Chapter 31: Virtually Evil!
*Aria's POV*
It's now Friday and I was working at Pop Tate's for a 6 hour shift as evening rolled around. I was serving food around as Archie, Reggie, and Jughead were sitting around talking. From what I found out, Reggie won a basketball game and Archie lost again, Archie was stuck paying for himself and Reggie and Jughead, as usual, got a free meal from Archie. I could tell Reggie was rubbing it in Archie's face and I felt bad. I then saw Jughead do a cheer and Reggie motion at Jughead while Archie pouted. I skated over to them.
"Do you need the bill?" I asked them.
"Just give it to Archie." Reggie said as I sighed.
"Reggie, you need to learn to stop bragging." I said to him.
"You're no better." Archie pointed out.
"And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked in a huff as I put a hand on my hip.
"Every time you beat me in a video game you brag about it." Archie pointed out.
"Not my fault I'm good at shooting games and DDR. Also not my fault that I got a no scope either. Do you know how hard those are to get?" I said as I stressed out the no scope part. Seriously man, a no scope is legendary in games. Also been good at Dance Dance Revolution and karaoke games because I loved them a lot.
"Whatever." Archie sulked as I got mad.
"I was going to pay for you but now you can pay for yourself." I said as I skated off to get the bill. I could hear Reggie laughing as I sighed. I went to bring the bill over when I saw the girls dragging him off.
*Oh no he doesn't!* I thought as I skated into high gear and blocked them from leaving.
"Hold it! Archie still has a bill to pay!" I said as I gave him the bill.
"Hehehe." He chuckled nervously as he gave me money for it.
"Hey Aria, there's a virtual circus near the mall, wanna come?" Betty suddenly asked me. I looked over at the clock before back at her.
"If you guys wait about 10 minutes then we can all go together. My shift should be done now." I said to them.
"Sure. We'll be in the car." Archie said as the girls dragged him off. I smiled and skated over to Pops.
"Pops, do you need me to do anything else before I leave?" I asked him.
"Nope. You're all set. Oh! Here's your daily tips and your pay check." Pops told me as he then handed me my tips and then my pay. I handed him Archie's bill with the money on it and smiled at him. I thanked him and rushed into the bathroom to change into my purple leather outfit I got from Betty when I turned into a doll and just substituted the pink eye shadow to purple and added a tough of purple eyeliner to go with my black. I undid my hair from the pigtails and shook it out to leave it down. I then rushed out to the car to see Jughead in the car. I smiled and hopped in to cuddle next to Jughead. Archie told me Reggie would follow us there. Great~. Either way we made it to the virtual circus. I wonder why it's called that. I looked around and soon saw why. Everything was like a video game, well sort of.
"Come one come all! I am the ring master and I invite you to, submerge yourself into a computer chair to be in an animated world so real, That you can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality!" I heard as I saw a tall man with slicked back white hair in a black suit with a cane talking as he had also caught my cousin's attention.
"You sir!" He said as he pointed the top of his cane to my cousin.
"Me?" He questioned as we gathered around to hear this.
"Would you like to save your friends and fight off a bunch of troggs and be the hero in my new virtual reality game?" The ring master, as he calls himself, asks Archie. Honestly I was interested.
"What's a Trogg?" I asked him out of curiosity.
"I'm glad you asked young lady. They are gruesome, loathsome, and troublesome terrors from the virtual world." He said as he pointed his cane to each of us. He then put a hand on Archie's shoulder.
"Are you ready to be dropped in a maze full of these monsters with only your flash blaster and wits to save you?" He asked Archie. I was sold.
"I know I am!" I said as I stepped forward.
"Bring it on!" I said as I pumped my fist in the air. I was super pumped now.
"That's the enthusiasm I love to see. Anyone else?" He asked as Archie thought about it.
"Gee, I don't know." Archie started saying as I sighed.
"I'll take on the Troggs to protect Doll Face there." Reggie said as I puffed my cheeks out.
"I don't need saving. And stop calling me Doll Face!" I pouted the first sentence before I nearly shouted the second one. Ever since being turned into a doll I've really hated the nickname more so.
"Me too! Aria and I will work together!" Archie said as I jumped, clapped and cheered.
"Yay!" I said in excitement as I then clung onto Archie.
"The Super Gingers are back in town!" I shouted as everyone looked at me funny.
"Aria~! Why did you have to say that?" Archie whined and asked.
"Because we are. Orange haired people are called gingers and that was our team name remember?" I asked him as he groaned.
"How could I forget." He groaned out as Reggie laughed.
"Super Gingers? Ha! What a dumb team name!" Reggie laughed out.
"Is not! That was our team name since we were 5 and that'll never change." I said as Reggie laughed harder.
"Come on Archie! Let's show him!" I said as I started dragging him onto the stage.
"Whoa!" He yelped out as he tried to keep balance. I was going to wipe that smugness off of Reggie one way or another. I then saw Betty and Veronica join us. I looked over at Jughead.
"Hey Jughead! Wanna join?" I asked him.
"No thanks. I'd like some actual food though." Jughead said as I giggled. He was always hungry.
"You look like a churro man." The ring master suddenly said.
"I'm open to all delicacies from the deep fryer thank you." Jughead said as the ring master started to show him to the stand.
"Hang on!" I shouted as I darted over to him and handed Jughead a five.
"Get me a couple please?" I asked him. He smiled and pulled me in for a hug with one arm and used his hand, that had the five I gave him, to slip it back in my pocket as he then kissed my cheek.
"My treat." He said as he gave me a wink and walked off with the ring master. I started to blush lightly as I went back to the group.
"What's wrong?" Betty asked me.
"Nothing. He said the churro's are his treat." I said as Reggie nearly fell over from shock.
"Dang Doll Face, You must be a witch or something, because Jughead never pays for anyone and sometimes not even himself." Reggie pointed out the obvious as I sighed in aggravation. Before I could say anything the two came back and we all paid for our tickets before sitting in the chairs. He was explaining things while I examined the chairs from my view.
"This looks incredible. Dilton would've loved to see this." I said as I was then being reclined back and a helmet was put on me. In a flash of light I blinked and looked to see we were all in a cave and I was in a silver metallic jumpsuit. Actually we all were. I heard the ring master explain the rules as I looked at the cool weapon. I liked it.
"Can we blast each other?" Reggie asked suddenly.
"Please say yes so I can repeatedly shoot him." I said up to the ceiling.
"Well yes. None of this can actually harm you since this is a game grid but shooting each other will also give you points." The ring master said as I grinned.
"Better watch your back Reggie. It might not actually hurt you but I'll make sure to beat you." I said with a strong voice, fire in my eyes, and a goal for Archie and I.
"Ha! Bring it on, Doll Face!" Reggie mocked and soon the game began. I immediately shot Reggie twice and made a run for it.
"Hey! No fair!" Reggie yelled out.
"Alls face when you face the Super Gingers!" I yelled to him while hiding. I then saw something right where I was hiding. It was tall, green, muscular, and kinda cool looking. My guess is that it was a Trogg as I aimed and shot at it. It cringed before disappearing.
"Looks like Aria's in the lead." I heard the Ring master say as I smiled proudly. After a while of shooting Troggs, and mostly Reggie, I met up with Archie and we soon took out a huge hoard of Troggs together. He was shooting Reggie, Betty and Veronica while I mostly shot at Reggie. I didn't want to shoot the girls but I did every now and then. I wasn't as bad as Archie though, well except to Reggie. To be fair, he had it coming for a long while. After I shot three more Troggs and Reggie once more the game ended. I soon saw Jughead in front of me and Archie.
"Congratulations you two. You won!" Jughead said as I looked at my cousin and he looked at me. The seating order was me, Archie, Reggie, Betty and then Veronica.
"Huh? We did?" We both asked at the same time as we looked over at the ring master.
"Indeed you did. Never once have I seen anyone tie in my game before." The ring master complimented as the top bulbs of our helmets began glowing.
"What now?" Reggie asked with an attitude.
"Your friends, The Super Gingers, have both earned an equal amount of point to tie and win the game." The ring master commented as Archie and I smiled.
"Ah! I did it! I beat Reggie! I beat everyone!" Archie shouted with glee as I smacked him.
"Ow." Archie said as he looked at me.
"We did it! We beat Reggie! We beat everyone!" I emphasized as he chuckled and his cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.
"Hehe. Right. We did. Together." Archie said as I then smiled and puffed my chest out and held my head up with pride.
"Exactly!" I said proudly. I could feel the anger coming off Reggie at the fact that he lost to both of us, especially Archie.
"No way, best two outta three." Reggie challenged as he pointed a finger at both of us.
"You're on!" Archie and I replied at the same time as we accepted and played again. I wasn't aiming so much at Reggie this time as we played. Soon the game was over again.
"And the winners are Archie and Aria Andrews!" The ring master said as Reggie got mad.
"What?! One more time!" Reggie yelled as I got up from the seat.
"Let it be one on one." I said as I went over to Jughead and took one of the churro's he handed me. I haven't had churro's since I was six so this was like a rare treat for me. As I was eating I saw that, after a few games went by, Betty and Veronica start to leave. Guess they got bored and didn't like the fact Archie kept shooting them. We all left to get more churro's to eat. I ended up buying fried oreo's and fell in love with them. I bought Jughead some to go with his churro as we all went over to a bench to eat and watched as Archie rubbed it in Reggie's face again.
"Is it just my imagination, or is all this winning going straight to Archie's head?" Jughead asked us.
"No it is. Am I really that bad though?" I asked as I asked Jughead. We both recalled Archie and I playing a game and, when I won, I bragged about it a lot.
"Kinda. Not as bad as Archie's getting and definitely not as bad as Reggie." Jughead admitted as I then felt a bit bad. Archie needed to stop this or else he'd learn the hard way. I know I still need to learn and I'll start trying.
"At least you didn't shoot us constantly." Veronica added in.
"And the second time you didn't shoot Reggie as much." Betty added as well.
"Well I don't need to shoot people over and over to show how good I can get and~ I'm doing it again aren't I?" I asked as they nodded.
"Sorry." I mumbled out as I watched Archie rub his victory in Reggie's face again.
"I've had enough." I said as I went up to Archie and yanked him up.
"Archie that's enough! You're becoming a jerk like Reggie is." I pointed out.
"Hey.~ You didn't have to say it like that!" Reggie pouted as I glared at him.
"So what? You do it all the time." Archie pointed out.
"And I'm sorry but this is more than ridiculous." I told him as he scoffed.
"You're just jealous because I can win without your help." Archie scolded. I lost it. I yanked Reggie out of the chair and sat in it.
"Then let's see which ginger is the better Trogg hunter!" I challenged and soon the game began. Once the game started I immediately hid from Archie. I shot only Troggs and he got me a few times. I then ran into a big one as he glared at me.
"Huh?" I questioned as he stared at me.
"Aria Andrews." He hissed as I freaked out.
"What the frog?" I yelped out as I shot it. It didn't disappear though.
"Uh oh." I said as I backed up.
"Archie!" I shrieked.
"I'm not falling for tha-whoa!" He started saying before he yelped out and saw the thing.
"He's not going away." I said as Archie shot him as well. He still didn't go away.
"Archie and Aria Andrews." He hissed out as I tried not to panic. I took two steps back and as soon as I did the game ended and we were brought back. Betty pilled Archie out of the chair as Jughead did with me. We saw his computer fritzing and the chairs did the same.
"What happened?" I asked in a small daze.
"I'm sorry kids, but it looks like my computer is malfunctioning. It might be overloading or something." He said as I saw a specific spark pattern. I darted over and pulled the ring master back, collapsing on the ground in the process, as the computer then gave a small explosion. Soon a fire started and I froze up. I had flashbacks of me being on fire and I couldn't move. I felt arms wrap around me and pick me up. Once the fire was put out I snapped out of my daze and saw Jughead holding me.
"Are you alright?" He asked me as he put me down. My eyes watered up as I shook my head no and hugged him. He comforted me as he walked me away from the group to calm down.
"You froze up back there. What happened?" He asked me as I started taking shaky breaths. He had me look at him as he saw pure fear in my eyes.
"Oh, I get it." He told me as he kissed my lips lightly. Once he pulled back I calmed down a bit.
"I'm….Sorry." I whispered out as Jughead shook his head.
"Don't be. It makes sense that you're afraid of fire." He told me as I looked at him.
"Don't tell anyone please. I don't even think Archie knows." I told him as he held me close.
"I won't." He said as he held me close. Once I calmed down a bit more Jughead took me to the car where Archie was waiting.
"There you two are." Archie said as I looked around.
"Where's Betty and Veronica?" I asked him.
"Reggie took them home." Archie said.
"Guess they didn't want to hang out with a sore winner." I pointed out as Archie grumbled about it. We then got in the car and Archie dropped Jughead off before we went home. I got there and saw Allegro waiting for me. He had been laying down in front of the door and when he saw me he began hopping around before he jumped on me. I fell with an oof as he kissed me. I started laughing.
"Allegro. Down boy." I laughed out as he obeyed and sat in front of me. Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred greeted us as we enjoyed dinner together. I saw the Brussels sprouts and yucked at it.
"Those are good for you." Aunt Mary said as I glared at them. I ate my chicken and my rice as I, little by little, gave my greens to Allegro. He ate them for me and I rewarded him with a small bit of chicken.
"Aria! No feeding the dog at the table." Uncle Fred scolded as I inwardly shrunk back.
"Sorry Uncle Fred." I muttered as I pet Allegro and looked at him.
"Lay down boy." I said as he laid under my chair. After dinner I went upstairs and took a shower to get the fire smell off me. Once I was done I opened the door to Allegro waiting there for me, playing body guard, as he got up and followed me to my room. I slipped into bed with him hopping in with me and laying by my feet. Ever since I got him I had been training him and he listens well to me. It was like we were connected in a way. I smiled at that as I went to sleep. I ended up waking up twice in a fright, with Allegro comforting me, as soon morning rolled around. Man was I glad it was Saturday. I was exhausted. I wanted to sleep in but Allegro was pawing me and whining.
"Alright." I mumbled as I slowly got up. He followed me all the way to the back yard as I grabbed a bag and cleaned up his stool. I then went inside to see Archie making food.
"Where's Aunt Mary and Uncle Fred?" I asked him as he looked at me.
"Dad went on a last minute business trip and mom went out for the day." He told me as I nodded. I stretched and yawned lightly as I went to the fridge.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked me as I sighed.
"I'm still tired." I said as I yawned again.
"Another nightmare?" He asked me.
"Yeah. Same one except worse." I said as I yawned again.
"We still need to see who's the champion." He told me as I quickly caught on.
"Later today alright? I need to talk Allegro on a W-A-L-K." I said as I spelled out the words as to not get Allegro antsy. I pulled out eggs, turkey lunch meat, cheese, and milk from the fridge before pulling out a few spices from the rack. I turned on the stove and oiled up the pan and soon was making two omelets.
"Making eggs?" Archie asked me.
"Yeah. Omelets." I said as I soon finished making them. I put one on a plate and put the other one in Allegro's bowl to eat.
"Mom and dad are going to get mad about that." Archie said as I rolled my eyes.
"My dog Archie. Besides, I only do this when they're not home. He deserves good food every now and then." I said as I poured a tiny bit of peach juice in a bowl for him to drink followed by some in a cup for me.
"If they find out I'm not bailing you out." Archie said as I rolled my eyes again.
"Yeah whatever." I said as I scarfed down my breakfast. Allegro looked happy as his bowls were licked clean of everything. I put them away and then went upstairs to get dressed. I got dressed in my purple outfit I got when I was a doll, dub name purple punk doll outfit, and then went downstairs. I had decided to try and teach Allegro to get his leash for me. I grabbed the dog bags and filled a baggie with dog treats before putting them in my jacket pocket and walked near the front door.
"Alright Allegro. Lets try again. You wanna go for a walk?" I asked as he then started running and jumping around.
"Alright boy. Lets get ready. Can you…..Get my skates?" I asked as he tilted his head from side to side.
"Come on. I showed you this. Can you get my skates?" I asked as he then went to my skates and pawed at them.
"Yes, there they are. Can you bring them to me?" I asked as he looked at me. I sighed.
"This is going to take longer than I thought." I muttered as I rubbed my temples before looking at him.
"Bring me the skates boy." I said as he grabbed one and brought it to me.
"Good boy. And the other?" I asked as he went over to it and finally gave it to me.
"Good boy." I said as I pet him and pulled out a treat for him.
"Okay. Now where's your leash?" I asked as he went over to the small table next to the door where I always put it.
"Yes. Bring it." I sad as he grabbed it and brought it over. Finally.
"Good boy!" I said cheerfully and gave him another treat.
"You've been doing good with him." Archie told me as I smiled.
"It takes time but it works out eventually." I said as I clipped the black leash onto his light blue collar and went outside.
"Allegro sit." I said as he sat down.
"I'm going to test him out on my skates to see how well that goes." I told Archie as he walked outside before shutting the door and locking it.
"You sure that's a good idea?" He asked me.
"Not really but I can't teach him if I don't try." I told him as Archie sighed.
"Just be careful." He told me. I stood up and looked at him.
"I will." I said as I looked at Allegro.
"Let's go Allegro." I said. He barked and soon we were off. I let him pull me down the route we were getting used to until we hit a street corner. I tugged Allegro's leash and he looked at me.
"Let's go." I said as I guided him into town. I took Allegro around the entire town and even named the landmarks over and over so he would know in case of an emergency. I showed him all my friends houses, except Veronica's, and brought him to Pop's. I went inside and went right up to Pops at the register.
"Hey Pops, can I get 12 burgers and a soda to go?" I asked him as he then looked at Allegro and knew why.
"Aria, I don't like dogs in my restaurant." Pops said as I sighed.
"I know. I'll make sure to wait outside. I just didn't want to leave him tied up out there is all." I said as he understood.
"He's a good dog Pops. He really is." I said as I paid him and skated outside to wait. I pulled out a bottle of water and a tiny bowl and filled it for Allegro and gave it to him. He drank it down as I gave him more. I had been smart enough to carry two bowls for his water just in case. I saw Archie come out with my burgers and soda.
"We've got a weird mystery." Archie said as I smiled.
"Cool." I replied as I picked up Allegro's bowl and guided him into the car. I saw Jughead run out to meet us so he sat up front with Archie and I sat in the back with Allegro. Now we were driving to who knows where.
"Where we going?" I asked as I pulled a burger out for Allegro before I unwrapped one for me.
"The arca-Hey! Don't feed him in my car!" Archie yelped out as I fed Allegro a third burger.
"He's hungry. We both are." I said as Archie groaned.
"I'm gonna have to vacuum again." He said as I rolled my eyes. After we ate Archie got out of the car and I followed.
"Allegro. Stay." I said as Allegro sat in the car and barked. He'd wait. Archie was showing me when we both looked up and gasped.
"It's gone!" I said in shock.
"Told ya Arch. Now can we go back to Pop's?" Jughead asked as I looked at the paper.
"Jughead, we were just at Pop's. How can you still be hungry?" Archie asked him.
"Archie this is Jughead we're talking about. Actually I think I partially solved that mystery." I said as Jughead and Archie looked at me.
"Huh? You have?" Archie asked me as I looked at them with a smile.
"Yup." I said enthusiastically.
"Well tell me." Archie said as I wiggled my figure back and forth.
"Tut tut tut. One mystery at a time." I said as he groaned.
"Fine." Archie said as Jughead stiffed a chuckle.
"Say look. The circus is still here." Archie said as I sighed with a frown.
"No games right now." I said to him.
"I wanna see if they're doing better after the fire." Archie said as I stopped him.
"I'll go so you don't get distracted." I told him as I walked ahead of him and went to the game area.
"Hello? Mister ring master? How's the machine?" I asked as I looked in and gasped.
"I-it's you!" I shouted out as I saw the giant Trogg Archie and I tried to shoot. He was wearing a red cape and a red hat. I was freaking out now. How did he get out of the game and into the real world? He groaned when he looked at me and then turned to the machine.
*What is he pla-oh no. Don't tell me he's sending out an army from the game.* I thought as he pulled open a hatch.
"Oh no you don't!" I yelled out as I ran to stop him. He used his arm to slam me back. He looked at me, as I fell on the floor, and started to step towards me when Allegro ran in front of me, shielding me, and growled at the Trogg. The Trogg backed up a step and then dashed off. Archie and Jughead ran over to me to see nothing there but Allegro was facing where he ran off and was still growling.
"What happened?" Archie asked in a panic as Jughead helped me up.
"Good boy allegro. Good boy." I said in a light voice as Allegro looked at me and then licked my hand. I pet his head as I looked at Archie.
"Archie, that giant Trogg was here. He was doing something to the machine and I tried to stop him. If Allegro wasn't here then he would've hurt me." I said as I stretched and cracked my back.
"Well he's not here now. But how did he get out of the game?" Jughead asked after he confirmed the Trogg was gone.
"I think that short circuit before the explosion is how." I said as I sighed. We decided to head to Pop's, where I rewarded Allegro, my hero, with burgers and fries, as it turned to evening. Once then Archie, Allegro and I were now heading home.
"Archie, I'm a little worried. Jughead probably thinks I have a virtual screw loose." I told him as Archie pulled into the drive way.
"I doubt that. And besides, I'm here." Archie said while using the remote garage opener to open the garage and pull in.
"That's comforting." I mumbled sarcastically as he parked. Allegro then barked and growled.
"Who's there?" I yelled out as I looked over to where Allegro was looking. It was the ring master.
"Ring master?" I questioned as I hushed Allegro.
"You've seen him too huh?" He asked us as Archie looked at him.
"What?" Archie asked him.
"The big ugly one, the leader, you've seen him?" He asked Archie as he shook his head no.
"Only in the game." Archie said to him.
"I saw him by your computer. Is he trying to send out an army of Troggs? Also what's going on?" I asked him these questions.
"Yes, he most likely did already. Also, as to what's going on, I thought I had erased him from a level in the game but I guess I didn't." He said to us.
"So, in short, he shouldn't exist." I said as the ring master nodded his head.
"Yes, that's correct." He told us.
"Yeah, well now he does. And not just in the game." Archie said as he started getting mad.
"I think when the leader somehow made his code back into the computer it overrode the system and caused that explosion. Perhaps that explosion somehow made the code into reality and pulled him out." I said in conclusion to what happened.
"It happened when you two shot your friends many times, mainly your cousin there." The ring master said as we then felt ashamed.
"Other than that, you're correct on everything else." He also added in. Then he put a bag on top of the hood of Archie's car.
"When I tried to get the system rebooted I accidentally downloaded these into reality." He said as he pulled out the blasters we had in the game.
"I get it! When you accidentally downloaded these into reality you brought him out as well. He saw you do this and took the chance and succeeded. Now he knows how to bring the other Troggs to reality!" I exclaimed as Archie and I took a blaster and held it.
"The only problem is I don't know what he's planning. You kids need to take these and find your friends." The ring master exclaimed as I took the bag in hand.
"But what about the missing arcade? Do you know-" Archie started before Allegro started growling and barking at the garage door. Next thing we knew a Trogg had ripped it open and started to make it's way in.
"Oh cheese! Time to go!" I exclaimed as I tossed the bag in the car.
"Make a run for it you two. I'll distract them." The ring master said before he started using karate and tai jutsu moves on the Trogg. Wow. Archie got me in the car before we drove through the busted garage door and out on the road.
"Is it just me, or did he become even cooler." I said with a very light blush. Granted, he was older but those moves.
"Crush on him and his moves later." Archie scolded me.
"I'm not crushing." I said quickly. Archie drove quickly and, just as the sun had set, we arrived at Pop Tate's. I pulled out the light weight armor as we dressed in them. We walked in and I saw the looks they gave us.
"Well if it isn't the master blasters themselves." Betty said as I rolled my eyes. Archie kept a serious face on as we went up to them.
"It's a little early for Halloween, don't ya think?" Reggie said as we didn't reply.
"I think the Super Gingers are getting a little obsessive with their favorite game." Betty said as they laughed. Jughead looked at me and saw my serious face.
"What's wrong?" Jughead asked me.
"What's wrong is the Troggs are attacking." I told him as the others laughed.
"They became reality when the ring master tried to fix his machine. The one Trogg Archie and I saw was the leader, a deleted part of the game, and now he's out and brought a small army to attack." I exclaimed.
"Ha. You've been around Archie and his articles too long Doll Face. Do you have a virtual screw loose?" Reggie commented as I got mad.
"This isn't a game anymore!" I screamed as I slammed my hands onto the table. Everyone jumped and saw I was dead serious. My one tell of me lying was I squeak my words when I lie. Bad tell but they saw I wasn't squeaking my words out.
"I believe you." Jughead finally said as Archie showed them the blasters. I then saw out the window at a building glowing green.
"Look!" I pointed out as they saw it too before it disappeared.
"What happened?" Betty suddenly asked.
"I don't know, but I think it's happening again." She said as we saw the glow. Soon the Chock'lit shoppe started shaking.
"Run for it!" I yelled out as we ran outside. Soon the shoppe was gone. Allegro came over to me and started whining.
"It's alright boy." I said as I comforted him. Then we saw the leader as Allegro growled at him.
"Let me guess. The Trogg leader!" Reggie said as the leader removed his hat and cape to reveal a blaster attached onto his arm as he towered over us.
"Well well well, if it isn't the spunky little humans Archie and Aria Andrews." The leader snide as he looked at me and Archie. Oh boy.
"How do you know who we are?" Archie asked him.
"Archie! You were bragging inside the game. We also kept yelling each other's names you dope!" I scolded him.
"Heh. She's correct. Everybody knows of the mighty Trogg slayers, The Super Gingers, the master flash blasters, King and Queen of the virtual world." He said in a taunting and slightly angered way as Archie and I felt both guilt and fear. I then got mad and marched straight up to him.
"Alright, leader of the Troggs, what did you do to our buildings? What's your plan?" I said in a mighty and brave voice while Allegro was next to me growling at him.
"They were scanned into the game. Thanks to your technology and efforts we've perfected the way of scanning and soon all of Riverdale will follow suit." He said while bending down to face me.
"We'll stop you!" I said in his face as he chuckled lightly.
"You think so hm?" He said as he stood up straight and backed up. He then touched a gem on his belt and made two Troggs appear.
"Did you think we would let you get away with destroying our kind? For invading our world? For constantly bragging? Well now we're getting revenge. We will soon hunt you down and constantly attack you in our game for our amusement." He said as he then made more Troggs appear and I was soon becoming surrounded.
"Quick, suit up!" Archie yelled as he then appeared next to me and started shooting them. I joined him 2 seconds later as we shot them together and made some of them disappear. The problem was the leader was producing more and more. Another problem was they were faster in the real world. As we all split up and attacked I saw one shoot Reggie and he vanished.
"Don't get shot! We'll be downloaded into the game if we do!" I warned them all. One snuck up behind me and grabbed me. My blaster fell from my hand as one showed up and went to blast me. Allegro bit the one holding me and forced him to let me go. I grabbed the blaster just as I saw Allegro get shot and vanish.
"You shot my dog! Now it's personal!" I screamed as I shot them both with ease. Now I was pissed. I ran, ducking, weaving, and blasting Troggs as I searched for the leader. I had a theory that if I destroyed his belt then everyone and every thing would come back and once they were blasted away they would stay gone or disappear all together. I saw Archie's car get thrown.
*Great! There goes his car again! Uncle Fred's gonna be mad!* I thought as I avoided another Trogg and blasted him. I managed to hide just in time to see Archie back up into the leader. I blasted some of the Troggs before my weapon was snatched and I was carried over to the leader.
"Let me go!" I shouted as I began struggling and moving my arms and legs around trying to hit them. I was soon let go and shoved next to my cousin.
"How many of my kind did you two slay for your own amusement? You two were too busy bragging to think about the losers in your game weren't you?" He asked us as he bent down to face us.
"Weren't you!" He suddenly shouted in our faces. We both felt guilt after that.
"Yes. Yes we were." I said in a soft voice.
"Not very sportsman like of you two." He said after he straightened up.
"No." I said as I shook my head.
"She's not guilty like I am though." Archie said as he tried to defend me.
"Archie. If I had bragged less when you lost then we wouldn't have bragged in the game, especially you. We wouldn't have tried to prove who was better. I'm just as guilty." I told him as he looked at my sorrow filled face. My problem was that I bragged because I was proud. I had no friends so I usually played games alone. I needed to learn about being a good winner and not brag as much. That's why I'm just as guilty.
"She admits to it without making you take all the blame." The leader commented as Archie sighed.
"Even so, We're both very sorry." Archie then apologized for the both of us as I nodded my head in agreement. Then our shoulders were grabbed as the leader looked at us.
"Oh really?" He questioned us.
"Yes we are." I said to him.
"Exactly. We've learned our lesson." Archie said, agreeing with me, as the leader looked at us.
"And are you sorry for being a jerk?" He asked, mostly to Archie, as I nodded my head.
"Yes. Yes I am." Archie told him.
"Me too." I chimed in just to be safe.
"Let me hear you say it." He told us as I understood what he meant.
"I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'll never do it again." Archie and I said at the same time as the leader then bent down to look at our faces.
"Promise?" He asked us. Why was he doing this? Would he let us go?
"Yes. I promise. I'll never brag or gloat again." Archie said to him.
"Neither will I. I promise!" I said in agreement as the leader smiled for a split second before he stood up and pointed his cannon thing at us.
"You two are right about that!" He exclaimed.
"I knew it!" I screamed angrily at him while Archie looked afraid.
"Hey ugly!" We heard as we turned to Archie's destroyed car and saw Betty right there.
"I'm back!~" She said to him. I used that distraction to kick his gem on his belt, breaking it all together.
"No!" He screamed.
"Betty now!" I shouted as she shot him.
"No!" He shouted out, lengthy, as he then disappeared. Once he did all the others did as well and all the buildings and people started to reappear. We ran over to her and I embraced her in a hug.
"Oh my goodies! Thank you Betty! Thank you thank you thank you! I owe you big time for this!" I told her as she laughed. We soon met up with the ring master, who explained that because we shot our friends it caused a power surge for them to escape and our bragging angered them greatly, and found out everything was back to normal and they wouldn't leave again. I was glad to have Allegro back as well. Archie, Betty and I started walking home when I thought of something.
"Hey Archie? How mad do you think Uncle Fred will be when Aunt Mary tells him about the garage door and your car?" I asked him as he stopped walking. He was turning white and sweating all over. Well we found out when we got home and told her. Grounded. Both of us. I only got two weeks, because Archie was driving and it's his car, and Archie got six weeks. Yikes. Aunt Mary said she'd make sure it was lightened up if we did extra chores and helped with the door. There goes a bit of my savings. Oh well. I'll earn it back. After receiving our punishment, and dinner, Aunt Mary allowed us to write our article before bed.
"If it hadn't been for Betty, we would've paid a high price for our stupid bragging. We won't be doing that again. ~Archie. That reminds me, I should bake her a thank you cake for this. Anyways the streets are, once again, safe and sound. ~Aria. ….In a little town called Riverdale! ~Archie and Aria."
The article was finished and we went to bed.