As Felix and Calhoun left Sugar Rush 2, they were approached by Alex.
"Hey Felix, Calhoun," Alex said happily, "Ralph asked me to inform you that he has headed to Game Station East, and has gone to Sugar Rush. Oh, and he was accompanied by both Vanellope of both Sugar Rush 1 and 2.. He figured Felix here may be a bit worried." He winked.
"Now that sets off a red flag," Calhoun said wryly, "Three wildcards traveling together." It almost sounds like Ralph may have found himself a girlfriend, too..
"Is it that bad?" Felix asked worriedly. I can't for the life of me recall who Vanellope is. I won't force it though, since it makes Tammy upset..
"I'm sure it's nothing," Calhoun said wryly, "But what is it with girls named Vanellope and Ralph?" She chuckled to herself as she imagined Ralph as a giant magnet that worked on girls named Vanellope. What's wrong with me?
"I appreciate the message, Alex," Felix said cheerfully. I'm a bit surprised that Ralph is hanging around with people, but it means that Ralph is likely in high spirits.
"Any time," Alex said before excusing himself and zipping across the surge protector to chat up some guys from Street Fighter II who were casually talking about a certain zombie.
Felix and Calhoun didn't waste any time getting back to Hero's Duty to find out what little surprise Set left for them. The game was in exactly the same state Markowski had left it in. Markowski had given Calhoun the code before she left Sugar Rush 2, and told her more or less how to look around in the files. From his experience anyway..
The couple entered the church. The very same one in which they were involuntarily glitched into the same yellow code he had become slightly accustomed to, no longer being surprised when it happened.
"Jiminy jaminy! I know this place! I.. We got married here!" Felix said excitedly as he hopped around, "Ralph! He was the best man! And Vanellop! She was the maid of honor! Agh.. Oh man, this is great!" I still don't remember everything, but this is certainly something I'm glad to remember! Tears streamed down his cheeks as he remembered pulling her down for their kiss. I'm so happy.. He sniffled and chuckled in embarrassment.
Hearing the excitement in Felix's voice made Calhoun's heart skip a beat and brought a smile to her face. She knelt down to his level and hugged him tightly, feeling almost as if she might cry as well. She tenderly kissed him on the lips. We still have work to do.. "You don't have to hold yourself back anymore," she said warmly as she stood back up, laughing at her own foolishness. "Come on." We can catch up when we're done here.
They entered the confessional Markowski told them about and Calhoun entered the new code that Markowski had changed it to. The door opened and the two went inside.
"Oh my land," Felix said while looking at all of the files, "This place is incredible.." It's the first time I've seen anything like this. The entire room was pitch black, except for the small glow emanating from the files themselves. The wires connecting the files together glowed occasionally as data transferred through them. "What exactly are we supposed to find in this place?"
"Set said 'something important' was in the 'Memory' file," Calhoun said softly, "It's anyone's guess what that might be." I'm sure it can't be that hard to spot.
"Memory.. You mean like my memory?" Felix asked. Maybe mine is there too.. My old one. I did start remembering things once I came to Hero's Duty.. Or maybe that's just coincidence.
"You're right, your memory could be in there.." Calhoun said, "But he said it was something he had hidden, so I'm guessing it's something else.."
After searching for a few minutes, they finally found it, the Memory file. Calhoun tapped it twice with her left hand to open it. There was a file in there named 'Something Important', oddly enough. Alright, so is it a trap? Calhoun hesitantly tapped it twice to see what was inside.
"Hello~ Tamora!" a hologram of Set said in a satisfied tone.
"You!" Calhoun said surprisedly. Maybe this was a mistake after all..
"Oh, don't worry yourself," Set said with a laugh, "If you're watching this, it means that I'm most likely dead, or we've at least been found out.. By the way, if anyone other than Tamora or I opened this file, the game will melt down in one minute.."
"What?!" Felix yelled. Jaminy! I'm glad she opened it!
"Kidding, kidding," Set's hologram said, "But if this isn't Tamora, I would appreciate it if you closed the file now and went get her. This isn't about you... We good? Alright. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your victory. You're one of the few people I've come to respect, and it's no wonder. It was most definitely fun being hunted by you, if that's what happened.. I'm assuming that you've opened this file after I told you I hid 'something important' here."
Felix and Calhoun looked at each other in confusion then looked back at the hologram.
"Since I'm probably dead," Set's hologram said with a sigh, "I have no qualms with telling you what I was planning. In case you're wondering, this was recorded the day before Mr. Litwak got Sugar Rush 2. Naturally you may think that my brother and I planned to take over that game. However that would be only half correct. You see.. I was smitten from the very moment I laid eyes on you. Your fiery attitude, your gorgeous looks.. Yes, I was in love. That's why my next target wasn't Sugar Rush 2 at all. That was just for Jet's sake. To be honest, despite whatever plan you think I had.. In the end, my target was Felix.. He's a lucky man, Tamora. Cherish him. I was waiting a long time for this chance. It's a shame I failed."
Felix had a look on his face as if he had been hit by a truck. If Markowski hadn't taken charge, I would likely be controlled by Set by now. Doing this and that as he pleased.. He swallowed hard.
"Oh, and since I'm dead you can fix Markowski, Loya and Spears if you haven't done so already," Set's hologram said plainly, "I really put Markowski through the wringer after he almost stopped us. You should have seen it." Set's hologram laughed. "Oh, I do have one final favor to ask of you.. If Jet is alive.. Please don't hate him. He's had it rough, and it's all my fault. As payment I will give you this one piece of information. If you're interested in who gave Turbo the code that day.. If I'm right, he now goes by the name Bobby Dunderson. He lives in X-Treme E-Z Livin' 2. You can't miss him. But do be aware, he isn't alone. Consider this a late wedding gift. It's been fun, Tamora. Goodbye." The hologram blinked for a moment and faded out.
Had Set succeeded, this message would have been deleted by then.
"Jeepers.." Felix said in disbelief. I've never been so grateful for anything in all my life..
"Well.. That was interesting.." Calhoun said plainly. I don't quite know what to think about all that. She was flattered. She was furious. But most of all she was grateful that he was stopped. "Shall I do the honors? There's two memory files with your name on it right here.." I'm guessing I just have to merge these two together..
"Go for it!" Felix said excitedly with a grin, "I can hardly wait!" Why one has (1) after it is beyond me..
Author's Note: Some of you may know of Bobby from a deleted scene. If not, you can look it up if you'd like. Technically he was going to be a character in Hero's Duty, but I changed that to fit with where this is going. Also the code he uses in that scene is different.
Set's message should hopefully shed a bit more light on Set's character. He forgot to mention something here as well.
