Level 18 [Video / Action for Goldenrod.] AROMATHERAPY FRIDAY

[rocketralph]

[ACCIDENTAL VIDEO]

_{[Ralph is furiously tapping away at his 'gear and has accidentally turned the camera on. Enjoy a worm's eye view of the guy's chin and thumbs and little else. He's outside, seated on a bench somewhere in Goldenrod's shopping district and ranting to someone.]}

And you know what really crosses my wires? They had the nerve to keep on pretending! I don't know about you, Wrath, but I'm sick and tired of this whole Johto-wide charade of everyone pretending like they aren't from a video game! I can't be the only one that remembers! I can't be the only one who didn't get his code scrambled!

I think they're all kiddin' themselves! So what if there's no quarter alert? So what if we can't see the screen and nobody knows where the tram is! That doesn't mean we should all pretend to be real!



[ACTION FOR SOME BAR IN GOLDENROD]

_{[After a long, exhausting day of arguing, it's easy to find the big guy with some empty glasses at his elbow tucked away in whatever dimly lit corner he could find. He has a Lot to think about.]}

Comments

[rocketralph]

_{[Okay that gets his attention. Ralph slowly lowers his 'gear and looks at Wrath as he shows off his trophies.]}

You wanna run that by me again? Wha'dya mean got two real pieces?

[garbagechild]

... WELL!

_{[it's story time c8]}

I used to live in The Gate, and it was terrible and dark. But one day, an idiot stopped by! The idiot wanted to bring a dead person back to life, but that's illegal. So the Gate took away his arm and leg as punishment! There was so much blood. Blood everywhere! Humans shoot blood when you take their limbs away, it turns out!

And all of us inside, we wanted that arm and leg so bad, but I was the best and the fastest so I got them!

_{[He raises his arms, looking up to the ceiling as though he can see the sun straight through it. There is a weird, almost demented smile stretching across his face.]}

And then, because they were real, they let me escape the Gate! I pulled the doors open! And there was light and air! I could touch things, and make noises!

But I was still damned, an inhuman, soulless abomination. Except for my arm and leg.

Once I can take the rest of that idiot's body, then I'll be real.

_{[He trails off briefly, his tiny narrow chest puffing in and out. Then he looks to Ralph, still grinning. There's a tragic note of innocent hope somewhere in it, BUT MOSTLY IT JUST LOOKS FRIGHTENING.]}

I'll be a real boy.

[rocketralph]

<sub>[As Wrath raves on about his plan, the color drains from Ralph's face little by little. Oh jeez. OH JEEZ. He suddenly misses the Wrath that asked him irritating questions and ate food off the floor.]

[Ralph carefully raises his hands as one would when calming some kind of big animal even though it's just him and the kid on the bench.]</sub>

WOAH. Woah, woah, woah. K-kid! You gotta be kiddin' me! You can't do that, you'd be going Turbo.

[garbagechild]

_{[He lets his arms drop to his sides again and tilts his head, lapsing back from his CREEPY INTERLUDE or whatever that had been.]}

What's turbo?

[rocketralph]

Turbo is when you hop outta your own game, defy your programmin', and try to take something that's not yours. Kinda like I did, only I feel justified because I didn't wanna steal the spotlight or hurt anyone, I just wanted a little cake and maybe to shove Gene's words back down his throat--

_{[He cuts himself off and looks startled.]}

Ah...y-y'know what, kid? You do you.

[garbagechild]

_{[Wrath listens with the same attentive intensity that he always does, but as is also frequent, he looks like half of it sailed completely over his head.]}

I don't have a game.

Games have rules.

I just like to play, rules make playing a lot harder.

And anyway, he wasn't using that arm and leg. He was trading them for something else and he got what he asked for.

[rocketralph]

<sub>[Oh NINTENDO this conversation is not going where he thought it was going to. WHAT KIND OF GAMES ARE PEOPLE MAKING THESE DAYS!? It doesn't sound like anything he's heard of before. Ralph is almost certain now that Wrath had gone Turbo before getting trapped here...whether he knew it or not. The last time he met anything as dedicated as he was was...Cybugs.]

[Is Wrath a Cybug?]</sub>

I-is that so? Well! Huh!

[garbagechild]

_{[THE TINIEST, SMELLIEST CYBUG.]}

It's true.

He was breaking a LOT of rules. That's why he lost the arm and leg.

Finders keepers, losers weepers!

_{[Delighted with his own sparkling wit, he throws his head back and cackles like a little hyena, rocking in his seat.]}

[rocketralph]

_{[Ralph can only watch in horror. He thinks about Lust and the others from her game. And worries. He worries a lot.]}

Heeeeeey, why don't we play a game?

[garbagechild]

_{[He switches gears quicker than a really expensive mountain bike.]}

--a game? I like games!

[rocketralph]

_{[Ralph leans forward, his hands on his knees.]}

Alright, it's called Let't Never Talk About This Again.

[garbagechild]

... Oh. Okay.

_{[AND THAT'S THAT.]}