Andy's Apple Farm: Dolce's Game

CHAPTER 20: CATASTROPHIZING CATASTROPHIES (pt. 4)

A/N: Dolce's internal narration / **Dolce's negative thoughts** / *Flashback/ Dream sequence*

Andy was a firm believer that a good day often started out with how his mornings went. For the most part they were always pleasant, and therefore the rest of the day flowed as such. But today, his morning certainly could have gone better. Things have become more awkward between them ever since the day before regarding Dolce's tale of being dragged into this world which she then revealed was nothing more than a video game he and his friends all resided in, and, how their existences were nothing more than the conceptualization of some human game developer motivated by a necessity to achieve success. Success, that would prove this field could support the developer's family financially.

In the end, their existences meant nothing in the grand scheme of things; limited to only existing through a virtual medium—as long as a human kept the game running...After being told all that, well...it certainly wasn't the easiest pill to swallow.

Waking up, he hoped he could at least try to maintain a sense of normalcy with his morning routine. Unfortunately, he and Dolce got into some drama over her sense of self-worth and her mental state concerning her current living situation with Andy and working on his apple farm—Drama, which resulted in him ending up with a dislocated arm. (An accidental mistake on Dolce's part due to improper control of her powers.)

He didn't know where Dolce went after their fight. After finishing up his chores, he contemplated on seeking Claus's advice on how he could mend things with Dolce. Although he understood it was necessary in being stern to get his point across with Dolce, there was still a small part of him that felt guilt in driving her off in such a harsh manner. 

Once his anger subsided, he soon realized Dolce was the one suffering the hardest; trying to protect everyone with her recently acquired powers, and from the truth of their true nature. Despite all this, she still chose to make the difficult decision to being candid with them, all the while under threat of retaliation from Peter. For that, Andy felt he owed it to her regarding her honesty. (Once he came to terms with everything.)

It was then when he was caught off-guard by the sudden ERUPTION of Dolce's powers swirling like a black, shadowy, vortex from the distance. Judging from it's location, he knew she was somewhere in front of the barn where...CLAUS WAS!

Without hesitation, he stopped what he was doing and immediately RUSHED himself over towards the picnic area.

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Earlier in the day, Melody and Felix were hanging out together by the lake. For the most part, their conversations were light and casual while the moon-girl watched Felix reel in his catches whenever he got a bite at the end of his line.

But neither of them could deny they were merely avoiding what weighed heavily on both their minds: they were just characters coded in some game they never asked to be made, nor be a part of.

Especially not one inhabited by some phantom "pumpkin-monster."

"Umm...So what did you think about what Dolce said yesterday, Felix?" melody asked, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

"Oh boy...I knew that was coming..." Felix mentally dreaded. "What about it?" he replied, trying to sound disinterested.

"If we're all controlled by whatever our 'program' tells us, does this mean we don't have a choice in anything that we do? Can't we be anything more if we wanted to be? What about our lives? Do we not matter? What's it all f-"

"-I think you guys are driving yourselves crazy over-thinking all this." Felix interrupted, turning to her. "There's no way I'm gonna let some 'washed-up game making drunk' rule over my life with whatever he 'programs' me to do. No one is gonna tell me how to live my life except me. And I don't need no stinking human like Dolce to tell me otherwise. Neither should you. If you ask me, I think she's just as crazy for even bringing that up to us in the first place. Let's say, we are in some 'video game' like she says we are, how do we know she's not just some 'random smook' 'programmed' to think she's a human when she isn't? Believe me, I know crazy when I see it, and boy was she nuts when we first met her."