Chapter Twenty-Seven

A Deal with Dr. Despair

"Nearly a week and you've got nothing?"

"How can I, Ralph, when those guys are watching most places nearly 24/7? I'm on it, but I just don't have anything yet."

Calhoun's reply was low, but tense. Even inside Ralph's house, away from the view of SANG, she feared they were being listened to.

Ralph was about to respond when he saw the dirt floor shift in a corner. A small hole opened up and out scuttled a small robot. It consisted of a dome about twelve inches in diameter, with six insect-like legs.

Calhoun instantly reached for her pistol, but stopped when she remembered that it had been confiscated. She and Ralph eyed the robot warily as it came to a stop before them. The robot's red eye flickered, and a small tray at its base slid out, revealing a letter.

"What's this?" said Calhoun. She picked it up and read the message:

Sergeant,

I've just spoken with a mutual acquaintance. We have a plan to free the arcade, but we'll need the help of you and your friends. If you, Ralph, and Felix could arrive at my game as discreetly as possible within the hour, I'll give you more information. Meet me inside the pyramid.

Destroy this message after reading it. Do not write a reply. My robot will confirm that you have received the message and are coming.

Dr. Despair.

P.S: I'm not up to any tricks. I don't trifle with the fate of the arcade.

"Read that," said Calhoun, handing the letter to Ralph.

"He knows us well," said Ralph, when he had finished reading the post-script.

"He knows himself well," said Calhoun. "Under ordinary circumstances, I wouldn't go see him…but these aren't ordinary circumstances."

"The only question is, did he write this?"

Calhoun looked thoughtful. "No, I don't think SANG wrote this," she said at last. "SANG hasn't bothered talking with us much; they can't know what makes him tick."

"Should we go?" Ralph asked. "Who is this 'mutual acquaintance'?"

"There's only one way to find out," said Calhoun. She nodded to the robot. "We're going."

The robot scuttled back into the hole, piling the dirt over it as it left.

"I still don't fully trust him," said Ralph.

"Neither do I," said Calhoun, dropping the message onto the burning logs in the fireplace. "But who says we won't be on our guard?"

Approximately fifty-five minutes later, Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun found themselves within the entrance hall of the pyramid in Clash of Chaos 2. They had all had to enter the game at different times, at irregularly spaced intervals, in order to seem as low key as possible. So far, no members of SANG had asked any questions.

The entrance hall was a rectangular room with hieroglyphics covering the walls. At the far end opposite the door was a downward sloping tunnel filled with booby traps which led to the secret chamber where the Amulet of Ra was located. Dr. Despair was waiting for them by the opening of the tunnel. He beckoned for them to approach, which they did, all senses on alert.

"We can speak freely here," said the doctor. "But quietly. And quickly. Stay too long and they'll start to get suspicious."

"So, we came," said Sergeant Calhoun. "What did you have in mind?"

"Perhaps I should start the explanations," said a monotone voice. Moments later, a pale green, humanoid shape materialized beside them. Ralph, Felix, and Calhoun started simultaneously.

"I've no time for explaining what happened to me," said Surge. "Yes, I'm back. And yes, I've asked Dr. Despair to help. I've an idea, and he has the resources we need to make it work."

"Oh my land, where've you been?" Felix asked him. "How'd these gentlemen get past you? And why aren't you all here?"

"Gentlemen?" Ralph scoffed.

Ignoring Ralph's comment, Surge said to Felix: "I told you I've no time to explain what happened to me. I can't stay long, either. SANG thinks I'm still too powerless to materialize, and the plan depends on them not finding that out until I let them know. So I'll let Dr. Despair explain what we're going to do. I ask you to trust him." He looked meaningfully at all three characters, but especially hard at Ralph.

Ralph sighed. "Alright."

Surge nodded and vanished from sight.

"Alright, let's have it," said Calhoun.

"First of all," said Dr. Despair, "I needed you three here because your collective views are valued by the arcade. If you three agree to trust me -and I have no ill intentions, I assure you-then the rest of the arcade should follow- which is crucial, because we're going to need every character.'

"What Surge has in mind is nothing less than a simultaneous uprising in every game. At noon tomorrow, he'll reveal himself within Game Central Station and draw off as many as members of SANG as he can. When the games are a bit less full of guards, that's when we'll all strike. We'll drive them into Game Central Station, where we'll destroy any that are left."

"That's an awful lot of attacks to manage," said Calhoun. "How'll we ensure they're properly coordinated?"

"I'll be sending robots like the one I sent you to every game, with linked communication devices inside their compartments. You'll be able to reach any game character holding a communicator at any time."

"But how will the other games find out about the plan?" Ralph asked. "Oh wait- more robots, right?"

"Exactly," said Dr. Despair. "They'll receive instructions together with their communicators. You three will receive the communicators only, as you already know the plan.'

"However, there's one catch. Mr. Ainsworth has a device that could neutralize the Surge Protector. According to Surge, this device will have to be taken from Ainsworth and kept out of SANG's hands during the uprising in Sugar Rush, and it must be taken before he can leave the game with it. Otherwise, everything is lost."

"That's an awfully complicated plan," said Felix. "I don't know if it'll work."

"There's a whole lot that could go wrong," said Ralph.

"Can any of you think of a better one?" said Dr. Despair.

There was no answer.

"I won't let this arcade die," said Dr. Despair in an emphatic tone. "It's my home, it's your home, and it's the home of every one of us. And I'm going to prove to these dastards that it and we have a right to exist."

"I guess I can't argue with that," said Ralph.

"Very good," said Dr. Despair. "Now go, go as inconspicuously as you can. And good luck to you." He paused, before adding: "Good luck to us all."