can't be a bad thing!
"How?"
Heero: We don't know. For now, you have to play the game.
"What happens if I turn it off?"
My only reply is silence.
"I mean, if I haven't saved it, will you guys remember what's happened? Will you have to relive what's happened, or will you know? Will you be the same you?"
Duo: We don't know.
Wufei: For now, always save before. That keeps us real. It keeps us alive.
"Got it. I still have to move through him, though, right?"
Heero: I can't change your control. In our world, you are him. Deal with it.
The brown haired boy concludes with a shrug. I nod, then realize only Trowa has the possibility of registering the tiny gesture.
"All right," I pick up the controller. "Let's go." I jam forward the joystick. Nothing happens.
"He won't move."
Trowa: Did you hurt the controller when you dropped it?
"Not that I could see. Maybe, though."
Quatre: No, you didn't.
Duo: You can talk?
The boy on the screen laughs.
Quatre: You all assumed I wasn't like you. I'm not like you. But I can deny the mission as well. And I can take him out of it.
"Him meaning me?"
Quatre: Of course. You may be the fourth pilot, but you're there. We're here. Your game makes you follow me. And I don't have to take your orders.
Duo: Look, Quatre, we're sorry. We didn't know-
Quatre: I don't care about you guys. This is my game. The only one I care about is Trowa.
Trowa: What?!
Quatre: I was fine with this little mission until Trowa said he was in love
with the guy out there. What right do
you-
The Quatre on the screen turns to me now.
Quatre: -have to him?
"I love him."
Quatre: So do I. And if I can't have him, neither can you.
He begins to run out the door. My game follows him, watching him run. The other pilots show up behind.
Trowa: Quatre!
"Trowa!!"
They catch up and the battle music begins. Quatre begins to attack them and I pick up the control and try to regain even a little control. I can heal them all once, but it's not much.
Trowa: We have to get out of here, Quatre, if he gets killed the game is over and who knows what happens.
"I'll figure out some way to save you all and bring you here."
Duo: Good luck, Quat. We gotta go.
They run off, and Quatre turns to smile at me.
Quatre: Just the two of us, then? How cozy.
"Why are you doing this?"
Quatre: It's my game. You're trying to take it. If I can't have it, neither can you.
Save point! I wrestle him to it and save, despite his protests. Before he can get out of the save menu, I turn off the game.
Why can't I have normal worries, like other kids?
I poke uselessly at my dinner, listening to the news mom left on after cooking.
"Are you all right, Quatre?" asks Sam. I nod.
"Yeah, just tired."
"Get some sleep, then. It's Saturday, after all."
"Right…"
"In other news, vandals have painted over the doors to the police station. The vandals chose a very strange design for their painting, a circle containing two angel wings and the words 'Turn it on and good luck' over the picture. As yet, there are no suspects. The president today announced…"
My jaw drops open. That single shot of the police station doors, it was the save point. Whoever did all this is trying to tell me something.
It's rude to turn down an invitation.