A/N: Okay guys. That...was surprising, right?

Some of you have already guessed what had really happened in the end of Chapter 3 here, but for those who are still not sure of what happened, this chapter will definitely be clearer on how this story will go.

This chapter was quite a surprise to me as well: despite school starting, I've finished everything in three days. I've never thought I'll be able to get this up this fast, yet here I am with Chapter 4. Yes, I had said on DA that I would finish my Wreck-it Bloopers first before continuing this, but it looks like that will not be the case...

Oh well, hope you enjoy the new chapter! Till then, IceWrecker out! :D

Chapter 4

RJ

As soon as he hears his name, Ralph yelps and shrinks back further into the shadows, trembling harder than ever. I myself am shaking with fright as well, unable to believe a thing I am seeing.

What is Ralph doing here? Why is my brother on the Internet? Wasn't he supposed to be back in the arcade? Didn't he have an event to attend? And apart from that, why did he go and steal stuff from me? Ralph could have just asked, and I would have happily given what he needed! There's no need for him to steal from me suddenly! What is wrong with him?!

As soon as I got over my initial shock, I swish my hand around, trying to feel my fallen flashlight that had somehow clicked itself off when it clattered to the ground. My hand hits against something hard and metallic: there! I've found it. Immediately, I flick it back on, then carefully lift myself off the ground, trying to calm myself down for what I am facing here.

Oh God. Ralph somehow, somehow knows where I am, and he's here to chew me out. But…why did he need to do all the unnecessary drama? Why did he need to go and steal those sandwiches from me in order to lead me down here? Why?!

"Ralph, what are ya doin' here?!" I ask, my voice betraying my fearful emotions. "Didn't ya had a book club to go? No, wait, cross that out: the meetin' finished hours ago." I quickly correct myself. "But didn't ya say that some buddies over Bad-anon invited ya to party somewhere else? Why are ya here, then? Why are ya here?"

My brother stops shaking in terror, but is instead looking at me with confusion, as if he's trying to understand what I'm saying.

"Yer friends! They're all waitin' for ya! Ya shouldn't be here!" I say again, "Shouldn't ya be back at Litwak's?!"

Ralph looks at me again, his face still confused as ever. With his large hands, I can faintly see that he's trying to make some movement with them, waving them around in strange gestures, gestures that I don't understand. Throughout it all, Ralph tries to keep a considerable distance from me, as if he doesn't want me to come over to him.

As if he's somewhat fearful of me…

That's strange.

Ralph shouldn't be afraid of me.

I'm his brother, for almost four years now! Yes, back in the beginning Ralph was a bit cautious of my crazy, unstoppable Glitch, but still he faced it and helped me make the most out of it as possible, and that was all so long ago! Why should Ralph fear me if there's really nothing to be fearful about? Why should he?

"Ralph, I don't understand!" I say, starting to get as confused as he is "I don't understand why ya know I am here on the Internet! Why ya would find me here! Could ya just answer me?"

Ralph shakes his head again, still refusing to answer. What is wrong with my brother? What is wrong with him? By now he would have started firing questions at me, asking what on earth I had done to get into trouble. There would be absolutely no hesitation in his actions, no sliver of doubt when he questions me.

If he's not here to spy on me, or to chew me out, then why is he here? What's the reason?

"Answer me, Ralph!" I demand. "Why are ya here?" I jerk my flashlight up again, aiming it at my brother, trying to see what was it that made him unable to answer me.

That's when I see it.

His hands, and possibly the rest of his skin, are much, much redder than Ralph's.

I gasp, then I turn to glance at his face. I know that face belongs to Ralph, yet I have a feeling that there is something on that face that is different from what it should be…

Without my flashlight, without any light at all, I cannot make total sense of what is happening before me, what I'm experiencing is true or not.

But now with my light, cutting through the darkness like a shining beacon, I can see everything clearly…

And it is definitely not what I have thought.

Instead of my brother warm brown eyes that sparkle with joy when he smiles, I find myself staring into two dark, possibly black, orbs, soulless and haunting.

Those darkened eyes…

That reddened skin…

Oh no.

My head jerks back unnaturally as a memory hits me, a recent one, too. There! On Newton's video, and on several insider photos; those features appear again and again on the sources, hundreds if not thousands of them, their faces blared with crazed anger…

As the clones that bore those features tore down the Internet city in unison with their bare hands…

Oh God.

Oh my God.

This isn't Ralph.

This isn't my brother.

I turn to the figure again, and in the bright glare of the flashlight the truth screams out at me.

This is not Ralph I'm looking at.

This is one of his viral clones.

It's one of his clones, not Ralph!

As soon I realize the truth, I breathe out a slight sigh of relief. This isn't Ralph. Oh God, this isn't Ralph. He doesn't know, he doesn't know that I'm on the Internet. Oh, thank goodness he doesn't know, he doesn't know! Tugging my hood back, I let out a small grin, glad that I wasn't in trouble yet.

Then I remember why I got myself into this dark place, and when I see the reason sitting there in the corner, my face scrunches back into a scowl.

"Yer not Ralph." I spit, my voice slightly laced with disgust.

The clone cocks its head, as if it didn't get what I just said.

"Yer not Ralph." I say again, louder this time.

The clone squeals, landing on its back in a frenzy, shaking with fear. It starts to crawl backwards, avoiding my light and me.

Fuming, I walk towards the clone, my code broiling with anger. "Ya stole my sandwiches without sayin' anythin'. Yer nothin' but a rotten thief, ya know that?"

The clone shakes his head fearfully, trying not to look at me.

"Well, don't just stand there, ya idiot!" I scream back. "Why did ya steal those sandwiches from me? They're not yers! Give them back, will ya?!"

The clone turns and grabs something behind it, then tosses the thing onto the ground in front of me. It is my sandwich bag, the exact one it stole from me earlier back above. Only now my bag is unbearably tattered, dirty, and torn apart…

It also happens to be undeniably empty.

I growl and roll my eyes. So much for the chase if I'm not going to get back what I wanted.

"Okay, ya stole my sandwiches, ya made me chase ya all over the Internet to 'tis dark place, pretendin' to be Ralph. Seriously, are ya kiddin' me?" I ask, kicking the torn, useless bag aside as I step forward. The clone is now shaking again as it stands up, then stumbles backwards as fast as it could, as if it's desperately trying to get as far away from me as possible.

"Yer not gettin' away so easily, clone!" I scream as I continue to step forward, not letting the clone get away from my sights. The clone continues to stagger backward, staggering until it reaches a wall and could not move further. I walk to it, wielding my flashlight menacingly just inches from its face. There! I have it cornered, I have the upper hand now.

"Listen clone." I hiss "What ya did was purely unacceptable. Ya have somethin' to explain, man! I can't let ya run off without knowin' why ya just did all that to me!"

The clone ducks down its head, tears streaming out of its eyes, focusing intensely on something in its hands. It is definitely trying to avoid me, trying not to take the blame for itself…

"WHAT DO YA HAVE TO SAY FOR YERSELF? ! ? ! ? ! ? !" I yell in absolute hatred, stamping the ground. I clutch my flashlight tighter and shine its full glare onto the figure, blinding it in light.

With a quick jerk, the clone holds a small whiteboard in front of its face, shielding itself from my light and fury. On the board, three simple words are written on it.

I can't speak.

I look at the board, then at the figure holding it, then back at the board. "Yeah, I've should have known, I should have known. Yer just a Ralph clone, causing havoc and destruction everywhere ya go, unable to moan anythin' except the word 'fri…'"

The clone waves its arms frantically, as if telling me not to finish my word, as if it does not want to hear what I am saying.

"'…end'." I finish anyway, ignoring the clone. "Whatever, I don't care; nobody cares." I mutter, turning away in rage. It is the perfect, perfect cover: pretending that it cannot speak when it really is hiding something from me!

I'm leaving. I'm leaving here for good. Thank you for nothing, you disgusting clone!

Just on the wall in front of me, I can see the ladder that I used to get down here. I place a hand on one of the rungs, about to leave this dark place for good when something, I don't know, tugs me back.

What if the clone wasn't lying at all?

What if it was really telling the truth, that it is really incapable of speech?

What if it wasn't trying to pretend it was Ralph, but I thought it was doing that?

Slowly, I release my hand on the bar, and I turn back to see the clone. I must have looked in the wrong direction, though, for instead of seeing it, I see a small clearing through two of the large boards, leading to somewhere I don't know. My curiosity gets the better of me, and I glitch towards that opening, finding myself surrounded by more pieces of huge board-like objects, their surfaces faded enough for me not to see anything.

"What is 'tis dump?" I wonder out loud "Where am I?"

I hear shuffling behind me, and I turn to see 'Ralph'—note the quotation marks, slowly walking through the same opening, carrying its board up to me. It gestures for me to shine my light on it, and as I do, I find its answer for my question.

This is the Older Net, where all the discarded websites and unwanted emails go.

"The Older Net?" I ask, glancing around. So according to 'Ralph', there is a place for characters to throw down their shining buildings above me, their websites, like complete, useless junk? Unbelievable! This can't be true, right?

I walk towards one of the huge boards that has fallen upon its side. With my light, I can see there are a few giant letters plastered on it, indicating that this piece must be from the outer wall of one of the once-shining buildings above. Carefully, I run my hand upon the board, stirring an immediate dust cloud that is so thick it lands me into an uncontrollable coughing fit.

I've never seen so much dust in my life.

"Doesn't…" I try to ask, yet another coughing fit starts to take over me "doesn't anyone…come down here to…clean all 'tis…all 'tis stuff up?"

I continue coughing, coughing to the point where I begin to stumble backwards. I let out one more heaving cough, one that manages to knock both my feet off the ground. I never hit the ground, though, for before I did, I find myself being guided back to my feet. I turn to see a large hand placed on my back, carefully tipping me back on my feet.

I don't even have to guess who the character that helped me was.

'Ralph' holds out the board in its other hand, showing its answer to my question.

No one ever comes down here to clear stuff up, or to look what is down here.

"No one?" I ask. "Like, ever?"

'Ralph' nods back, wiping its board clean.

By now I have finally stopped coughing, and carefully I step away from the dust-covered board, trying not to make myself cough and wheeze again. On my right, some broken pieces of a website form a makeshift platform, slightly towering over most of the other discarded sites. I glitch upon it, and from there I can see the Older Net in its entirely. Everywhere, all around me, countless discarded websites litter throughout the wasteland, row upon row of broken shards and fallen boards spread out beneath me, their silhouettes just barely visible by the bright lights above.

It's like I'm gazing down a graveyard of a once-vibrant city, now completely gone to waste.

Then I realize that's really what the Older Net is, in a way.

I hear grunting behind me, and I turn to see 'Ralph' climbing onto the platform as well. There it stands right beside me, looking over the vast wasteland as well.

"Can't believe that no one ever comes down here to see what an awful mess 'tis place is." I mutter under my breath. "Can't believe it."

I turn to the clone next to me, and I see it has already whipped up a response for me. Me neither, but I guess that's a good thing for me. It lets out a soundless sigh as it continues to gaze over the Older Net, red sparks of electricity occasionally flashing from its fingertips.

Maybe I shouldn't have treated 'Ralph' that badly earlier after all: its just another character that happened to be present in this barren wasteland, and I just happened to drop by at the time…

Wait.

Wait a minute.

If this was really one of the virus Ralph clones created in the Crash…

Shouldn't it have been destroyed already? All the sites that I went to said that after the clones went up the Google skyscraper, they began to glow and disappear from the Internet. Every single last one of them.

So…why is there one standing right in front of my eyes? Why is one of the clones still here?

While it isn't looking, I quickly rub my eyes and look again, as if to confirm that what I'm seeing isn't from my imagination.

Nope, the clone is still there, as solid as ever.

"Hey." I call, trying to get 'Ralph's' attention, "Yer one of the viral clones formed in the Crash, right?"

Without looking at me, 'Ralph' nods.

"So…why are ya still here?" I ask, curious "I thought ya guys were all destroyed at the end of the Crash."

I thought so too. 'Ralph' replies. Yet…here I am.

"What happened?" I ask again. "Why didn't ya get destroyed?"

You wanna know? The clone asks me back.

"Wait, so ya know somethin' that I don't about what happened?" I ask, hoping with all my might inside that the clone will nod its head and tell me that it indeed has secrets about the Crash that I haven't gotten yet.

It does.

I gasp. Somehow, even after going to twelve different websites and scanning every piece of information they can throw at me, I am still missing large chunks of information about what really happened in the Crash. The fact that one of the viral clones, considered to be a huge threat to almost all the netizens and avatars' eyes, is still kicking and alive with no one knowing simply baffles me. How can they all miss such a huge piece of information? How can they?

"So…what really happened?" I ask.

I'll tell you, but only on one condition.

'Ralph' wipes its words away and starts to write again. It furrows its brow as it jots down a rather long string of unknown words, as if the sentence it is writing has a sudden seriousness to it.

The board is soon turned back to me with one single sentence.

You can't tell anyone that I exist, that I'm still here.

Of course.

When I was looking for answers back in the city above, almost everyone I'd talked to said that all the viral Ralph clones have been destroyed, that the Internet is no longer in threat of another Crash anytime soon. As well as that, almost all of them have a disgusted attitude towards my brother's viral duplicates, making a sour face every time such a topic was brought up. If the world above found out that one of the viruses somehow escaped the killing, was somehow alive, was somehow living below their feet…

I don't even want to know what happens next.

"I won't tell anyone." I say, hoping that I can gain its trust for answers "I promise."

'Ralph' looks at me nervously, as if it doesn't really believe what I am saying. Pinky promise? It asks bashfully, holding out its little finger on its free hand to me.

I hesitate for a moment: this is so not Ralph. If I have to name ten characters that like to use this method to seal their promises, I can be a hundred percent sure that Ralph's name would never be on the list. Of all the characters I know, Ralph's not one to seal promises with a pinky; he never does that, not even when it comes to Vanellope…

"Ugh." I moan slightly, shaking my head to clear my thoughts. Focus, RJ! Focus! This character isn't Ralph! It isn't your brother! Who cares if Ralph doesn't pinky promises stuff? This clone is not the same as him! Remember that!

I let out a slight sigh, then I carefully wrap my left hand over 'Ralph's' large finger. "Pinky promise." I reply, shaking its finger gently to seal the deal.

Good. The clone wipes out its relieved response, then waves its hand, as if beckoning me to follow it.

'Ralph' carefully leads me down the platform, back into the Older Net, slipping around and under the discarded website debris. As I follow it back down, the truth smacks me, so hard that it is almost like a physical punch to my face, knocking me over.

From the moment I made my 'pinky promise', I am in serious, serious trouble.

Until now, I don't think that my brother has any ideas on where I am now, or any idea on who I just met, who I just sealed a deal with. But I know for sure that Ralph is going to be really mad if he realizes that I've gone online; and on top of one of his clones being found, he would be seriously angry if he finds out one of them survived, angrier than all the netizens combined.

Meanwhile, I don't think 'Ralph' has any ideas about my real identity, that I'm the younger brother of the very character it is cloned from. From its actions earlier, it has become clear to me that the clone is absolutely terrified of the real Ralph: just hearing my brother's name sends it into a petrified, emotional wreck; and frankly, I can't blame it. I've seen Ralph chew out some of the Sugar Rush racers back home, yelling at them till they're at the brink of tears, just because they mistreated Vanellope slightly. My brother is protective of me, overly-protective at times, and if he realizes that I have sorta formed a bond with 'Ralph'…

At this moment, I have successfully earned some of 'Ralph's' trust; and although I know for certain that I will never be the same as my brother, there's no knowing what will happen if it finds out the truth about me, if it finds out that I'm forming the bond partly because I want to know what happened...

I don't want it to be afraid of me, I really don't; otherwise I might never get the information that I needed.

I can't let Ralph know; both Ralphs to be honest. I can't let Ralph know that I went online, that one of his clones somehow still exists; yet at the same time, I can't let 'Ralph' know my true identity, know my connection with the very character it is terrified of…

I am so busy thinking about what my next move should be, that I have failed to notice the debris-covered ground in front me. My prosthetic gets caught on a random object, and the next moment I know I'm sprawling facedown on the ground. As I lift my head up, I can see a huge red hand, outstretched to me. I grab it, and 'Ralph' gently pulls me back to my feet. My mind briefly flashes back to the videos of the Crash seen above, and I realize that of all the actions I've seen a clone would do, this is definitely not one of them.

As I stand up, I find that 'Ralph' has already gone ahead of me. I sprint forward, trying to catch up. Sometimes, it waves a hand or points a finger at the ground, indicating that there is a random object littered there and I should be careful not to trip on it. Oddly enough, it keeps on looking forward, never turning its head when it gestures at the ground, even when it turns out that there is an object dumped there…

As if it has been here for quite a while now…

I didn't say a word as we continue to journey down the Older Net, walking until we finally reach the place where we met each other for the very first time here. Using one of its hands, 'Ralph' dusts away some space on the ground and sits down. Meanwhile, I find a stray block of debris near it and sit down as well, anxious to hear what the clone has to tell me.

You understand ASL? 'Ralph' asks me through its board.

"Uh…" I look at the board, at 'Ralph', then back at the board, absolutely dumbstruck. How am I supposed to know? How am I supposed to answer? I don't even know what ASL means!

The clone seems to know what I'm thinking. It turns its board back and continues writing on it. A few seconds later the board is flipped back, revealing that the three letters actually stand for 'American Sign Language'.

Oh.

I shake my head. I have absolutely no idea how that system worked. Yes, back in the arcade, there indeed a few characters that are incapable of speech, or they spoke in a language that is impossible to understand. Some of them opted to use sign language to tell us what they want, but I admit those characters don't appear often in Game Central Station or in our social gatherings, that we don't have much chance of meeting them and learning their language.

'Ralph' smiles with an understanding look, clearing its board and jotting on it again. That's alright. I've gotten used to it already. It looks back down again to clear its board, rubbing it clean with a dirty, tattered cloth. With it concentrated on its work, I can now see that the clone is using a torn piece of red plaid cloth to erase its words, the exact same cloth I've seen on Ralph's polo shirt, and possibly on the clone's as well.

I'm pretty sure that if I ask 'Ralph' to let me see its sleeves, there will be a slightly torn spot from where the cloth from its hand had been.

As soon as 'Ralph' finishes its job, it looks up at me, holding its board up. It's gonna take longer for me to tell you everything, though. It finishes, a faint grin hinting on its lips.

I sit up straighter in my makeshift seat as 'Ralph' grabs another marker from behind its back. It then starts to write on the board, weaving out its tale with its words.

It all started back in the Crash just a few months ago…