Chapter 2: A Pixelated World
Pixel’d: Trapped In A 16-Bit RPG by midnightrainbow
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Chapter 2
A Pixelated World
 
~*~
 
Green.
 
Various shades of green everywhere.
 
And above me, blue. The sky?
 
I gather my senses and attempt to crawl to a standing position. My body moves like a new mannequin. As my eyes begin to adapt, I notice tall light-green isosceles triangles swaying back and forth, right through my hands, then back to the opposite side, and then repeat. Grass? I blink. But before I can challenge my sense of touch, I'm hit with another shock. I let out a horrified cry at the sight of the lego-like cylinders that make up my fingers. My arms resemble bent styrofoam tubes. I blink again. No good. What the hell happened to me?
 
My fears only grow as I stutter to my feet. I pat my head. Short spiky hair. I feel my face, my chest, my back, my ass. My eyes roll dreadfully downwards to check the nether regions and are greeted by--to my relief--a pair of tighty-whities. I dare to inspect what's underneath, but as if to save me from my morbid curiosity, the underwear stays firmly glued to my skin. Confusion and despair set in. Maybe this is all a dream? 
 
The ocarina melody does a loop. I've given up trying to locate the magic speakers.
 
In the distance between the monotone sky and the endless green field, my eyes spot a variation in colors. I will my body in that direction, gliding forward in a straight line like a rudimentary robot with limited mobility. My arms and legs move in sync at constant speed. I don't even have to try. Lockers have nothing on me.
 
I quickly master other critical movements such as nodding my head, crouching, jumping, and most important of all, turning. Every time I try to turn, my body instantly rotates 45 degrees, and my field of view changes. It seems I can only move in eight different directions. Mind-boggling, but I'm grateful that it's not four.
 
The environment unfolds before me piece by piece. First, the trees, all terrifyingly identical. The anatomy is there, but they look like a child's drawings--albeit showing promising talent. Here and there, gray mounds of various sizes protrude from the ground. The ones that rise no higher than my knees go right through me, while everything else becomes barriers I have to walk around. And then there are the mountains--at least that's what I think they are. The brown mass has faded into view and is now dominating the horizon. In its midst, a patch of tiny colorful rectangles flicker on and off. As I get closer, the effect dies off, and what looks to be a row of buildings take shape. Civilization, perhaps?
 
But just when I start to feel hopeful, swirls in the air whisk by and hit me like a gust of wind. I flip myself around to see a white ball of fluff bouncing up and down. It stops. Red eyes pop open, and a giant exclamation mark appears above the thing.
 
I take a few nervous steps backwards, unsure of what to expect or do. Running is out of the question with this body. The monster's already springing towards me. I lift my arms to block, but as soon as it makes contact, my world begins to morph and spin out of control. The soothing music erupts into a chaotic symphony of percussion and string instruments. When the merry-go-round ride finally stops, I find myself face to face with the thing.
 
* BATTLE START *
 
A Bunny!
 
The word Bunny in white 3D font hovers above the monster. To its right, a black-bordered panel, top half filled green, bottom half filled blue, moves in tandem with the giant fluff nearly half my height. It does a little hop, then dashes straight towards me, head butts my stomach, and returns to its original position.
 
That hurt! Within the periphery of my eyes, I see something flash above my head.
 
-7 HP
 
It feels as if I've been hit by a soccer ball. I wheeze and cough out mucus, as my brain tries to process what just happened.
 
The Bunny continues to bounce to the rhythm of the battle tune, staring me down with its beady red eyes.
 
Is it getting ready for another attack? Several seconds elapse, and it still hasn't made its move. I have to fight back. By some new instinct I didn't know I had, my body leaps forward. A brown stick about a yard long appears in my right hand. I swing at the ball of fluff. A satisfying thump knocks the monster back a couple steps. It whimpers. A number flashes.
 
-12 HP
 
My feet move my body back to its original position. Before I can catch my breath, the Bunny springs forth and slams into me again.
 
-6 HP
 
It retreats backwards. Like before, it bounces non-stop, waiting for me to make my move.
 
Am I losing...hit points? Nothing makes sense to my brain anymore, but my body is certainly feeling the reality of the situation. I pull myself together and focus on defeating the enemy. The green fill in the panel above the Bunny is almost half depleted. That must be its health bar! I dash forward and land another clean strike.

-10 HP
 
The Bunny whimpers and recoils backwards. With its life hanging by a thread, the monster treats me to another whopping.
 
-8 HP
 
The pain is almost unbearable, but there's no way I'm going to allow myself to be defeated by a BUNNY. I brandish my stick and go in for the kill.
 
-11 HP
 
The monster collapses onto its back, writhes for a second or two, then vanishes.
 
Is it over?
 
The chaotic music stops, and a victory tune plays.
 
ALEX gained 10 EXP!
 
I gained...EXP? This isn't some sort of game. I almost got slaughtered.
 
* BATTLE END *
 
The world fades out then in. I'm back to where I was. The mountains, the fields, the buildings, and the ocarina melody are all still there. I pinch myself, hoping to wake up from this bizarre dream, but it only hurts my cheek. There must be an explanation for this.
 
Determined to find answers, I press onwards. The buildings grow more detailed, turning into somewhat of a poorly laid out patch of lego blocks. What's strange is that the tallest structure, a church perhaps, is only a slight bit taller than me. Do gnomes live here or something? Fearing that my crazy theory would come to fruition and haunt me, I wipe the thought from my mind.
 
Soon, an opened gateway marking the entrance appears. The word Eppery hovers prominently above it, just high enough for me to avoid knocking my head on it. That must be the name of the town.
 
As I step through, a peaceful lyre tune welcomes me. My surroundings magnify several folds. Medieval-style structures with colorful adornments line the plain gray streets. Toy-like humans march to and fro, going about their business. A carriage drives by, sending blocks of dust into the air. This is fascinating and all, but everything looks pixelated. What's wrong with my eyes?  I stare intently at a bulletin board by the entrance but can't make out the writing on the fliers.
 
I feel someone shove past me and turn to look. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest when I see a red-haired girl with a triangular prism for a nose scowling at me. She flings her arms, jumps up and down, then crosses her arms and shakes her head. I open my mouth to speak, but only unintelligible sounds come out. My throat's still sore. She gasps. I shrug my shoulders and wave my hands, trying to convey my confusion. To anyone watching, this probably looks like something out of The Sims.
 
Finally, hand on hip and face all crunched up, she directs my attention with her fingers to the panel hovering above her head. I gaze upwards to see text written in a language I recognize.
 
"I said, watch where you're going! Are you stupid or something?"
 
My eyes move from the text back to her face and then back to the text again. Is this how people in this town communicate? And how is she even doing that?
 
"What, you're not going to apologize?" she says, her words shaking a bit in the panel as if to display her anger. "I am so mad, do you hear me!?"
 
Unable to answer, I scratch my head and put on an apologetic smile.
 
She circles me, keeping her sneer fixed on me. "Aren't you going to say anything?"
 
That's what I've been trying do! My mouth tries again, and again, only baby sounds come out.
 
She scoffs. "Did someone cast the Dumb spell on you...or were you just born this way?"
 
That's probably it. I've been cursed. I give her a deadpan look and nod my head.
 
Her expression turns from annoyance to concern. "Oh, I see. You poor thing. Let's get you some help...and some clothes." She sighs. "Come with me."
 
I follow her, studying her movements. They are as mechanical as mine. A long sword that doesn't look too sharp hangs from her side. Her shabby armor creaks as she bends her arms and legs. It's a mystery how the girl can move around in that thing. She must be some sort of warrior. My eyes peer up at the text that has just appeared.
 
"I'm Cassis, by the way," she tells me. "What's your name? Right, I forgot. The priest at the Church should be able to fix you up. Maybe then you'll be able to talk."
 
If talking means chatting with each other via panels in the air, I'm going to have a very hard time adjusting.
 
"You know, you're really lucky I found you. There are Mother Bunnies roaming around the Aniraco Plains this time of year. Sounds cute and cuddly, but they're vicious monsters. Especially if you've attacked any of their children." She stops and turns around to look at me. "Did you attack one?"
 
I shrug.
 
"Guilty as charged, huh? I can tell by the goofy grin on your face. Come on, let's get moving. I don't have all day."
 
She's a mind reader, I'll give her that.
 
We pass by a series of houses, some of which have familiar signs outside them: a drawing of a sword, a shield, a bed, and so on. I can feel my face grow pale. It's starting to look very obvious what kind of world this is. However, I refuse to accept the madness just yet.
 
A white building with a gray roof topped with a gigantic red cross marks the church. Outside, men in black cassocks are handing out fliers to passersby. They see Cassis and me and gesture for us to enter.
 
"Well, here we are," she says. "Just go in and talk to the priest. His attire is rather garish; you won't miss him. And with that, my one good deed for the day is accomplished. So long!" Without even waiting for me to acknowledge her goodbye, she marches off, her final thoughts of me visible for all to see. "...how can somehow smell so bad? I hope I didn't catch anything from him..."
 
Inside, organ music pound on my eardrums. The aisles are empty, while benches are occupied by a sparse number of people.
 
"Asharia blesses you!" one of them shouts.
 
I nod and wave the intrusive panel away.
 
Directly in front of me is the altar, and behind it, an old man stands firm in his over-sized, jewel-adorned robe that probably rivals that of the Pope's. He must be the priest.
 
I approach, unsure of how to communicate my problems to him. At arm's length away, our eyes lock, and he initiates a conversation with me.
 
"The Goddess Asharia welcomes you to Her church!" the old man says. "Good morning, lad. What can I do for you on this wonderful day?"
 
When I don't reply, one of his eyebrows rise to show confusion. He snaps his fingers and a panel appears. I look down at the book-sized object, on it, a list of options I believe he wants me to choose from.
 
  1. Cure.
  2. Revive.
  3. ....
 
This really is the kind of world I think it is!
 
My fingers move to select the first option.
 
"Ah, so you've been cursed." He grabs my face to examine it. After a few glances of uncertainty, he finally releases me. "What a strange case you are...I can't detect anything wrong with you! Stand still. I'm going to try something..." He lifts his hands into the air with the kind of confidence that could only come from having been in this line of work for years. A staff appears and shoots a sphere of water directly at me. "Heal!"
Upon contact, the water envelopes me whole, bathing me with magical water molecules that massage every inch of my body. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. The spell finally dissipates. I feel completely re-energized.
 
"Did it work, boy?" He stares blankly at me, waiting for me to say something.
 
I focus hard and channel my powers of imagination to generate a speech panel above my head. What is it I'm supposed to do? My head feels like it could explode at any moment.
 
"Hold on, let me try another spell." Again, his hands fly into the air with joyful exuberance. "Brighten!"
 
This time, a glint of light forms at the tip of the staff, its rays gently caressing my skin. One seconds. Two seconds. I giggle. Three seconds. The spell finally dissipates.
 
The priest stares at me intently. "How do you feel now?"
 
"Still can't talk? Let's try...Clarity!"
 
A burst of light.
 
I feel my pupils dilate. My vision seems to improve, but I still can't talk.
 
"No? How about...Sooth!"
 
I don't think that does anything.
 
"Mollify!"
 
"Mega Heal!"
 
"Sanity!?"
 
At the end of the seventh spell, the old man stumbles into the altar, drained of joy and probably his magic points. "You, you! Say something!"
 
I would if I could, but I just can't figure it out.
 
"Magic Slap!" He smacks me over the head three times with his staff.
 
With each hit, I feel a faint force siphoning energy out of my body.
 
The exhausted priest coughs and chokes on utter disbelief. "Well done, you brat. You've made a mockery of my powers. I will have no more of this. Get out of my church. Asharia can't help you. Get out. Now. NOW!"
 
And the conversation ends. The panel above his head disappears.
 
Now what?
 
~*~
 
What do you think of RPG's where the MC can't talk and everyone else is somehow psychic?

 
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