Chapter Ten
Reunited
Gale, Vanellope noticed, had a sort of manic energy to his movements. His pace was steady, but brisk for long periods, with occasional bouts of alternation between sprinting and abrupt stops. He was constantly punctuating his comments with hand gestures as well. All in all, he seemed to her like a man who didn't know how to keep still.
Beside her, Gene was walking steadily, keeping his eyes firmly on the path they were taking. He seemed as though he were merely tolerating Gale's loopy physicality for the sake of having a knowledgeable guide.
And indeed, Gale was knowledgeable. He'd been able to answer Vanellope's questions about almost every website they passed, sprinkling his responses with lively anecdotes about things he'd seen or heard. Sometimes, even Gene was intrigued enough to break his silence and join in the conversations.
Or is he more interested than he lets on? Vanellope wondered. He's had that look the last few times, like he's trying to hide something.
Something large and green strode into view. Vanellope shrieked in surprise, while Gene darted in front of her, his fists raised, eyes staring down the strange beast.
Strange is the word Vanellope thought. A green "s" with a dragon head and stick legs, tiny dragon wings-
The beast turned slightly.
-and a big, beefy arm?
"Oh, hi Trogdor," said Gale. "Off to achieve burnination? Good, very good."
Trogdor glanced at Gene and Vanellope.
"Visitors from one of the arcades," Gale explained.
Trogdor inclined his head in what Vanellope assumed was a gesture of greeting. This done, he continued on his way. Gene lowered his fists and watched the creature go.
"Trogdor wouldn't hurt either of you," said Gale, as he, Gene, and Vanellope resumed walking. "He only burninates peasants. And the countryside."
"Oh," said Gene. "That's…interesting."
"By the way," Gale continued, "which arcade did you two say you were from?"
"We didn't say," said Gene.
"Mr. Litwak's," said Vanellope.
Gene gave her a sharp glance.
"What?" said Vanellope. "We can tell him that, can't we?"
"Litwak's?" said Gale.
"Yes," said Gene. "That's where we're from."
"Oh."
Gale's voice was unusually subdued.
"Hey, what's the matter?" Vanellope asked him. "You got some problem with that?"
"No, no problem," Gale replied. "It's just…I never expected we'd be getting visitors from Litwak's Arcade. Not after what…what happened."
"And I assure you," said Gene, "we wouldn't have bothered coming if we didn't have our reasons."
"I'm sure," said Gale. "At any rate, please believe me when I say I'm glad you survived."
"Thanks," said Vanellope. "We're glad to be alive."
Gene said nothing.
Sergeant Calhoun bent down to examine the newest set of boot prints she had discovered. "Still Felix's," she said. "He must have gotten his shoes really dirty to leave a trail so continuous."
Beside her, Ralph chuckled. "And I thought I was the dirty one."
"You aren't too bad anymore," said Calhoun. "It's just that you should bathe more often."
"You referencing that weird quote we found on that website?"
Calhoun smirked. "This whole place is weird. I mean, who thought making a room with a shoddy animation of a guy screaming 'Khan' was a useful thing to do?"
"I don't know," said Ralph, shrugging.
"Well- wait, what's this?"
"What's what?" Ralph asked.
Calhoun had moved towards a spot on the wall where a phrase had been scrawled. Ralph came over to the wall and read the phrase aloud: "Wayback Machine."
He scratched his chin. "It's in Felix's writing," he said. "But what's it supposed to mean?"
"Presumably, it's where he's headed," said Calhoun. "Classic mind control cliché. The controlled individual writes odd words and symbols on walls that have some sort of meaning. Whatever it is that's controlling him, it isn't exactly an original character."
"You aren't so original yourself," said Ralph.
"None of us are," said Calhoun. She turned towards the pathway again.
"We keep walking, then. Only, we've one little problem."
"How do we find out where this 'Wayback Machine' is?"
"Exactly."
"If only that COG guy were here, we could ask him," said Ralph. "He seems to know a fair bit about this place, living here and all."
"We'll just have to manage on our own, I guess."
Ralph sighed.
"I know," said Calhoun. "I'm wondering too. But think of it this way. The path has been curving to the left all this time. We've got to pass the area where we last saw them sooner or later. If they're still there, we'll probably bump into them."
"In how many pieces?"
"No despair, soldier!" Calhoun snapped. "We can't afford that here."
"Alright," said Ralph.
They continued on their way, trudging onward carefully, on the alert for the slightest sound.
Another hour had passed in this monotonous yet tense manner when Ralph finally stopped, his head down.
"Out of energy?" Calhoun asked. "We're just getting started."
"It'll be a new day by now," said Ralph.
"That's nothing to be bothered by," said Calhoun, "at least, not yet. We've still got time."
"To find them too?"
"Enough," said Calhoun. "No more despair. I won't have it. I've already told you that if we keep going the way we're going-"
She stopped talking as three figures came around the corner. Two of them were Vanellope and Gene, while the third was someone she didn't recognize.
"-we'll bump into them eventually," Calhoun finished.
Ralph didn't reply. He was already holding his arms wide open, waiting for Vanellope to finish making the leap onto his shoulder.
"One pleasant surprise this day," said Calhoun as Vanellope glitched into Ralph's embrace. She grinned. "Optimism can be a useful thing sometimes."