Always and Forever

Chapter 40: The Great Escape

Betty and I still stood at the bottom of Dilton's bunker, everyone was looking at each other. 

"Could everyone clear out for ten minutes are so?" I requested. "We need to talk to Jughead alone." 

"Of course, Princess," Sweet Pea smiled at me as they all stood up. He touched my hand a bit and then they left. Me and Betty then sat down at the table and explained the story to my brother. 

"So you've confirmed..." Jughead began. "So our dad played G&G in high school, huh? Of course, it makes so much sense." 

"All of our parents did," Betty stated. "And they swore each other to secrecy, but, Jug, while they were playing, one of them killed their principal back then, Felix Featherhead, either accidentally, or on purpose, but, he had blue lips." 

"Just like Ben and Dilton, which is why all of this has to stop--" I insisted as I gestured to the game. 

"Dani, the fact that our parents played G&G just corroborates what I've come to believe," Jughead said. 

"And what have you come to believe?" I asked. "That we have been playing this game for a lot longer than we know. And off-board? Think about it, the Hot Dog rescue, what was that, if it was not a quest/" Betty and I looked at each other in annoyance. "The Serpents, the Ghoulies, what are they? If no warring tribes might as well call us orcs and goblins." 

"Okay, you're not making any sense," Betty declared as she put her hand out for him to stop. 

"And you're also not listening to anything that we're saying," I added. "We have nine suspects that are real, tangible leads. One of our parents could be a murderer, so let's investigate them." 

"You're not seeing the big picture," Jughead argued. "Eldervair, the realm of Gryphons and Gargoyles is an anagram for Riverdale. The whole game is an analog for Riverdale. The game only exists in Riverdale. That's why we couldn't find it on the web." 

"Okay, well, that is a weird coincidence," I admitted, recalling my sleepless nights trying to find it. 

"It's not a coincidence, it's all connected," Jughead corrected. "It's all one big narrative that's still being written and played." 

"Okay, you need to calm down, Jug. Who's telling you this?" Betty questioned. 

"The game," Jughead answered. "The more I play, the more familiar I become with Eldervair and its rules, the more I see the patterns. The more I understand him or her, and how we'll catch the Gargoyle King. The game is their psychology/ It's their imagination. It's how they view Riverdale."

"My mom was right, this game messes with your head," Betty declared. 

"No, no," Jughead denied. "This is the clarity I needed, this is the truth. G&G's myths, they are our stories. They're our parent's stories. Simple logic, Betty and Dani. How do you catch a Game Master? You become a Game Master yourself. That's what I'm doing. And in the end, when I prove that I'm at his leave, I'll come face to face with him." 

"Fine," Betty gave in as she stood up to leave. "Fine, as long as you're safe down here, that's one less thing for me to worry about. So you keep playing." Betty and I got up. "We're going to go figure this out, starting with our nine suspects." Betty went to go leave, I then reached across the table and grabbed Jugjead's shirt, and dragged him closer to me. 

"What the hell Dani!?" Jughead demanded. 

"If you take this game off the board and endanger anyone's lives, even more, the Gargoyle King will be the least of your problems," I threatened. "Do I make myself clear?"