Chapter Twenty-Two
The Final Piece of the Puzzle
"Get- off!" Mr. Morton gasped out as Vanellope tightened her grip around his neck.
"Open the force field," Vanellope cried. "Hurry!"
While Felix bounced towards the switch on the wall, Vanellope continued to hold on as firmly as she could. A sudden tug on her leg made her grip loosen, however.
"Got you," Mr. Morton snarled. He gave Vanellope's leg another jerk, causing one of her hands to lose its hold on him. Desperate, Vanellope clutched at him again. Her fingers closed around a cord at the base of his neck. Mr. Morton pulled again, causing Vanellope to release her other hand reflexively. She closed the fingers of this now free hand around the cord, even as Mr. Morton tugged at her leg one last time.
The cord snapped; Vanellope was sent crashing into the wall. She slid down to the floor, her hands still closed around the length of string, which had a carved wooden emblem at the end of it.
The entire struggle had taken less than a minute; already, Felix had deactivated the field and was beside Gale. At the sound of Vanellope's impact he turned back to face her, as did Gale. Gene, Ralph and Calhoun were already on the alert, the last with her gun ready and the former two with their fists raised.
As for Mr. Morton, it took him a few moments to realize the cord was no longer about his throat. By the time he did, Vanellope was already staring at the emblem that was attached to it.
"Portia had one of these!" she blurted spontaneously.
Gale started. "The emblem of…the house of DeMille? Only one…other character in…Moonstone Empire…carries that." His eyes strayed to Mr. Morton. "But if he's Darien…"
He blinked. "Oh no."
Mr. Morton whirled on Vanellope, glaring fiercely. "What do you care?" he cried. He turned, taking in the stunned looks of his foes, even as he continued speaking to Vanellope. "What do you or your friends care if I wipe out every last shred of what Portia fought for?" His gaze shifted to the carving in Vanellope's hand. "Oh my sister- what you became."
Ralph turned to Gale. "You said everyone else in her game stayed put?"
"That's what we thought. That's what she thought."
Darien's glare vanished. He smirked. "So, the secret is out," he said. "I am Darien DeMille. And since you've all met Portia, you'll know one thing already-"
Slowly, his form rose into the air, held up by some invisible force.
"-I'm from no ordinary family."
His form blurred, becoming shorter, before settling into the spitting image of Vanellope herself. He swooped towards Ralph in mid-air, backing the wrecker towards the wall.
"I can resemble your dearest friends," he said in Vanellope's voice. He turned towards Sergeant Calhoun, his form changing into Felix. "Or your loved ones," he added.
Calhoun winced at the sound of her husband's cheerful tones coming from one who wasn't their owner. Smirking once again, Darien backed away from the sergeant. His appearance changed yet again, revealing the form of COG.
"Or even a helpful stranger," he said in the gravelly voice that both Ralph and Calhoun remembered quite well. "Any game character that I've either seen in person, or viewed an image of, I can take on the appearance and voice of. And there are thousands of such images on the web."
He changed shape once again, this time into the dark-haired young man from the Moonstone Empire poster.
"But underneath it all," he continued, "I'm still Darien. I'm still the only one who followed my sister here, hoping to find her and see that she was safe. I'm still the one who saw the evil she was doing and took it upon myself to fight it with all of my talents.'
'Vanellope, Ralph, Gene, Sergeant Calhoun…let me be your friend. Give me that villain and I'll let you go. I'll find the last remnants of SANG and make sure they never do anything to hurt you or your arcade again."
His fists raised, Ralph rushed Darien. The young man hadn't been expecting this abrupt an assault; he levitated backwards towards the wall, a startled look on his face. As Ralph swiftly backed him toward the corner, however, his expression changed to one of confidence.
"Give it up," Ralph growled.
Darien simply smiled, backed up towards the wall- and passed right through it.
Ralph stopped, staring in confusion. "Where'd he go?"
Vanellope, who had risen to her feet once again, leaped towards the space in the wall where Darien had vanished. "Only one way to find out," she said as she passed through the hidden portal.
"No Vanellope, come back!" Ralph cried. He turned to the others. "I'm going after her." Before anyone could reply, he plunged in after his friend.
"What's beyond there?" Calhoun asked Gale.
"An unclaimed domain name," Gale replied. "I've…seen them…before. Darkened, half formed husks…of rooms. There's no telling…what's in there."
"Then I'm going too," said Gene.
"Gene?" said Felix. "You'd do that?"
Gene harrumphed. "Of course," he snapped. "I'm not that much of a jerk, that I'd desert colleagues."
"Then take these," said Calhoun. She selected a combat knife and a small laser pistol from her belt and tossed them to Gene, who caught them. His expression resolute, he hopped towards the wall. Felix, Calhoun, and Gale watched as he passed through the portal.
"Has Gene ever used your weapons?" Felix asked.
"Now's not the time to be asking that question," Calhoun replied.
"Oh dear," Gale said with a frown. "You two…had better go…too."
"We've got to hold the fort here, make sure no iron wolves show up and follow them in there," said Calhoun. She tossed her rifle to Felix, who turned towards the half of the room with the three doors, holding the gun at the ready.
"And you?" Gale asked.
"Me?" Calhoun patted her supply-studded belt. "I've got to treat those wounds of yours."