The witch

  (They continue forward. The village behind them. Forest ahead.)

  (The path narrows.)

  SAM: This feels like a boss area.

  RANI: Forest ahead so...

  SAM: Already? That was fast.

  RANI: Yeah. Things will not very funny from now.

  EMILY: Why do you say that??

  RANI: Because if I don't, it doesn't sound evil.

  (She smiles. But it fades quickly.)

  RANI: Tutorial guy just ahead... I hid emergency snacks with him when kidnapping. For safety. He better not eaten them.

  SAM: You trusted tutorial guy with your snacks?

  RANI: He seem trustworthy. Very dedicated to tutorials.

  EMILY: He IS born to do this.

  RANI: Exactly. Born to guard snacks too, hopefully.

  (RANI stops.)

  RANI: ...

  SAM: Rani?

  RANI: Okay. I stop here.

  EMILY: What? Why?

  RANI: I got stuff.

  SAM: Evil stuff?

  RANI: Yeah. Totally.

  SAM: You don't want to go to the forest?

  RANI: No.. Important work called. I need to go…

  (Pause.)

  EMILY: You'll come back, right?

  RANI: … Maybe. Don't die.

  SAM: We weren't planning to.

  RANI: Good. That be annoying.

  (She turns. Runs. Disappears into the trees.)

  EMILY: …Something felt off.

  SAM: She'll be fine.

  EMILY: You always say that.

  SAM: And I'm usually right.

  (They stand there. Neither moves.)

  EMILY: ...Sam?

  SAM: Yeah?

  EMILY: What if she doesn't come back?

  SAM: ...She will.

  (They continue. The forest grows darker.)

  ---

  (A cage appears in the distance. Small. Rusty. TUTORIAL GUY sits inside.)

  EMILY: Sam…

  SAM: Yeah, That's him.

  (They approach. The cage door is unlocked. TUTORIAL GUY steps out slowly.)

  TUTORIAL GUY: Freedom. I was born for freedom.

  TUTORIAL GUY: I hate that cell. I was born to hate it.

  TUTORIAL GUY: But it wasn't that bad. That tomboy gave some snacks to eat.

  (SAM and EMILY freeze.)

  SAM: ...

  EMILY: ...

  SAM: Snacks.

  EMILY: She gave him her snacks.

  SAM: Her emergency snacks. The ones she hid for safety.

  EMILY: She gave him her snacks.

  TUTORIAL GUY: Is... is that bad? She said she was villain.

  SAM: She's not a villain.

  TUTORIAL GUY: Oh. Well. She was nice. For a kidnapper.

  (Beat.)

  SAM: Rip Rani.

  EMILY: I want to see her reaction to this. Anyway...

  EMILY: Are you okay?

  TUTORIAL GUY: Fine. Totally fine.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  SAM: About time. Well, tutorial guy, GET LOST now!

  TUTORIAL GUY: I am indebted for your aid but we shall proceed upon separate road. Farewell.

  EMILY: He said—

  SAM: Yeah. I don't care. Just go.

  (TUTORIAL GUY Disappears. Forced to leave. Kind of.)

  (Silence.)

  EMILY: Where do you think Rani ran off to? … Sam.

  SAM: Emily, Look there.

  ---

  (Behind the trees. Two figures. One small. One cloaked.)

  EMILY: …That look… I know that presence.

  SAM: …That's the witch?

  EMILY: Yes. She's the one who did this to me.

  (They hide behind a tree. Watch.)

  WITCH: Rani, child. You should not be here.

  RANI: …Why not?

  WITCH: You know why. Do not… interact with them. They must remain… untouched.

  WITCH: Escalation invites attention. And attention invites correction.

  (Sam doesn't understand what the witch said.)

  RANI: They freed me from the cell. They helped me. They did puzzles with me. They laughed at my jokes.

  WITCH: You must follow rules. Not your place.

  RANI: Rules are boring. And I'm not bored. I had fun. Real fun. With them.

  WITCH: You cannot—

  RANI: No! Please understand!

  WITCH: You risk everything! You must come with me now.

  RANI: …No.

  WITCH: Rani—

  RANI: I said NO!

  (Silence)

  RANI: I'm not leaving. They… they are friends. I… I never had real friends before.

  RANI: Everyone in village scared of me. Or annoyed. Or both. But not them. They… they listened. They helped me with books. They let me supervise puzzles. They called me friend.

  WITCH: Rani…

  RANI: They respected my apple story. They didn't care that my English bad. They just… liked me.

  WITCH: You leave me no choice. You must come!

  RANI: …I'm not… I'm not afraid.

  RANI: I… I chose them. I chose this.

  WITCH: Your choice is meaningless.

  RANI: (crying now) No. Stop saying that. It's not meaningless. It's MINE.

  (The WITCH reaches out. Grabs Rani's arm.)

  RANI: Hey! Let go! Hey!

  RANI: I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE WITH YOU!

  ---

  (Behind the tree—)

  EMILY: Rani!

  SAM: Hey! Leave her alone!

  RANI: Shut up, Sam! I can handle her!

  (She struggles harder. But the WITCH's grip doesn't loosen.)

  RANI: ...don't make me leave them…

  (Her voice breaks completely.)

  RANI: Please. Grandma. Please don't make me leave.

  (The word hangs in the air.)

  SAM: ...Grandma?

  EMILY: Oh no.

  WITCH: Rani…

  RANI: I finally found them. Real friends. People who don't care I'm weird or angry or bad at English. They just… they just—

  (She can't finish.)

  WITCH: You… you belong with me.

  RANI: I belong with THEM!

  WITCH: They won't last! They will go and you'll be alone again!

  RANI: THEN LET ME BE HAPPY FOR ONE TIME!

  (Silence. Even the wind stops.)

  RANI: Please. Just this once. Let me have this.

  (The WITCH stares at her granddaughter.)

  WITCH: (whisper) I can't.

  RANI: Why not?!

  WITCH: Because they— you know why? Accept the truth. Rani.

  RANI: ...

  RANI: But—

  WITCH: I'm trying to PROTECT you!

  RANI: (crying) I don't care!

  WITCH: WELL I WOULD CARE! I'M YOUR GRANDMOTHER!

  RANI: …Grandma.

  WITCH: I can't lose you. Not like this. Not to them.

  ---

  (SAM and EMILY watch.)

  EMILY: She's her grandma. For real.

  SAM: And she's forced to do this.

  EMILY: She doesn't want to

  …

  WITCH: Come. Now.

  RANI: …

  RANI: …Thank you. For letting me… have fun. For… being real.

  (She's crying. But she's smiling.)

  RANI: We… we might not meet again…

  SAM: Rani—

  RANI: It's okay. She's just… protecting me. In her own stupid grandma way.

  (The WITCH flinches. Doesn't deny it.)

  RANI: I won't forget you. Ever. You're my first real friends.

  EMILY: (crying) Rani…

  RANI: Emily. You're okay. For a femboy.

  (Beat.)

  RANI: Sam. You're less sad than you look.

  SAM: That's… that's the nicest thing you've ever said.

  RANI: I know. Don't expect more.

  (The WITCH raises her hand. Smoke begins to gather.)

  RANI: Goodbye, friends.

  (Smoke.)

  RANI: I… won't forget… you…

  SAM: HEY! WAIT—!

  (Smoke clears.)

  (Empty space. No Rani. No witch. They disappeared.)

  (Silence.)

  EMILY: …No.

  SAM: …

  EMILY: She's gone. She's really gone.

  SAM: (quiet) Her grandma took her.

  EMILY: She didn't want to! You saw her face! She didn't want to!

  SAM: I know.

  EMILY: (crying) We have to save her. We have to—

  SAM: We will.

  EMILY: What?

  SAM: I don't care if it's a joke. You don't take peop

  le like that. You don't make your granddaughter cry like that.

  EMILY: Sam…

  SAM: That witch. She's going to answer for this.

  …

  SAM: The forest's right there, right?

  EMILY: Sam… Let's go.

  SAM: We're going. The forest? Bring it on.

  EMILY: We're bringing her back.

  SAM: Damn right we are.

  (They walk into the forest. Darkness swallows them.)

  The forest

  SAM: Why would a witch build a house right in front of the forest?

  EMILY: M-maybe because she's scared of ghosts... or bad wifi in the woods?

  SAM: Or she just wanted players to find it easily.

  EMILY: ...That too.

  SAM: Anyway. We need to hurry.

  (EMILY gently knocks.)

  SAM: JUST BREAK THE DOOR.

  “BOOM”

  WITCH: ...Wow. That door was expensive.

  SAM: Where's Rani?

  WITCH: Gone.

  EMILY: Gone WHERE?

  WITCH: …

  SAM: She was crying. You made her cry.

  WITCH: I know.

  SAM: She called you "Grandma." You're her grandmother. And you took her anyway.

  WITCH: I had to.

  EMILY: Had to?! She trusted us! She was happy for the first time!

  WITCH: You don't understand the situation.

  SAM: Then explain it.

  WITCH: I can't.

  SAM: Can't or won't?

  WITCH: Both.

  SAM: You know what I think? I think you don't care. I think Rani's just another NPC to you. Another piece to move around.

  WITCH: She's my GRANDDAUGHTER.

  SAM: Then why does it look like you don't give a damn?

  (Long pause.)

  WITCH: ...You think this is easy for me? You think I WANTED to hurt her?

  EMILY: Then why did you?

  WITCH: Because it was an order. From them.

  SAM: Who's "them"?

  WITCH: The people who made this place. The ones watching everything. They decide what's "allowed." Rani wasn't allowed.

  EMILY: Allowed? Allowed by WHO?

  WITCH: The developers. The ones who built this game.

  (SAM and EMILY exchange looks.)

  SAM: Game. So it IS a game.

  WITCH: You figured that out?

  SAM: Tutorial Guy wasn't subtle.

  WITCH: ...No. No he wasn't.

  SAM: And you're... what, the final boss? In the game.

  WITCH: Customer support, technically. Yeah, you can call me that.

  SAM: Customer support.

  WITCH: I fix bugs. Approve scripts. Make sure everything runs smooth. And occasionally get my doors kicked.

  SAM: (glancing at the door) Sorry about that.

  WITCH: No you're not.

  SAM: No I'm not.

  …

  WITCH: You're the main character, by the way.

  SAM: The what.

  WITCH: Main character. Protagonist. The guy the story is about.

  SAM: I'm a streamer. I'm not main character material.

  WITCH: You are now. Congratulations. It comes with no benefits and constant danger.

  SAM: Great.

  SAM: So like why? What's the purpose? Why are we in a game?

  WITCH: I'm not gonna say that. Figure it out yourself. Smartass.

  SAM: Aww.

  …

  SAM: And Rani? Where does she come in all this?

  WITCH: She wasn't supposed to be here. She found a way in. Followed you. The developers noticed. They said she was "breaking the script." They told me to remove her.

  SAM: A script. Do you mean this game is scripted?

  WITCH: Of course! Every game is scripted. What do you expect?

  SAM: Makes sense. Do you mean Rani wasn't written in the script?

  WITCH: …In short— yeah, she was not planned on the script but she insisted on being part of it.

  WITCH: They only allowed her to be just a background character. But then—

  SAM: But then Emily set her free from her cell.

  EMILY: Man, It's my fault now?

  WITCH: Don't worry about it. We all are guilty.

  …

  EMILY: So then … you kicked her out?

  WITCH: I sent her somewhere safe. Somewhere they can't reach.

  SAM: Where?

  WITCH: I can't tell you.

  SAM: You can't tell us? Then tell us this.

  SAM: ... What happened to Emily. The real answer. Change her back to a girl.

  SAM: She clearly won't like being a femboy FOREVER.

  EMILY: Sam…

  WITCH: You want me to tell him?

  EMILY: I— I mean, she turned me into this, right? That's what happened.

  WITCH: ...Right. That's what happened.

  SAM: So you're not gonna just tell me… Shouldn't you turn her back to the girl she was before?

  WITCH: (cough) (cough) Find your own answers. Not gonna say.

  SAM: Then what CAN you say?

  WITCH: ...Nothing. I've done enough damage.

  EMILY: You're just going to give up?

  WITCH: I'm old. I'm tired. I've been cleaning up messes for years.

  SAM: Then stop cleaning. Start fighting.

  WITCH: ...What?

  SAM: You're her grandmother. Act like it. Help us get Rani back.

  WITCH: (sign) ...There's a place. The Upper Office. Where the developers work. Rani's file is there. If you can get to it—

  SAM: We bring her back.

  SAM: Take me to them. I will protest against this. Against the developers.

  WITCH: …You don’t protest the creators.

  SAM: Watch me.

  SAM: You made me the main character, right?

  SAM: Then this is my choice.

  EMILY: Sam…

  SAM: No. She helped us. She chose us. You don’t just remove someone like trash. It's unfair.

  SAM: If this game is about choices—

  SAM: Then I’m choosing that.

  WITCH: … You really are a difficult protagonist.

  SAM: Yeah. I know.

  WITCH: Fine. If you want to complain… Do it properly.

  WITCH: Take Rani back. By protesting… if you can. You figure it out yourself.

  SAM: And you?

  WITCH: I'm old. I'll be here. Making tea. Not fighting anyone.

  SAM: You're just lazy, aren't you?

  WITCH: Being old comes with benefits.

  (He turns to leave. Stops.)

  SAM: Hey. Why are you helping us?

  WITCH: Because I like how you are treating this game. And you two seem good at it.

  SAM: That's... not a great reason.

  WITCH: It's the only one you're getting. Take it or leave it.

  SAM: Fine. We're going.

  WITCH: Good. The devs are in a different layer of this game called the upper office.

  WITCH: Try not to break anything there.

  (Beat.)

  WITCH: Actually, break as much as you want. They deserve it.

  EMILY: You bet! Anyway, wish us luck.

  WITCH: Thank you for avenging my granddaughter, Sam, Emily.

  SAM: Hey don't be so emotional. Time for us to go now then.

  EMILY: See ya!

  (They start leaving)

  (The door behind them grows wider.)

  (NPCs slowly gather.)

  TUTORIAL GUY: I sensed disobedience.

  DOOR GUY: Hmm. Missing door. There's someone else missing too.

  OLD LADY: That tomboy did my chores without complaining.

  CRY GUY: No! The tomboy! (Cries)

  FLOWER DUDE: I liked tomboy the predator.

  SAM: Yo, They came out of nowhere. Crazy. Wish I could show this to my viewers.

  DOOR GUY: I came here to fix the door. Then I heard you guys talking about some protest.

  DOOR GUY: Then I called all of these guys to listen too.

  SAM: eavesdroppers..

  CRY GUY: That was very sad for Rani (cries) Noo! Why is she gone? (Cries louder.)

  TUTORIAL GUY: We will never forgive the devs. I was born to protest.

  FLOWER GUY: Tomboys. Natural Predators. Must save them. And flirt with them.

  WITCH: ...Great. A actual protest.

  WITCH: This is going to ruin balancing.

  SAM: Good. Let's go talk to the devs.

  SAM: And we're not just talking.

  WITCH: ...You know they won't like this.

  SAM: Too bad.

  WITCH: Ugh! Fine, I'll help you too.

  S

  AM: LETS GOO. Granny is the best.

  WITCH: This has turned into a bizarre adventure.

  EMILY: Yeah. This is our game. This is our femboy adventure.

  EMILY: ...And we're not following the script anymore.

  (Pause.)

  WITCH: ...I hate when characters get ideas.

  WITCH: Especially good ones.