Chapter 17: The Truth
Vanellope had invited Jerry and Ralph over to the castle for the day, so Jerry had to decline Rancis' invitation to join their outing. Jerry knew Vanellope was still antagonistic towards Taffyta, and would never consider going with the group.
Still, he was glad to get the chance to spend time with Vanellope. She had given Jerry and Ralph a proper tour of the castle, since Jerry had only seen the throne room, and Ralph had a rather hurried view on the way to the fungeon.
Their last stop was the garage. Jerry examined her collection of karts in delight. Even Ralph, who wasn't very keen on racing, was pretty impressed.
As Jerry looked each kart over, he noticed a rather amateurishly designed kart that seemed a little out of place in the gleaming garage. "Vanellope, why do you keep this kart?" Jerry asked, pointing at a pedal kart.
Vanellope craned her neck to see what he was pointing at. "Oh, the Lickety-Split! Well, that was the kart that I made back when I was still an unwanted glitch. Taffyta and the others broke it down to keep me from racing." Vanellope's face hardened. "I rebuilt it to remind me how much things have changed in my life."
"Vanellope, you shouldn't hold it against the racers. They didn't know what they were doing. Turbo was controlling them," said Ralph gently.
"But they were all so mean!" Vanellope burst out.
"They were mean to you, because they were all scared of you. Bullies are afraid and insecure people; that's why they bully others," Jerry added.
"How would you know about that?" Vanellope asked bitterly. "You didn't have to go through what I did!"
Jerry smiled sadly. "I think it's time I told you my backstory."
Vanellope cocked her head in curiosity. Ralph raised his eyebrows. Jerry sighed. "You might want to get comfortable. It's a long story."
They headed over to what was previously the fungeon, which Vanellope had refurbished into a cosy and comfy games room. Ralph piled up cushions on the floor and set his enormous frame down while Vanellope burrowed into a gigantic beanbag, waiting expectantly. Jerry kicked off his shoes and curled up on the couch.
"It all started with the sequel of the game Getaway. The gameplay put players in the shoes of a getaway driver, racing to escape from the police. The sequel added the bonus of being able to choose a partner-in-crime, ranging from a gun-toting thug, to a black-market parts dealer, to an energy-producing scientist, and me, the smart and charming youngster who could talk his way out of getting caught. The players never really took to my character, as I was the 'easy way out', merely providing extra lives."
"I ended up being barely used. Weeks and months went by for me just standing in position for the menu, and not getting any action. I tried my hand at being a getaway driver, and I was pretty good, but the characters voted against me changing roles. Then, one of my main opponents, a getaway driver named Shawn, started picking on me and ostracizing me, constantly harassing and bad-mouthing me. I guess he felt threatened by my talent."
"The final straw came one day when Shawn and the police ganged up on me. I got picked for the first time in six weeks, and I was so excited. Well, the player got caught, and I prepared to deliver my lines, which the policeman was supposed to buy. To my surprise, he went against the program and immediately caught the player."
"The exact same thing happened a couple of hours later. I got suspicious, and confronted Shawn about it. He replied, "Yeah, but what are you gonna do about it, Mr. Silvertongue? Nobody gonna believe you over me." His voice turned steely, and he scoffed, "You're just the loser kid; you never get picked, and even when you do, you fail. Huh! Some character."
"Next thing I know, Irv, the getaway driver I failed to talk out of trouble, comes up and starts berating me. I try to defend myself, but get shouted down. Shawn had turned everyone against me, telling them I was a waste of code and didn't deserve to be in their game." Jerry paused and hung his head. "So I left."
Ralph, who had been listening silently, quietly remarked, "I know how that feels; people hating you just 'cause someone tells them to," recalling the days when Gene had indoctrinated the residents of Niceland about Ralph, the no-good, smelly bad guy of their game.
"Well, one of the unspoken rules of the arcade is that characters stay in their own games. For a long time, no one wanted to take me in."
"I lived in the Internet for a while, scrounging a living from discarded code. I soon picked up coding, enough to survive by hanging around the black market. I thought I was gonna end up working for a major dealer or become one myself. As each day passed, I hated myself more and more. I- I even freelanced for SANG a few times."
"What's SANG?" Vanellope prodded.
"Trust me, you don't want to know. I was a lowlife, when I knew I could be so much more. I tried to get out of the world of crime, but it kept sucking me back in, kinda like Nesquik-Sand."
"Then I met Yeshua. He was the one who pulled me out of the black market. I was scrounging 'round his site one day; he found me and took me under his wing. Gave me a home and a job. Taught me to forgive others. To forgive- myself." Jerry's voice cracked.
"To learn to forgive, I had to understand this: you see, there was- is, a basic virus, named Sin, in all of us. It corrupts us and entices us to do wrong things: lie, steal, disobey, bully others." Vanellope looked down for a moment. "None of us are perfect. We screw up and blow it. This virus corrupts us, and leads to our eventual destruction. But the Supreme Programmer, the one who coded us into existence, doesn't want that for us. He loves us, and He designed us to live forever, with Him. He sent a virtual version of himself, Yeshua, into our world to battle the virus. He sacrificed himself to conquer it, but regenerated because of His power. If we believe in Him and apologize for what we've done wrong, He will purify us from the Sin virus."
"After I understood this and surrendered my life to the Supreme Programmer, His love and strength encoded gradually into my life helped me to forgive Shawn and others for their rejection, and also forgive myself of the despicable things I did." Jerry closed his eyes for a moment.
"This is also the source of my cheerfulness and joy and zest for life."
Jerry exhaled and looked at Vanellope. "Vanellope, you have to let go of your hurt and resentment of Taffyta. She may have bullied and mistreated you in the past, but holding a grudge against her is only eating away at you. Aren't you stooping to her level now when you bully her?" Startled, Vanellope was at a loss for words. Jerry passionately continued, "Vanellope, it's time to let it go. A weak man will retaliate with anger, but it takes a strong person to forgive."
Vanellope looked down sadly. Her voice faltered. "I… I want to, but I don't think I can. Not on my own."
Ralph hoisted himself up and knelt in front of her. "We're here, and we'll help you."
"I've done horrible things to Taffyta, too." Ralph and Jerry looked at her, then at each other with raised eyebrows. "What was it?" Ralph asked.
"I can't tell you… You'll… You'll think I'm a terrible person." Vanellope whispered.
Jerry added, " Ask Yeshua, and he can help you to forgive, both Taffyta and yourself. Just ask Him."
"Yeshua, " Vanellope began, haltingly, "Jerry says you can help me; and I believe him. I want to forgive Taffyta for what she did to me, but it's too hard for me. Please help me. I'm also sorry for what I've done wrong, especially towards Taffyta. I'm… I'm so sorry…" she sobbed. Ralph held her wordlessly, rocking her, while Jerry rubbed her back gently.
"I turned her… into a… a glitch," she gasped, between sobs. "Just like… like Turb- " She broke down anew with another wave of tears. "I'm the one… who caused her blackout… and her accident that injured so many… I don't deserve to be forgiven."
"It's okay, it's okay, Yeshua has wiped that away, if you believe in Him." Jerry whispered into her ear.
"I believe, I believe! Yeshua, please help me!" she cried, her tiny frame heaving with each breath and sob. Her cries turned into whimpers, and she soon quieted, breathing deeply.
She turned to look at Jerry through tear-stained but sparkling eyes. "Jerry… Ralph… I feel- new. Brand new!" She joyfully drew her close friends into another embrace. She ran her hands through her hair and her countenance grew more serious. "I have to go and make up with Taffyta. She needs to know what I did and I need her forgiveness."
As if on cue, her phone rang.
"Hello? Vanellope speaking."
"Hey, Rancis. How's it going?" Suddenly her eyes grew wide.
"What?!" She stood in stunned silence for a few seconds, phone glued to her ear. Jerry and Ralph waited tensely.
"We've got to get Sergeant Calhoun immediately. Stay put, and stay on guard."
Vanellope ended the call and looked at Ralph with fear in her eyes. Ralph knew of only two things that could create such fear in her. Both had supposedly been wiped out in the eruption of Diet Cola Mountain. Apparently not.
The same word formed on Vanellope's and Ralph's lips.
CyBug.
This chapter was mostly produced because crankyman7 helped me realize the need for info on Jerry, the easygoing 'nice guy' of the story, and about his traumatic backstory, only hinted at in the early chapters.
Also, the whole forgiveness monologue by Jerry, about the Sin virus and the Supreme Programmer is an analogy that applies to all humans, not just game characters. Please PM me if you've any questions about this.
SANG is a tip of the hat to crankyman7's story/stories. Go check it out.
Review, please! Please let me know what you liked and constructive criticism is more than welcome.
Shalom and God bless from JarrettSoon.