Collision Course [+ Additional Levels]

Level Ten - Unhappy Reunion

"Uhmm." Ugg looked up at him and gave a nervous chuckle. "Why would we kid about this?"

QBert started shaking his head. "Wha... but..." He snapped his head up. "Since when!? I mean," he looked around at them, "one guy breaks the rules, the rest of the characters feel it. The least that happens is that they know it, right?"

Ugg shook his head. "Ehm, nope."

Slick did the same. "Nuh, uh."

Coily snorted.

QBert looked at him. "What? What's so funny?"

Coily grinned. "You fool. You didn't get it, sso you jusst asssumed," he hissed. "Or perhapss, it wass the wordss of foolish friendss."

QBert balled his hands up into fists, but surprisingly, he held back. "Okay," he looked at Slick and Ugg before returning his gaze back to Coily, "so fill me in."

Coily paused. "You want me to fill you in?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

QBert lost it. His cool--or at least, what left of it that he'd maintained. A white speech balloon flashed beside him as he shouted, "@!#?@! Did I stutter, you hissing piece silly string? Yes, you buffoon! Just do the damn favor of sharing with the rest of the class just what the heck is going on here, instead of playing coy with me, lest I smush you where you sit, you freaking shoelace! Gah!" Riled up, he ruffled his hair beneath his hood, and he remembered what Pacman had told him about keeping his cool, or else he'd be less likely to get straight answers. "Ugh..." he growled, shaking his head. He felt about ready to throw that advice out the window, for he hadn't been receiving any answers, period. He also felt about ready to throw Coily. He started glancing around for a window.

"Huh?"

QBert whipped his head around to face the owner of the voice, irritated. "What."

"I, uh..." Ugg quickly shook his head, and asked instead, "Did you just say, 'argyudlib', or something like that?"

"No, I said @!#?@!," QBert replied simply, another balloon showing up beside him.

Ugg blinked. "Sounds the same to me."

He rolled his eyes with an unexaggerated sigh. "Bad guys..."

Ugg crossed his arms and huffed. "Good guys..."

QBert growled again, an intimidating sound deep in his throat. He dipped his head and started to rub his temples, saying, "Coily, would you just tell me what I'm missing here? Because the last time I checked, everybody felt it if someone broke the—" He stopped short and blinked.

Ugg stared at him. "Why'd you stop talking?"

QBert stopped rubbing his temples, and turned his head to the man on the floor.

Slick looked between them through his sunglasses. "What's going on?" he asked.

QBert stared at Coily, his round dark eyes widening underneath his hood. "What are you doing?" he whispered.

Coily just stared at him, not responding, a sly smile forming on his lips.

****

Pacman glanced at his watch again. The rain pounded harder on the windows. Sitting still in one place for so long was making him antsy. "One minute," he muttered. He looked up. Jumpman was staring at him. "He has one minute," Pacman informed him. He looked through the window behind Jumpman's head. "Then I'm following him."

****

QBert put the heel of his left palm against his forehead. "Coily..." He began to sway, and immediately set his feet in a sturdier stance--he still looked unsteady. "What are you doing?"

"Yeah, what are you doing, Coily?" Ugg repeated loudly.

Coily's grin only spread further, something mischievous in his eyes. "Sso it'ss working."

"What's working?" Slick asked, suspicious.

QBert winced. "Coily... stop," he said, now putting his other hand to his forehead. He inhaled sharply, and his knees buckled beneath him. Slick stepped back as QBert slumped to the floor in front of him.

Coily slowly got to his feet. He kept his hand the wall for support, and stood up. When he straightened fully, he let out a laugh. "Ssimply put, if someone on ssay, my sside, breakss a rule, the otherss on my team don't feel it! You would. Only the oppossite team feelss when a character breakss a rule. I broke the rule," Coily gestured to QBert, "now you feel it."

QBert groaned, and leaned forward. "No, you're doing something else." He raised his head just enough to look at Coily from beneath the rim of his hood. "What are you doing to him?" he whispered.

Shockingly, he didn't hold back. In fact, he answered him almost proudly. "When I bit that boy, I ssomehow created a connection to him." Coily's smile was vicious. "All I'm doing, iss increassing that connection!"

Slick looked between QBert and Coily, highly alarmed now. "Do you know what could result from that, Coily? From sending code through a normal human?"

Coily grin spread further. "I don't know much, but I know thiss." Coily walked up and stood over QBert. "It would be breaking a rule to kill another character in the game before the game sstartss. But thiss way," he chuckled. "I get to hurt you without breaking that rule!"

"Why are you doing this?" QBert asked him, doing his best not to tremble.

Coily crouched down to his level, and met his gaze.

"Well, you assked me to fill you in."