“Just over here?”

A portly middle-aged man moves an office chair beside a desk looking up at someone behind the camera.

“Yeah, that's great.”

“Cool!”

Swivelling the chair to take a seat, the man reclines back with a creak from the chair as he grabs a bottle of water on the desk and opens the top. The computer behind loops an animation of a young hero swiping at a fat chicken which dodges each swing.

“Can you introduce yourself?”

The man takes a swig with “Mhm” as the camera unfocuses briefly before focusing back in. The man breathes a nervous sigh, placing the bottle back to his side. He swipes down his grey t-shirt and adjusts his small circular glasses. He smiles giving a nod.

“Gabe Bachgan, erm, founder and creative director of the now defunct Funsoft and current programmer at Circuitry Games.”

Gabe exhales like he ran a marathon as he awkwardly places his hands over his stomach. The silence lingers as a title appears over a shuffling Gabe.



“So…” Gabe turns to the voice as he rocks on his chair slowly. “Tales of Narfinex.”

Gabe gives a fond smile and sighs to himself.

“Ah… My magnum opus that was never meant to be…”

The scene cuts to a middle-aged woman wearing an eccentric dress sat on a comfy sofa beside a large window. The bright sun illuminates the white walls and bounces off the vibrant leaves of the plants surrounding the woman. A names appears in the corner of the screen.


“Can you tell us about the game?”

“Pfffft.” She splutters her lips while looking up to the ceiling, Ai tilts her head back down with a smile. “Where to start?”

The scene cuts quickly again to an older man sitting in a deck chair on a balcony. A Californian neighborhood sets as the backdrop as the man sips on a cup of coffee. His thick, black glasses and stern eyes contrasting his unkempt grey beard and Hawaiian shirt.

“The game was a fucking mess from day one.”


“Gabe wanted Tales of Narfinex to be the game he was remembered for. When I joined we made the same games as everyone else but they all had their fun takes. Nintendo made Mario, we made Mario but you played as the princess who escaped the castle by herself. Sega made Sonic, we made a game where you take it slow and enjoy the scenery… That one didn’t do too well in ‘93.”

Garret chuckles while taking another sip of his coffee. As Ai’s voice comes over before the footage switches to her.

“Gabe and I were always a good team. I wanted to write different stories than what the heavy hitters were writing. Gabe wanted to make games that felt unique. When he told me he was making his own company, I was fully on board! And the idea he had with Narfinex was a great one!”

We go back to a nodding Gabe in his chair, a warm smile on his face.

“I wanted to make the best RPG ever made. Rich story, characters with personality and unique elements that made us very, very different.”

“Gabe was a moron.”

A balding man with scruffy stubble shakes his head before lifting his glasses and rubbing his eyes. His nasally voice echo off the cold grey walls of his office cubicle.


“The game was done within a year. We were done and it was a good game but Gabe needed to add more and more, change more and more. We played Street Fighter in the office one night and he wanted a fully flushed out fighting system for what was a turn-based combat game with combos and all that junk. He spent DAYS changing around the story of the game to add more and take away pieces he didn’t like. It was like he never wanted to ship the damn thing! He-” Arin splutters an outraged laugh. “He never even named the playable characters!”

“Game Boy and Game Girl…” Ai give a sigh. “It was so stupid but they were always placeholder names, I called them Guy and Paige. Give them some personality instead of just being things.”

Ai gives a shrug before picking up a cup of tea.

“Gabe was always bad with naming things, just made them what they were supposed to be. Game Boy, Game Girl, Mt. Final Boss… General Big Bad! All stupid stuff like that. Bad at names but great at everything else and he was a perfectionist. He really wanted this to be great so spent a lot of time on making it great… But he never reached his expectations.”

“Gabe was passionate. I tried to match his passion but I burnt out after 3 years of zero progress on the game and trying to keep the company afloat with the others pushing out shovelware to pay the bills… When the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation came out; we all knew Narfinex was dead along with FunSoft.”

“Gabe was a murderer. He killed a great game because he couldn’t let it go, killed our careers and killed his own company. Screw that fat fuck.”

“... I wouldn’t say Narfinex is dead… More, buried alive.”

Gabe twirls his thumbs as his hands rest across his stomach. The voice behind the camera comes through.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I still have the alpha build for Narfinex. I tinker with it from time to time.”

“Really? … Are you still hoping to release it?

“Hopefully! One day. See how the Kickstarter goes I guess. But I think I’ve done a great job with it the past twenty years! I’ve had to reset a lot of progress and ran into a hell of a lot of bugs but I’ll get her finished… One day…”

---

Within the bustling center of Narfinex City on the clean cobble roads nestled between towering buildings and storefronts. Our hero walks through town, her hands in her pockets as she gives brief smiles to passersby who wave. As the bright sun beats down; birds sing and townsfolk mingle. GG makes her way to the gigantic marble castle within the city center.

She makes her way up spiralling staircases.

Wanders through familiar halls adorned with gold and red carpets.

Until sitting at a large oak table.

Her eyes fixate on the open doors of the balcony overlooking the city as muffled voices argue amongst one another.

As she looks to the sky, a flock of birds passing, the muffled voices tear into tinnitus. Like someone flipped a switch the daylight ends and a night sky fills the open doors of the balcony. Game Girl sighs, her breath visible as she looks around the empty room. Chairs strewn about and the mighty oak table cracked.

She sniffs out a weak laugh.

“Have you ever felt like you’re going through the motions?”

“Stuck in an endless cycle of whatever is going on in your life? Trying to save the world, trying to be the best at what you do, just trying to be happy and live a good life. Constant. Trying over and over to get that good ending and when you think you may have it someone hits the reset button and you’re back at level one.”

“That’s why I tried to escape into fantasy, to be an overseer and protect people and keep them safe. Try to branch out. And where does it land me?”

“Back to level one.”

“An endless cycle.”

“Like someone spinning a coin.”

“Something you would know about.” As she stands from the chair her eyes flick towards you. “Sarah.”

GG circles the chair, her hand grazing the back as she walks to shattered busts against the wall. Every footstep she takes breaks the thin coating of ice on the tile floor.

“I think everyone feels stuck from time to time. I’m here as I always will be. And Sarah… Where are you? Stuck in a belligerent toddler perpetually blaming “mommy” for not paying enough attention to you. Blaming the world for creating a monster instead of just facing the facts that you’re another hopeless loser who can’t admit to seeing their own faults. Pushing your downfalls and failures on others instead of seeing you’re the reason everyone else casts you aside.”

“Pushes you away.”

“Makes you be a lone wolf.”

Game Girl picks up a piece of rubble from the floor and reattaches it to the bust of a young man in front of her. Almost making a recognisable face.

“You mentioned before ALIAS handing you a coin and quoting No Country for Old Men. Great book. And movie! They ever make a game I’d love to be in it. When you spin this “magic” coin you see the past or the future… Why you would ever want to see the past I wouldn’t know, remembering does a pretty good job of that but seeing your future, now that is interesting.”

She makes her way back to the oak table, the bust behind her she previously tried to fix goes back to its original broken state.

“Did you spin that coin before you had that match with Enigma and Bacchus? Did you see yourself stealing the victory? Did you see yourself getting a win because Johnathon decided to leave?” Game Girl hops on the table and crosses her legs. Her face grows stern and her tone drops dramatically. “Did you see yourself hoist a child in front of you for protection?”

“There’s plenty of evil around but you! Oh ho ho… WOW! You are the lowest of the low. Truly a despicable human being. A grown woman picking up an innocent child to stop a train. To win a match. Not to save your life. Not to fulfill some wish. Just a wrestling match. What happens if something you need is on the line? Where do you stop yourself?”

“When I faced Sebastian and his team I targeted him. I told him he was a virus I needed to attack. When I faced Syn. I told him what he truly was and saw hope in him to be better. But you, Sarah… You’re worse than both of them. There’s no hope for you.”

“I am going to break you.”

“Not kill you. Not snuff you out for good.”

“I want to be the constant shadow behind you reminding you that you could never beat me. I want to be the reminder that every nasty, despicable thing you do I will be right here waiting for you. I want to be the reason you doubt yourself, second guess yourself, don’t believe in yourself.”

“Because you are and always will be scum.”

“You’re so fragile. If I beat you once I truly think it’ll make you realise that you cannot cut it here and you will fade away and I can break the cycle and finally be able to make a difference, do some good.”

“You are a lone wolf who was cast out by her pack and now you’re feeble and bitter. You can’t hunt for yourself and you have nowhere to belong. I am that cold, harsh winter creeping in and tangling you in frost to stop your sad life.”

GG sighs throwing out her leg to the chair in front of her, pushing it back. Scraping along the tiles before gracefully spinning into it.

“I can wax poetically with metaphors and tell you how you don't stand a chance. I can go on about your miserable homelife and your weird obsession with lesbians. I can add to your “woe is me” trauma dump on how we can’t choose our nature but I think I’ll end with something that actually will stick on a stubborn hag.”

“What was it that ALIAS quoted before handing you that coin?”

“Don’t put it in your pocket? That’s your lucky coin. If you put it in your pocket it will get mixed in with the rest and just become another coin.”

“Which it is.”

“Something along those lines?”

“Was ALIAS referring to that coin you spin or was he actually just talking to you? Someone he saw potential in before she got mixed in with the rest and became just another coin?”

“Because from where I’m sitting, Sarah, I don’t see anything special. Just another villain getting what’s coming to them.”

“And if you spin that coin to see your future.”

“Even I can see it’s going to show up blank for you.”

“Paige?”

With a sharp inhale Game Girl snaps her head up back in the warm room as the sun beams through the balcony. She looks around seeing Princess rubbing the bridge of her nose as a small mouse-like creature in knight armor yells back up at her. Gretchin the Witch looking bored at the end of the table, rolling a crystal ball under her finger and finally to the rough hand on top hers attached to Game Boy wearing regal armor. She scans the concern on his face before a big smile grows on her own and gently pats his hand.

“Yeah, sorry, just zoned out for a while.”

GB snorts before reclining back in his seat.

“Tell me about it. This meeting is draaaggiing!

The Princess’ eyes drift over to Game Boy and he immediately straightens his posture. With a sigh Princess directs her attention back to the creature in front of her.

“Pepe, I’m going to need you to calm down and explain slowly what is happening.”

Pepe takes a breath while Game Girl slumps forward leaning a hand against her cheek and mouthing the words Pepe is saying.

“It’s Mordekaiser! The Dark Lord! He’s spreading corruption throughout Narfinex and destroying the land! It’ll only be a matter of time before the city is DOOMED!”

Princess raises an eyebrow towards the group. Game Girl moves away from the glance and meets Gretchin’s eyes peering at her through her deep purple robes. GG shifts awkwardly in her chair and clears her throat turning back to Princess.

“Okay. So… What do we do about this?”

“We could always try talking to Mordekaiser? Maybe face to face to see what his demands are and see if we can stop him corrupting the world?”

Game Girl sighs about to say something but stops herself with a slight shake of her head.

“Game Boy, that’s a stupid idea he’ll kill you.”

Gretchin states matter-of-factly staring a hole through GB. The Princess nods.

“It’s dangerous to go alone, Game Boy. A one-on-one meeting will only spell disaster. We should mount our defenses and protect the city at all costs.”

GB scoffs and hits the table with his fist.

“But what about the other towns? The forests, the wildlife? Just let them get corrupted as long as we’re safe? Paige, you can’t agree to this, right?”

Game Girl doesn’t reply. She buries half her face in her arms as she rests her chin on the table, a finger mindlessly making circles in the pattern of the oak. GB furrows his brow at GG and hesitates before looking back at the group.

“Fine, what about a strike team? A handful of us can go Mt. Final Boss and take out Mordekaiser when he least expects it.”

Pepe shakes his head.

“It’s too heavily guarded and rumor has it that Mordekaiser has a new general leading his army. Some evil creature by the name of General Big Bad!”

GG turns her head to look at Game Boy, her pupils shift side to side subtly as she studies GB’s features. Gretchin gives an annoyed sigh.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on Mt. Final Boss with my crystal ball. Mordekaiser never leaves but his forces do. Perhaps this General takes them away on quests from time to time and-”

“Nope.”

GG cuts off Gretchin as she stretches her arms and looks around the room.

“He’s never left alone and even when he is alone he manages to kill one of us, usually Pepe.” Game Girl points a thumb at Pepe whose eyes grow wide as he looks around the room. “Then Mordekaiser corrupts Game Boy and turns him into General Big Bad and pretty much sets up a chain of events that make everything worse.”

The room gets very quiet. GB, Princess, Pepe and Gretchin look at one another as Game Girl’s head falls back and she looks up to the mural on the ceiling. Gretchin mutters to herself.

“Seeing the future was my shtick…”

“Paige, erm…” Game Girl looks at Game Boy with a slight head turn as he tries to figure out the words as they leave his mouth. “How… Certain are you of all this? I mean you’ve been locked up in your house for a month now? Are you not just… I don’t know… Stir crazy?”

Game Girl sighs and looks back up to the mural.

“I’m certain. It keeps happening over and over again and no matter what I can’t seem to stop it. The cycle keeps cycling. The coin keeps spinning. And when everyone dies and then magically gets resurrected with no memory I remain here in the same spot.”

“Like I’m buried alive.”

“Just planted to see it happen again and again. And-” A choked laughter comes from her as she sits up looking at everyone. “I’m tired, guys. I’m really, really tired. I don’t want to keep doing this. I want to break the cycle somehow but I have no idea what to do.”

The room falls again into a hushed silence as GG sniffles up and composes herself.

“... How about you tell us what didn’t work so we don’t repeat it?”

GG shakes her head with a sad smile, patting Game Boy’s hand.

“I’ve done this before, GB. It doesn’t help.”

“So… That’s it? We’re doomed and that’s it?”

Game Girl doesn’t speak, she thinks for a moment before finally nodding her head. Princess covers her mouth and turns away from the group. Game Boy leans back and lets out a long exhale before slapping his knees.

“Welp, nothing to lose then right?”

Everyone looks at him as he responds with a shrug.

“I mean, screw it. If we’re all gonna die anyway, we might as well go out swinging!”

Game Girl stares at GB with a raised eyebrow.

“You can’t be serious, right? I just said it’s hopeless.”

Game Boy gives a hearty laugh.

“Holy Nirva! Since when did you get so depressing? Paige! You’re a hero! You have insane powers, you were a joy to be around and we had so much fun beating up bad guys. And you’re seriously just gonna wallow in self-pity right now instead of helping me bop some dude who's gonna destroy the world?”

GG is still staring at him, a noise comes from her throat but no words follow it. Princess throws out her hands.

“Game Boy’s right! You two can do anything together, I’ve seen it! And as for me, I just stay in this boring castle and fret. I’m done fretting! I wanna help you guys whoop some butt!”

“Me too!”

Pepe raises his tiny sword in the air. Game Girl is stunned as she looks around before her eyes fall on Gretchin. The witch stammers for a moment before speaking.

“I’ll help! I won’t be on the frontline with you maniacs but I’ll assist!”

Game Boy stands pounding the table.

“Great! So it’s settled! If we’re all gonna die we do it together!” He removes his sword from its scabbard and lofts it high in the air. “Hear, hear!”

“Hear, hear!”

“Hear, hear!”

“Mhm.”

The group looks at Game Girl who takes in the moment. A million thoughts race through her mind; her expression changing rapidly. Her thumbs stroke her fingers as she thinks, her eyes darting around the room; her vision shifting between the bright halls filled with her friends and the cold emptiness that follows her.

With a sharp inhale.

And a long exhale, her arms drop limp.

Before she notices a small crack in the oak table in front of cutting apart a circular wood knot.

Her hands grip the table and she pushes herself up to her feet.

“Hear, hear!”