Chapter Twenty-Four
Forgiveness
Calhoun watched as Gene emerged from the portal, with Ralph behind him. The latter, she saw, was not only wounded, but had Vanellope in his arms as well.
"We got him," said Gene, tossing her the gun and the knife. "Better look to these two, though."
Ralph laid Vanellope gently down beside the sergeant. "Her first," he said.
Felix, Calhoun's rifle still in his hands, turned at this remark. "Oh my land…what happened?"
"Worry about the details later," said Gale, kneeling down beside Vanellope. He stared at the scratches on her back. "From the same gauntlets," he said. "Can you fix her like you did me?"
"Of course," Calhoun replied curtly. Carefully, she removed Vanellope's jacket. Vanellope groaned, but said nothing.
"Stay with me, kid," said Calhoun. "I'll get you patched up."
"I…know," Vanellope whispered. "Blessed…warmth…"
"Away, please," said Calhoun. "I need room to work."
Reluctantly, Gale stood up and backed away, as did the others.
"Any more iron wolves show up?" Gene asked.
"None," said Felix.
"There'll still be some out there," said Gale. "Their game still exists. But with Darien gone, they'll have a hard go of it, trying to coordinate anything big like this again."
"They'll still be a danger though, right?" Gene asked.
"Oh, to be sure," said Gale. "One task at a time, though." He smiled. "I'll be alright…and so will you guys."
Calhoun turned away from Vanellope, whom she had just left sitting against the wall. "Stitched her up," she said. "Your turn, Ralph."
Ralph sat down beside the sergeant, allowing her to do her work. When she was done, he stood up again.
"Don't play too roughly now, soldier," Calhoun told him.
Ralph saluted.
"That's good."
At that moment, Vanellope opened her eyes. She glanced about, finally fixing her gaze on Ralph.
"Hey, Stinkbrain," she said. "We made it through another mess, I think."
"Thanks to Gene," said Ralph. "He's the one who struck the blow."
"Ah, so the knife came in handy after all," said Calhoun. "Nice work, Mr. Mayor."
Gene lowered his eyes and muttered something inaudible.
"Don't be bashful, Gene," said Ralph. "Face it- you're the hero of the hour."
"I just tried to help…"
"Let him be, Ralph," said Gale. "This has been a lot to take in- for all of us."
"We'll never know what Darien was doing with the mind-control device, though," said Calhoun.
"You mean this thing?" said Gene. He held up a semi-spherical object. "Got it from Darien's belt."
Felix started.
"Don't worry," Gene added. "It's turned off."
"Let me see that," said Calhoun. She took the device from Gene and observed it curiously.
"You know where he might've got this thing?" she said, showing it to Gale.
"Some sci-fi game, probably," said Gale. "It looks of console make."
"From Moonstone Empire?"
Gale shook his head. "Probably elsewhere."
"Well, wherever it's from," said Calhoun, "I think we can all agree it's too dangerous to be kept around."
All present nodded.
"Right then, I'll smash the thing," said Calhoun.
"Excuse me," said Gale.
"What?"
Gale held out his hand. "Let me. Please."
Calhoun hesitated.
"After all this, do you still doubt me?"
Calhoun placed the device in Gale's hand. Swiftly, Gale smashed the device against the wall. It dropped to the floor, a tiny heap of broken metal.
"There," he said. "That's done."
"And now, we'd best head back to our arcade," said Calhoun. "It'll be Christmas Eve tomorrow, and I'm sure none of my friends here'll want to miss it."
"I think the map got a bit torn in the scuffle, ma'am," said Felix, handing his wife back her rifle.
"I'll lead you back to the modem," said Gale. "That is…if you'll let me?"
Vanellope had come to stand beside Ralph. She looked Gale firmly in the eyes. "Fine with me," she said.
"Then I guess its fine with the rest of us," said Calhoun. "Lead on, Gale."
Gale led them swiftly, but carefully, allowing only the occasional brief halt so that Vanellope and Ralph could rest. Nevertheless, it was still a good eight hours before they reached the portal that led to the modem.
"And here is where we must part," said Gale. "I know you five understand me, but I don't imagine your friends and colleagues will want to see me."
"They trust our collective word," said Calhoun. "Still, I'd imagine this'll be a tough tale for some of them to swallow. But we'll tell it when the time's right."
"Thank you," said Gale.
"And Gale."
"Yes, sergeant?"
"I need to ask your forgiveness for the rest of us. We walked out on you when you needed back-up. That wasn't very soldierly of me…of us."
"Believe me, I understand," said Gale. "I'm sure I'd have done the same in your place. But yes, I forgive you."
"As we forgive you," said Felix.
Vanellope had retrieved the handkerchief Gale had given her from her pocket and was looking at it carefully. Noticing this, Gale knelt down beside her.
"If you don't want to keep it, I'll understand," he said. "I'm sure it'll just bring you bad memories."
Vanellope clutched the handkerchief to her chest. "No," she said. "I'm going to keep it as a reminder…that anyone can change."
Gale smiled. "So be it," he said, standing up.
"You'll be alright?" Ralph asked him.
"I'm still green at the game of goodness," Gale replied. "I've a lot of work to do, getting anyone to trust me around here. And those last two council members are indeed out there, somewhere. But SANG will never rise again. With whatever resources I can, I swear to you that I will fight for a better world here…ethically."
"Good luck," said Ralph.
Gale watched as the five arcade characters entered the portal. When they had all passed through, he turned. Slowly, lost in thought, he headed for the nearest door.
His future was still uncertain, he knew. But now that he had his forgiveness, he felt ready to face it- whatever it brought him.