A/N: Okay guys, we're heading into flashback territory! I know, the story should be told from RJ's point of view, but I think it'll be better if I told it from the clone's memories instead, right? So, this is what I did. :)
Also, university is starting to get busy, so it may be a while until Chapter 6 or the RBTI bloopers. But I'm sure I can get them out soon. Till then, IceWrecker out! :D
Chapter 5
'Ralph'
Where am I?
I open my eyes, only to stare into another character right in the face. I blink, startled; yet the person blinks back at me at the same time, mincing my every move.
It is only then I realize that I am lying on a mirrored surface, staring into my reflection.
My arm bumps against something. I turn my head slightly, only to see a figure sprawling next to me. Somehow, the figure doesn't notice that my arm has hit against him, and continues to stare into his reflection.
Wait.
This figure looks familiar.
Where have I seen those features before?
I look back at my reflection, and now I see it.
The figure is me.
The blocky build, the reddish skin, the dark eyes…
He is me.
I turn my head to the other side, and I see another figure. I do a double take, as the figure is the same as me as well.
The figure shifts his position, and I can beyond him many, many figures, all with identical features, spread out on the surface. I see something on the building beyond as well, and I realize that its surface is also covered with duplicates of me as well.
Then I see it: I'm not the only one with these features.
We're not the only ones.
All around our building, I can see lots and lots of similar skyscrapers, all with a mass of redness resting upon it. Instantly, I know what those masses are.
My brothers.
All my brothers.
All identical.
The same in every way.
We. Are. One.
All of a sudden, something, I don't know, shoots through us. I jerk back for a second, and then I realize, we realize, at that moment we only wanted one thing, and one thing only.
Our Friend.
A little girl with a ponytail and a hoodie which we call our Friend.
The desire for her is so great, is like an unstoppable hunger churning through us. We so want to have her, to be her friend, to be with her forever…
We need her.
My brothers start to move: some climbing further up the glassy surface we're on, some letting go and dropping onto the ground below. We all started going in different directions simultaneously, but there is only one identical objective in our mind, only one.
Our Friend.
Friend…
Must…find…Friend…
I leap across several buildings, crash through a large window, and fall onto one of the pods running on the conveyer belt. I smash my hand into the pod, reaching inside. Soon, I pull out a young-looking character, wearing a hoodie and a ponytail, and glance into her eyes.
"Friend?" I ask, clutching the character by her head. The character flails her arms about, her legs dangling above the pod. It is clear that she's terrified of me. I hold her closer to me, trying to see her better.
No, not Friend.
Someone who looks similar to my Friend, but not my Friend.
Not my Friend at all.
I toss the character aside and leap off the pod. Several of my brothers stumble into a huge building, smashing up the walls to make their way in. I follow them into the building, tearing up floorboards and tables as I do so. Some of them stayed near the entrance, breaking up stuff and tossing things aside. Meanwhile, I follow the others deeper into the building, hoping to find our Friend within.
Must…find…Friend…
I punch my fist into a wall, trying to break it down to see what is behind it. But instead of falling to pieces, my arm gets stuck in the crack I have made. I try to pull my arm out, but it is taking a lot of effort, as if this is not an ordinary wall…
"Yoo-hoo! Up here! It's me, your bestest friend in the whole wide world, who you can't live without!"
Who said that?
I whip my head back quickly. Something, I don't know what, zooms outside the building. I can see a small figure wearing a hoodie waving his arms about.
No wait: her arms about. My mind connects the voice to the figure, and I realize I know who she is.
My Friend.
Our Friend.
Friend…
Instantly, my brothers turn and charge out of the building, chasing our target. I start to follow them, but my arm is still stuck within the wall. I grunt and pull with all my might, frustrated, yet it is no use.
Come on!
COME ON!
With a growl, I punch through the wall with my other hand, smashing it entirely. I carefully pull my arm out, freeing myself, and then turn to run out of the building.
By the time I am outside, my brothers have far gone. I hear something to my right, though, so I run in that direction. A building is in the way, and I crash through its walls to get to the other side.
It is when I see them.
My brothers.
All my brothers.
Running in unison, chasing a hovering car high above the conveyer belt.
I am still a few streets away, all I can see of my brothers is a roaring red wave, desperately trying to get to the car. Trying to get to our Friend…
I have to get there.
I leap from building to building, and then make my way down to the ground. I start running, running in the direction of the hovering car and my brothers.
So we can be together as a whole again.
With our Friend…
CREEEEEEEEEEEAK! The sound makes me look up, and I gulp. For above me, a tall building, made of glass and stone, is starting to tilt on its side. The persistent groaning sounds it makes tells me that the building will start to crash in a few seconds.
And the exact same building is in the way of me and my brothers.
I take a deep breath as I watch the building continue to tilt. My brothers are still running in the distance, still chasing our Friend. If I don't go there now, then I might lose them forever, my chance of getting our Friend slipping from my grasp.
Shall I risk it?
I take a deep breath, trying to decide what I should do. The building will be crashing down soon; my brothers will be soon out of sight; my Friend leaving me for good…
I risk it.
With a loud cry, I charge forward, running in the direction of my brothers. They seem to be heading towards a certain area, but I can't make out where.
The building is starting to fall now. I try to pick up my pace, try to run faster, try to get to the place where my brothers are all at…
Must find Friend.
Must…find…Friend…
I am panting now, but still I run. The building is looming on top of me now, threatening to close off my road. I have to get to my brothers. I have to. I have to!
Must…find…Friend…
Must…
Find…
Friend!
My foot slips on something on the ground, and I fall to my knees. Instantly, the building is above me, crashing over me like a wave, showering me with debris.
I am not fast enough.
No matter how strong I am, I am no match for the building. My fate has been sealed: I cannot reach them. As the building falls upon me, I can only cry as I feel it crushing me down, pinning me to the ground, blocking me from the world, from my brothers.
And from my…
"Friend…"
The world closes up entirely in front of me, and I feel nothing.
Dark.
Everything is dark.
And quiet.
No wait, I hear ringing, loud and clear.
Against my ears…
Are my ears ringing?
I slowly, slowly open my eyes. My face is touching the ground, my arms lying limply by my sides. All around me, I feel pain, unmistakable pain, shooting through me even as I lie down.
Even with my eyes open, I cannot see anything. I can feel stuff around me, feel something like a huge weight pressing me down, but I cannot make out anything else.
I try to remember anything that could tell me why I am here, trapped in goodness-knows-where. But so far, my mind is completely blank. I cannot remember anything. I cannot even remember my name!
Who am I?
Why am I here?
In the distance, I hear sounds, faint barely noticeable. But maybe it's all just my imagination.
Wait a minute, not sounds.
Voices.
I turn my head slightly to hear better. Yup, definitely voices now, getting clearer and clearer as I hear.
"So you think the website cannot be saved?"
The voice is deep and gravelly: I think it's a man's.
"Well, no. Not technically. But we've wanted to revamp our website for quite a while now and this seemed like the best excuse to do it."
That's not the same voice: this one sounds higher-pitched, more song-like. Is it a female's?
"So… what are we gonna do with this stuff, then?" Yup, the same man again. I recognize that voice.
"Oh, just toss everything down into the Older Net. No one goes down there anyway. We'll get the new site done in a few days. Here, let's take these walls off the ground."
The wall above me starts to shift up slightly, letting a tiny ray of light beam into the darkness. With the light, I start to see shadows moving outside, but I cannot make out what is making them.
Can I get their attention?
I let out a cough, and then groan loudly. A few seconds later I groan again, hoping that someone would notice that there is a character trapped under here.
"Wait, do you hear that?"
I stop groaning. Did they hear me?
I decide to experiment. "Friend?" I ask. Maybe it'll be clearer if they heard an actual word. I think I should have muttered something else, but that is the only word I can think of.
"Where?"
"There! Under the wall! I hear something!"
Footsteps. Several of them. They're coming towards me. The wall is lifted slightly again, and more light pours into my darkness.
"Hey look! There's someone down here! Right there, I see a hand!"
Wait a minute, a hand…
Could it be mine?
"You sure, Conrad?"
"Of course I'm sure! Hey, everyone! Come here! Help me lift this thing up! We gotta get them outta here!"
I hear grunting as the wall above me is lifted more. My body is no longer forcefully pinned to the ground, yet I find I have no strength to push myself up. I try to pull my arm back, only to find out I cannot move it more than a few centimeters, as if my hand is glued to the ground.
"Push! Push! Come on, you can do it!"
The wall moves upwards more. I groan and try to peel myself off the floor again, but my body feels heavy.
So, so, so heavy.
The wall on top of me shifts up more, and now I can see them: a couple of figures, one holding something that emits some sort of light. I squint, trying to figure out why they are looking at me like that.
Can I trust them?
"There, I see him! Mara, get him out!"
One of the figures steps towards me, a female by the looks of it, her hand outstretched to me. Very, very slowly, I haul my arm up and hold it out to her, trying to grasp her hand and get out of here…
"NO, DON'T TOUCH IT! GET BACK HERE, MARA, QUICKLY!"
The figure pulls her hand back sharply, and then slowly starts to stumble back to the others. I cock my head, confused to why she is doing that to me.
For a moment, no one speaks anything. All the figures are gaping at me now, but for what reason I don't know.
I don't know…
"Friend?" I ask hesitantly, while coughing. What are they doing? Are they coming to get me out?
Can I trust them?
Then the shouting begins.
"That's not a character! It's a virus! It's one of the viral Ralph clones from the Crash!"
The characters around the talking figure gasp. I look back at them, confused on why they decided not to help me suddenly. The female character's expression hardens, and she looks at me with a face of disgust, an expression greatly unlike the one she wore just a moment earlier.
It is then I remember who I really am.
A clone.
A viral Ralph clone.
One of the many clones responsible for destroying the Internet in the Crash.
Now the wall has been lifted, I crawl from under it, staggering out of the building debris. It took a while, since my body still feels heavy, but at least I'm no longer trapped.
Crawling on all fours, I look back at the crowd. As I watch, one of the figures picks up a stray shard of glass off the ground. Meanwhile, another character, the same one who stretched out her hand to me moments ago, arms herself with a huge gun-like object. Slowly but surely, all the figures around me start to pick up things off the ground, all sorts of things…
And then they all aim them at me.
What are they doing?!
What are they doing to me?!
"That's a clone, guys! They're not totally destroyed! One of them is still here!" Someone, I can't really make out the gender, shouts.
Wait…
Destroyed?
Totally destroyed?!
You mean…my brothers…they're…they're all…
"Don't just stand there, you idiots! Don't let the clone get away! Kill it! Kill it!" A male voice shouts.
Run. A tiny voice in my mind whispers. I don't like the sound of the man's voice. I don't want to know what he wants to do with me.
"Kill it!"
Run! The voice is back again, urging me to quickly do something.
"KILL IT!"
RUN!
Instantly, I push up from the ground, planting my feet firmly down. The crowd around me gasps, then they fire their weapons at me. I can feel a sting on my arm, another on my chest. I hold up a hand in front of my face, just fast enough to stop a flying brick from smashing my nose flat.
It is then I really start to run.
RUN!
I sprint down an alley near the fallen building, and dive into another alley. I can hear shouting and footsteps, getting closer and closer to me. Again and again, I can feel objects hitting hard against my back. My body feels weak, extremely weak, but I know I have to run. I have to.
RUN!
I turn down a corner, and then charge quickly to my right. The shouting is louder now, I guess more characters have engaged in the chase.
I can't let them get me.
RUN!
My throat is on fire, my breathing is rapid. I know I cannot continue running much longer, but still I run. Up ahead, I hear shouting. Without warning, I feel a throbbing pain on my head. Instinctively, I squeeze one eye shut as I feel something flow down my forehead. That something makes its way to my mouth, leaving a metallic taste behind.
Is that…code?!
Am I bleeding?!
I jog down a corridor to my left, hoping to lose my chasers. Up ahead me, the road is closed off suddenly, a series of railings stopping me from advancing. I jerk unnaturally to a stop, panting as I rest against the railing.
Have I lost them?
No.
I haven't.
I can hear them, in the alley right behind me, about to capture me.
I look beyond the railing. Apart from darkness, there is nothing I can see. Carefully, I haul myself over the railing, making sure I didn't fall. Then very, very slowly, I lower myself down the edge, grasping the rungs for support.
There they come now.
I hear them.
"Where are you? I know you're out there!"
Hidden just beneath the edge, I don't dare make a sound, hoping that they will not know where I am. But it is no use: the stampeding gets closer and closer, and then all of a sudden, everything stops.
For the crowd has reached where I am.
I look up, only to see the crowd of figures, each holding up some sort of real or makeshift weapon. I gulp: things aren't looking good for me.
One of the figures steps forward, takes out a gun-like object, and points it at my head. "Any last words, clone?" He asks menacingly.
There is a moment of silence. The figure taps his foot impatiently, waiting for me to answer.
I can't give in.
I can't let them get me.
Unless…
"Any last words?" The figure asks again, his voice obviously raised.
And at that moment, I give him my answer.
I let go of the railing.
A loud gunshot rings out above me as I tumble into the inky darkness, down into the endless abyss below. The crowd is still shouting, but their voices are much fainter now.
I continue falling, completely weak. I don't care if there is anything I can do to stop myself, for I am too tired to save myself. I just let myself fall…
And fall…
And fall…
How far down does this go?
Am I gonna fall forever?
As soon as I finished that thought, I crash into something hard. I sprawl on the object, my body limp, my vision blurry as an even darker darkness inches towards its center. I close my eyes, as I feel pain, unbearable pain, slowly take over me.
Consuming me…
Claiming me for itself for good…
Am I dead?
I let out a low moan, and slowly open my eyes. My body is hurting, ugh, it's hurting; but the pain is no longer strong enough to bind me to the ground. My arms and legs are sore, but so far I can still stretch and wiggle them about, I can still feel them.
No, I'm not dead. Not dead at all.
Carefully, I lift myself to my feet, stumbling to keep balance. My head is still throbbing, and I reach up to touch it, only to feel code running down its side. I tear out a sizeable piece of fabric from my sleeve and fashion it into a bandage, wrapping it around my wound. As I concentrate on my work, my mind briefly flicks back to a few moments earlier.
The shouting…
The chasing…
Me letting go of the railing, letting myself fall into this dark place…
Where am I?
Suddenly, I hear something crash in the distance. Very quickly I tie off my bandage and turn in that direction. I squint my eyes and I see it: huge fragments of a building or something, made of glass and stone to whatever, being thrown down into the place I am in. Huge pieces, being tossed down again and again and again.
The crashing sounds stop a few minutes later. Carefully, as soon I know no one is dumping anything more down here, I make my way to the newly-thrown debris, to see what they really tossed down.
That's odd.
Why does the debris look so familiar?
As soon as I get there, I get the answer to my question.
This is the same debris that trapped me under back in the Crash.
This is the one.
A voice from my memory pops up in my head. "Oh, just toss everything down into the Older Net. No one goes down there anyway."
The Older Net…
Is this where I am now?
A place where no one will ever go down here to find me?
I turn my head, only to see many, many similar debris scattered all around me. Some of them have faded long ago, some of them have gathered large piles of dust, some have broken in millions of tiny shards, proving impossible for me to recognize which website it originally came from...
So it's true.
It is true.
No one really comes down here anymore.
With that realization in mind, I start to build up a life in the Older Net, without constantly having the fear of being found. I explore the world I am in, scavenging among the fallen buildings, trying to find something that I can use. Although most of the Older Net is covered with dust and darkness, I eventually got used to it, and manage to find several useful objects from the garbage. From one website, I pull out a few cardboard boxes for me to rest upon on; while from another I find a large piece of fabric, large enough that I am able to transform it into a huge poncho to shield myself from the bitter winds down here. I also find several ladders scattered throughout the Older Net, ladders which are able to lead me back to the shining world above…
Do I risk it?
I thought against it, but eventually hunger begins to take over me. I have failed to find anything edible in the dump, and even if I do find something that I can eat, I can't help but puke it out almost immediately. It is soon clear to me that from the Older Net alone, I cannot survive…
I risk it.
Wearing my poncho to conceal my identity, I return to the Internet, the very world I destroyed not so long ago. I move quickly and quietly, taking whatever I needed, sneaking into buildings which I see there are not many characters. I try to keep my head down, keep a low profile, trying not to draw attention to myself every time I'm up there.
Apart from food, I start to take other stuff I cannot find down in the Older Net. I find a small whiteboard and several markers in an almost abandoned building, and used them to convey my silent words. I also started learning sign language to make characters less suspicious of who I am, though it is not proving easy as I cannot risk being in the Internet for too long. Every time I go above, I am constantly terrified that someone would realize that I'm a viral clone, and that I have to bolt back to the safety of the Older Net without anything in hand. But as it turns out the Internet is also home to a number of crazy stuff, stuff that is crazy enough to make me look completely normal.
A few weeks pass, and from my occasional trips to the Internet I begin to find out more about myself, and what really happened when the building fell upon me. I wasn't mute because of the building crash; my voice was rendered silent because of the virus inside me, making it impossible to verbally convey my thoughts. I am made because of an Insecurity Virus, duplicated from a certain Wreck-it Ralph's flaws, making me despicable in every way. Shortly after I am crushed under the skyscraper, all my brothers gathered together to form a gigantic version of ourselves, capable of further destruction. They got our Friend, they got her, but somehow after someone talked to them they decided to let her go.
And then they disappeared.
Disappeared into the light.
Every single last one of them.
Leaving me behind.
Sometimes, when I pass by one of the gaming websites (is it Slaughter Race? I cannot remember), I can see my Friend standing in the entrance, talking to a few other characters, happy as ever.
I learn that she actually has a name: Vanellope Von Schweetz.
Seeing her happy with her friends, I can't help but smile, but also can't help to turn away every time she looks in my direction.
For I know for certain that she'll never be my friend.
After everything I did to her, there's no way she'll accept me.
I can never, ever be her friend.
Don't take me wrong: every time I see Vanellope, I don't have an irresistible urge to run to her, to grab her, to force her to become my friend. No, I don't have that in mind. No one should be forced to become friends with one another. But seeing her happy with a large crowd of friends…I can't help but feel a tinge of jealously towards her, craving for what she's having.
Maybe it's because of the building crash that something changed inside me, transformed me into something different. Well, it did, I really changed, but it also left me with an unmistakable loneliness.
When I go onto the Internet and see characters chatting and joking naturally with one another like it is no big deal, I feel a huge pang within my chest. I so wanted companions, I really do. It was to the point I see it like a dangling toy in front of me, swinging. But also I know for a fact that it is something I can desire but never get, and that I will never have.
I don't deserve to have a friend.
Shivering in the Older Net in some cold days, I can't help but think why I had to be crushed by the building, why I am forced to be retreat to the dark place, why I am now alone in the world. But then again, I know that I deserved it, that I deserved to rot in this place, that I wasn't supposed to exist in the Internet.
It's the perfect punishment for me, and I deserved it.
Pulling my poncho tighter, I shiver again. As I recall my fate, I can't help but cry out loud, crying that my brothers are no longer with me, crying that I have to hide in this dark place, crying that I have never have a friend in my life.
That I deserved to be friendless, alone, and a wandering killing target for the rest of my life.
Forever.