Chapter Text
What surprised you the most was that the food court remained fairly unscathed. Compared to the rest of the park, the ground was free of any large chunks of debris and nary a scrap of litter to be found.
Whatever happened to the park must have occurred when it was closed.
“The mystery deepens.”
Speaking idly to yourself, your hand skims across the surface of one of the tables. You grimace at the thick layer of dust that clings to your fingers. Ugh. Not the smartest move. Though it hardly matters at this point. After crawling through Mollie’s Landing Pad and running for your life, you were pretty far from fresh.
Luckily, Rambley wasn’t programmed to have any olfactory inputs. Even if he did, you doubt he’d be mean about it. After all, he seemed to have the sunniest disposition of anyone you’ve ever met.
“There should be some napkin dispensers to your left.”
With his appearance, the dreary gray of the surroundings becomes awash with color. It’s a bit disorienting since most of the tables have an adjacent kiosk, but it doesn’t take long for you to understand his intent. He’s making a trail of sorts, lighting the way in a rather whimsical manner. A smile curves onto your face as you let the many gesturing Rambleys guide you to the napkins.
As you clean off the dust, you watch the extra screens flicker back to darkness. It makes you wonder what the park was like during its heyday. Rambley must have been busy, having to entertain multiple guests all at once. It’s a shame that he couldn’t take a break when everyone else got to.
“Hey Rambley. Is it alright if we just sit for a bit?”
The words slip out of your mouth before you can think about them further. Would it be safe to stop moving? Mollie and Lloyd had stalked you for quite a while before attacking.
Rambley tilts his head, touching a thoughtful finger to his chin. His irises spin as he parses through the available data. It isn’t long before he perks back up, ready to ramble out a reply.
“Of course. In fact, it would be more than alright. The Indigo Eatery falls under the same parameters as the park’s designated rest area, the Ramble Respite, so mascots aren’t allowed here. Even accounting for the likely malfunction of their behavioral modulation microchips, past surveillance data supports that they still instinctively avoid such areas.”
You blink. That’s certainly new information. It seems that the Indigo Isaac and his progeny weren’t simply content developing a sentient AI. They were seriously dabbling in advanced biotechnology as well?! For the ninth time tonight, you really wish you had done more research about the park before this trip.
A myriad of theories race through your mind at this revelation. It’s enough to make your head ache.
Letting out a sigh, you sink into the nearest seat, plopping your backpack onto the table. It could be a decent makeshift pillow if nothing else. As you rest your head, you can hear the sounds of its contents shifting within. The crinkling of wrappers catches your attention. Come to think of it, you haven’t eaten for hours.
As you go to unzip your backpack, Rambley looks at you inquisitively.
“Oooo. What are you reaching for? Another piece of Indigo Park merch?”
You give a soft shake of the head.
“I was actually going to get out some snacks, but now that you mention it…”
That’s right. You had found something new, hadn’t you? Back at the Rambley Rush arcade cabinet, a strange fruit had burst forth in a mess of pixels. Flat and thin as a sheet of paper, it fizzled with a mysterious energy.
Carefully you pull it out, dragging a few of your granola bars out with it. The foil of the wrappers clings on stubbornly, taking a few tries get them off. With that much static, you’re lucky it didn’t shock you.
You turn to Rambley, only to find him utterly fixated on the berry. His hands reflexively reach out.
“A rambleberry…! Where’d you find that? Those are my favorite! I haven’t had one in ages!”
It’s merely inches away, but the pads of his paws stop as they bump against the screen. For a brief moment, Rambley looks completely defeated. You remember that expression awfully well, the weight of truth slumping his shoulders as he was forced to face the painful truth of the park’s current condition. And now he just had a reminder of his isolation. Trapped within the circuitry of a crumbling park, unable to do anything but speak and hope that someone, anyone is kind enough to respond.
That’s just too sad. To have something you so desperately want, but it’s forever out of reach.
Does it really have to be this way?
You grip the rambleberry a bit tighter, a look of resolve smouldering in your eyes. No. It doesn’t have to be like this! After all, if the rambleberry was able to come out of a screen, it could certainly go back through!
Holding the sepals, you aim the drupelets at the screen of the kiosk and thrust it forward. Static crackles and whirrs as it makes contact, sparks flying dangerously close to your skin. The surface of the screen warps in large undulations as the rambleberry sinks in. Thankfully, the waves mellow into ripples, and the sparks die out after the first few drupelets make their way through. There’s still a fair amount of resistance though, so you keep your hand steady, pushing patiently.
“Wah?!”
Rambley scrambles to the other half of the screen, a series of emotions flashing across his face. Surprise. Disbelief. Amazement. It’s as gratifying as it is exciting to finally see it settle on hope.
You wonder if he can see the same reflected on your face.
“It actually worked!”
A triumphant laugh bubbles out of your throat. There are so many implications to this! Were there other digital objects just waiting to be found in the park’s screens? Could you actually free Rambley? Taking a calming breath, you try to focus on the present. You both could think about that stuff later. For now, the important thing is…
“Now we can take a break together.”
It’s a weirdly lighthearted, perhaps minor declaration to make considering the circumstances, but Rambley takes it gleefully in stride.
“Yeah! Let’s eat!”
You refrain from commenting that you can’t really open granola bars one-handed. But it doesn't matter. It’s a delight just seeing him so happy. Besides, he hasn’t had a snack in like eight years. You don’t mind letting him go first.
Your fingertips feel warm and tingly, breaching the screen to hold the rambleberry steady. As Rambley nibbles and gnaws, the drupelets burst, and you feel the splatter of it on your skin.
“Who knew you were such a messy eater?”
You tease him, stifling back a laugh as he pulls back. The fur of his muzzle is bright red, the ends spiked and mussed by the sticky juice. Rambley looks at you with sincere confusion.
“And you’re not? I’ve seen guests eat those bars before. The granola gets everywhere!”
Your face colors as you sputter back a reply.
“T-that’s only certain brands!”
Conveniently, you neglect to mention that the granola bars you bought were exactly one of those brands. Whether it’s due to your facial tracking data or surprisingly good intuition, Rambley sees through your attempt at deception. He shakes his head in admonishment.
“You’re not fooling me. After all…”
There’s a mischievous gleam in his eyes, and Rambley smirks, ready to pounce.
“You’re already messy, and you haven’t even started eating yet!”
A tiny tongue laps at your juice-stained fingertips, startling you into pulling back your hand.
“Woah, hey! That tickles!”
With nothing to support it, the sepal of the rambleberry falls onto the table. It bounces twice before floating unsteadily up into the air. It doesn’t go as high as the original rambleberry, but it glows just as brightly. While uncommon, the sepal could still be eaten, but if that were to happen…
You glance at Rambley, whose tail is swishing in satisfaction.
“Check it out, buddy. You aren’t the only one who can put an off-the-cuff plan into action. Now you can let me try a granola bar too.”
Ah, so he left it on purpose. You suspect that it’s for a purpose much greater than granola bars, but that’s fine. You’re both taking a break after all. With a laugh, you start unwrapping one of them.
“Alright. You’re in for a treat!”