Home hub Home: bills and housemates #
GEAR 5
A few weeks have passed since Ralph’s trip to South America, we see him at home looking at his bills and checking his balance in the bank through the phone, which makes him sigh in sadness, telling himself: “Man, having a family is expensive, isn’t it? Two girls don’t eat that much, one doesn’t eat at all, one eats like an adult… And the other one eats for all of us… Either I gotta work harder or they gotta help me with the bills”
Suddenly, Stacy pops up on his phone and asks: “Driver, you seem worried, can I help you?”
“Unless you can make money by yourself, no”
“Technically I could by conducting your vehicle by myself at safe speeds and catching passengers, but the mobility services don’t include autonomous vehicles, nor does it seem to be regulated by your country’s laws”
“Yeah no shit, and if I did let you do that, they’d start complaining that AI is taking their jobs or something. But thanks anyway, Stacy”
Ralph looks at Quartz, who is on the table eating with Dani, Bailey and Lin. Giselle is outside, washing Ralph’s car by using her right arm as a water spray. Quartz finishes eating with a smile on her face and touching her belly with both hands, saying: “Ah… Delicious food! For 500 years, how much good food I missed! You’re the best, Dani! Can you make more of this?”
Dani frowns and answers: “Quartz, I appreciate your compliment, but you can’t just eat all the food we have here, we’ll starve to death if I make you more food like this”
Quartz sighs and says: “That’s a shame, but it’s true, I don’t you starving… I can’t lose my best cook”
Home hub Lin and Quartz #
Lin shakes her head and says: “What was Ralph thinking when he brought this resource devouring lizard here? I don’t wanna run out of beef or burgers”
Quartz glares at her, saying: “At least I ask politely, I never needed to steal food from farmers with peak technology at night and then earn the fame of essentially glorified thieves”
“Better to be known as thieves than to be known as tyrants with societies that commit human sacrifice to please you”
Quartz gets a little angry and answers: “That was on them, I never agreed with it!”
“You have all the power in the world, but can’t rule your people right?”
“I wasn’t the one getting scammed globally”
“I didn’t…” Lin looks away, grunting and then asking Dani and Bailey: “Which one of you told her about Steinberg?”
Dani interrupts both of them, angrily saying: “I didn’t and it doesn’t matter who did it, now you two shut up and stop with this childish discussion!”
Lin and Quartz look at each other grunting, then look away with arms crossed, with Dani facepalming and shaking her head while Bailey giggles.
Ralph laughs softly as Stacy has an idea and says: “Driver, the hippie seems to be interested in music. I could talk to her about it”
“What, are you gonna turn her into a famous musician?”
“Unlikely. I could, however, find a way for her to profit”
“How?”
“Streaming seems to be something people enjoy spending their time with, and she enjoys playing guitar. I could suggest her to do that”
“That sounds like a good idea”
Giselle then enters the house, saying: “Ralph, I finished washing your car”
“Thanks Giselle. You didn’t need to do it, but you still did it”
“I needed something to do; I wasn’t doing anything”
“Hehe” Ralph pats her head, which makes her confused and says: “You’re a good girl, Giselle. Why don’t you go pick some of my old comic books to read?”
“Comic books?”
“Yeah, I have some stored in the closet’s drawer, go check them out, will ya?”
“Can I? It’s your room”
“It’s alright, just go there, pick one that interests you and sit down to read”
Giselle wiggles her ears and nods, saying: “Okay, I will” and then she goes to Ralph’s room.
Quartz sees this and gets jealous, asking: “Hey Ralph, can I pick something to read too?!”
Ralph shrugs, answering: “Suit yourself. I don’t think you’re gonna like them though, some of my stories and my old DnD campaigns are about a brave hero slaying a dragon to save the princess”
Quartz pouts, crosses her arms and looks away, saying: “How disrespectful… Why do you humans hate us dragons so much? It’s not like we’ve been invading your world and stealing your resources”
Lin hears it and says: “Shut up, lizard!”
Bailey laughs and says: “I don’t hate you two, you’re both cool”
Quartz and Lin smile and look at Bailey, saying in unison: “Thanks, Bailey!” and then look at each other in anger. Ralph asks:
“Can’t you two just be friends? You live in the same house after all”
They both look at him and ask in unison: “Me? With her? Hell no!”
Ralph sighs and says: “Whatever happened between dragons and aliens, I hope you get over it”
Lin sighs and walks to her room, saying: “I’ll just go take a rest or something” while Dani sighs and proceeds to wash the dishes. Bailey sits on the sofa.
Quartz says: “Hmph! How insolent… Why do they keep treating me like a villain? People used to praise me you know?”
Ralph says: “I know. You were their dragon goddess after all. I can tell you loved it”
“Of course I did… They were all grateful for what I did for them. They just didn’t need to thank me by killing their neighbor tribes and some of their own” She then sits by Bailey’s side, but closer to Ralph.
Choice Who to interact with #
(This is when the player has the choice to interact with Bailey, Dani, Lin, Giselle or Quartz. Interacting with Quartz will result in the next mission starting. This is what will happen if Quartz is chosen)
Cutscene Quartz explains titans and volcanoes #
Ralph asks Quartz: “Well, what were the Aztecs grateful for? Did you make it rain and their crops started growing?”
“Not only that, but I also saved them and the Mayans from global threats before. You humans keep acting like dragons are all evil when dragons like me saved the world more than once”
“Yeah? Tell us more about it then. What did you save the world from?”
“Do you have an idea of how many volcanoes are located around the Aztec and Mayan territory?”
“Um…” Ralph picks up his phone and asks: “Stacy?”
Stacy answers: “Under the territory known as Mexico, there are around 48 active volcanoes, with 35 of them being Holocene volcanoes”
Quartz is surprised and asks: “Wait, what?”
Ralph asks: “You didn’t know?”
She tries to disguise her reaction by crossing her arms, pouting and answering: “Of course I know! Who do you think I am?” Ralph laughs a bit, Quartz continues: “Anyway, the Mayan and Aztec territories are surrounded by volcanoes, and why do you think they prayed to heavens for salvation? For it to rain and make their crops grow? Hmph! This was the least of their concerns…”
“Are you saying you protected them from volcanic eruptions? How?”
Quartz is disappointed as she says: “So that’s what you think… I had my suspicions. Let me ask you this: does human society know anything about titans?”
“Titans… Like in Greek mythology?”
“One last try. Ask your computer about titans”
“Stacy, what about titans?”
Stacy answers: “Titan: entity in Greek mythology, creators of the world, they were above the gods and some titans fathered Zeus, the god of all gods. Titans were massive, being as tall as skyscrapers”
Quartz sighs and says: “As expected, the Aztecs didn’t document anything about titans. I should’ve known, why else would Europeans think dragons are evil too?”
Ralph says: “Aight, what’s the connection between volcanoes and titans? I don’t get it, volcanoes can’t be a psyop made by the lizards or something, they’re pretty much real, so tell me what’s the deal”
“Fine, let me explain it in a way a human can understand: volcanoes aren’t what humans think they are. No. Most volcanoes are actually portals to the underworld, and when there’s an eruption, it’s because there’s a titan trying to come out of it”
“What the hell… What do you mean underworld?”
“You see, under this planet’s crust and above its outer core, there is an underworld, a world long forgotten after this world’s mantle covered it, a world where dragons were born by being spit out of a planet’s core, born from its pits of plasma… That is where dragons come to shape the world and protect it from its destroyers: the titans. From the ceilings of that world, portals are open so dragons can come out of it and stop titans from doing the same”
“Damn… Bailey, are you listening?”
Bailey answers: “I sure as shit am… And here I thought I’ve heard everything crazy. It’s just like in the movies”
Quartz frowns, asking: “Movies… Is that not a form of document?”
“I guess… Now that all of this is real, underworld might as well be” he picks up a blu-ray case and shows her a movie about a battle of kaijus. Quartz is shocked and then asks Ralph:
“There were documents about titans and you didn’t tell me?!”
Ralph answers: “I mean, no one ever thought they were real, so…”
“And what about dragons in this document?”
“The dragon with multiple heads is a villain; he comes from outer space to eat the world”
Quartz facepalms and says: “Even in documents about titans, we’re treated like villains? For Bahamut’s sake…”
“Okay, so you saved them from kaijus and abandoned them shortly after?”
Quartz shrugged and made her disgust visible, answering: “I did and I don’t regret it”
“But what if another kaiju showed up?”
“I’d be there, but not for them. If the titan showed up, I’d be there to save the world, not just their empire”
“And how come have we humans not seen any kaiju since then or since ever? Did you, like, go under the world to fight them off or something?”
“Sweet heavens, not even Krakatoa? It was a titan who destroyed those islands and threatened your world. It hasn’t been longer than around a hundred years ago!”
“Really? A kaiju destroyed Krakatoa? Damn... I guess that makes sense, because anyone in a 100-mile radius would’ve died from the shockwave, no one could be near to see the monster”
Cutscene Armageddon and the Mayan calendar #
“He was not even the only one in the last 200 years… I guess it’s a good thing I protected the world from them, at the cost of them not knowing true danger and making us dragons the bad ones instead… If only they learned about Armageddon though, I did write a calendar of when he would show up again”
“Armageddon?”
“Yes. The worst of all titans. Armageddon is the biggest threat to the world, he doesn’t belong here, he comes from another world… My ancestors fought him 75.000 years ago. He was so strong they couldn’t kill him but just send him back to his home world and hope he’s weak enough to be killed once he inevitably comes back. From generation to generation, each dragon of my family learned this”
“Calendar… Wait a minute, the Mayan calendar?”
“Yes, I wrote it to the Mayans, hoping they’d pass it down to next generations”
“Well, they did. Everyone in the world knows about the Mayan calendar”
“Oh, so at least that wasn’t lost to time. That’s good, because I need to be ready for when the time comes, the date is set in there”
Ralph sighs and says: “Yeah, right. The whole world went crazy when they learned about it, thought it meant the end of the world and shit”
Quartz is surprised and confused, asking: “Wait… What do you mean by that?”
“The date says December 21, 2012”
“Okay, what about it?”
“That was 13 years ago”
Quartz gasps, gets desperate and then gets up from the sofa, asking Ralph: “Are you sure there has been no signs of titans in this world?”
“Absolutely, no giant monster in sight”
“Any big eruption?!”
“I guess in Hawaii, Anak Krakatoa and…”
“Where is the closest supervolcano?!”
“I guess Yellowstone, a thousand miles from here, 15-hour drive”
She puts her hands on Ralph’s shoulders and says: “Ralph, we need to go there now! He can only come out from a massive supervolcano and if he shows up, this world is done!”
Choice Who comes along? #
(This is the moment Ralph gets to choose who is coming with him, but the canon choice is obviously Quartz)
Ralph raises his right hand and says: “Alright! Okay, we can do that, relax! I’m always in for a road trip anyway…”
Quartz exhales in relief, putting her hand on her chest and saying: “Thank you… Let’s not waste any time, this is an urgent matter”
“Go get your things before we hit the road”
“I don’t have much to carry, we can go immediately”
“You know it’s a 15-hour drive, right?”
“But your vehicle can fly!”
“Not without the air force noticing me and trying to take me down. I stole a spaceship, they know very well what it looks like”
Quartz pouts and says: “Fine… Then just don’t waste any more time”
“Again, 15-hour drive, are you sure you don’t wanna stop to eat in the way”
Quartz gasps, not knowing how to answer, then says: “Well, that’s different!”
Ralph laughs and says: “So it’s not an urgent matter. Alright” He then looks at Bailey, asking: “Bailey, you’re gonna be alright?”
Bailey smiles, but still a little sad to see Ralph going, answering: “Yeah… Just don’t forget to call me, okay?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you a heads up” he then looks at Dani, asking: “And you Dani?”
Dani answers, still pouting: “Just… When are you gonna take me on these trips again? I miss going out with you…”
Ralph smiles, answering: “I’ll take you all to Yellowstone after this, don’t worry”, then says out loud: “Lin, I’m going to Yellowstone with Quartz!”
Lin answers from her room: “Okay! Just be careful where this lizard takes you!”
Quartz puts her tongue out and says: “He’ll be much safer with me than with you… Cosmic juice!”
Ralph then says lastly: “Giselle, don’t overwork yourself!”
She answers from her room: “Understood, Ralph!”
He then looks at Quartz and with a hand gesture, says: “Come on, let’s go”
They then leave the house, get in the car and hit the road.
Cutscene Road trip to Yellowstone #
We see shots of the road trip and Ralph showing Quartz the beauty of American roads and wilderness, which doesn’t impress her all that much, but she doesn’t dislike it. They stop to eat many times, which frustrates Ralph, but they keep going. We also see Quartz sleeping more than necessary in a hotel until they get close to Yellowstone. On the road nearby, we see Ralph driving and Quartz eating a big bag of Japanese peanuts while listening to Ralph’s rock music. Quartz asks while eating:
“Do you humans use magic to make this kind of music?”
Ralph laughs a little, answering: “Metaphorically, yes…”
“It sounds too good compared to ancient music… You humans took forever to improve when it comes to that though. Hell, you took forever to start using combustion”
“I mean, you knew about that and didn’t bring the advancements to us?”
“Advancements can’t be forced upon a race, you need to know how to make them yourselves, so I couldn’t do anything”
“I see. So you know this car is powered by gasoline and the music you’re listening is all powered by electricity?”
“Yes. I just don’t know how the sounds are produced”
“Well, you had robots in Eldorado after all. Do you like the music and my car though?”
“It’s good music, yes… It certainly gives more emotion than what I’m used to. As for the vehicle, I can fly, vehicles are pointless to me”
“I mean, it’s more fun to drive than to fly if you ask me”
“You’re used to being grounded after all”
“I know there are good views from above, but I wouldn’t wanna miss the beautiful views of America. I like it here”
Stacy says: “Driver, just a minor correction: your vehicle isn’t powered by gasoline anymore, it’s powered by cosmic energy instead, you will never run out of energy with this”
Ralph says: “Yep, sure saves some money… Because if I still paid for the gas, I would’ve been bankrupt by now” Ralph says while looking at Quartz, who looks away and says:
“Why are you looking at me like that? I don’t even eat that much!” She says while still eating the peanuts. Ralph nods slowly and says:
“Uh huh, sure…”
Stacy then says again: “Driver, we are now approaching Yellowstone national park”
Cutscene Into the crater #
“Okay, so what should I do when I get there? Is there some secret way towards the underworld, like some secret portal in a cave or…”
Quartz answers: “Just get inside the crater”
“…what? No! Of course not, are you crazy?”
Quartz sighs and says: “I thought I made myself clear that most volcanoes are portals to the underworld”
“Yeah, but I sure as shit ain’t no titan, I don’t wanna cast my car into a volcano! You sure there’s no other way around?”
“No. That’s the only way”
“I don’t know if you know this, but humans can’t survive fire or volcanoes for that matter”
Stacy says: “Do not worry, driver, you’ll be safe. This unit was built to fight dragons, so it can resist temperatures of 2500 degrees Celsius… Or 4532 Fahrenheit in your case”
“Wait, really? But the windows are still thin”
“Protected by nanomachines. You are absolutely safe, trust me”
“Okay… Shit, gonna have to pretend I’m some drunk joyrider”
Quartz pouts and says: “Built to fight dragons… The audacity!”
Stacy says: “I apologize, royal dragon, I meant no offense, this is just what the protocols of the Galactic Federation say”
“Hmph! Whatever you say, machine”
Ralph takes a deep breath and says: “Alright… Here goes nothing…”
Ralph then starts pretending to be drunk driving, which makes Quartz a little angry when she drops some of her peanuts. Ralph makes his car jump towards the rocky surface using the nanomachines to create springs under it, while a lot of people watch it and start talking about it. The last shot of Ralph driving the car depicts him adrenaline filled and screaming: “JERONIMO!!!”
And then the car lands on the crater, with everyone saying things like “oh my God… What just happened now? Did that car really drive inside the crater? Wow…”
Police and an ambulance arrive, but the car was sinking deep in the crater, with the authorities asking: “What are we gonna do? It’s still sinking? Holy shit, I don’t get paid enough for this… I just hope the boss won’t yell at us. Did you see the plate? No”
Inside the car, we see Ralph and Quartz observing as they descend into the crater, it’s getting darker, and the headlights are turned on. Ralph is speechless to see what’s in front of his windshield, until he says: “Damn… We’re really inside the Grand Prismatic Spring huh? I looks beautiful…”
Travel Descent in submarine form #
Quartz says: “Does this thing go faster underwater? If we rely on gravity, it’ll take some time to get there”
“Come on, that’s no submarine”
Stacy says: “Actually, driver…”
“Oh don’t tell me Charlie had a submarine in the junkyard too”
“No. He had, however, a special car that could turn into a submersible”
Ralph sighs and laughs a bit, saying: “Crazy old man, he even had James Bond’s cars. Aight Stacy, show me what this mode can do”
“Affirmative”
His car then turns into a submarine and keeps going down. The trip downwards takes a little with him seeing the otherworldly-looking interior of the crater until he sees something shining. He asks: “Is that a portal?”
Quartz answers: “Yes, that’s where we go to the underworld”
Ralph takes another deep breath and says: “Once again, here goes nothing…”
Cutscene Arrival in the underworld #
He then hits the accelerator and proceeds to reach the portal… Inside of it, the portal is basically a wormhole, like the hyperspace we see in sci-fi, just with the colors of the Yellowstone volcano. It’s a safe trip that doesn’t bother Ralph or Quartz that much until it drops them in a green and yellow sky… Ralph sees himself flying in the sky as his vehicle takes its spaceship form, he goes down the clouds a little and sees a massive world under… He is impressed by what he sees and says:
“Wow… There’s really an underworld!”
Quartz rolls her eyes and asks: “Ralph, do you really think I’d lie to you?”
“No, but… It’s still shocking to see!”
Quartz sighs again, saying: “You humans get impressed at everything”
“Sorry we’re not gods, ma’am”
“Hmph!”
“Now, what do we do? We’re in the Jurassic world, but I don’t know what to look for”
“We need to find the sealed portal where Armageddon comes from”
“And do you know where that is?”
“Of course I don’t, once dragons come to the surface, they don’t come back to the underworld”
Ralph looks at her in disappointment, which makes her a little embarrassed, frowning and saying: “Don’t look at me like that, it’s not like I’m supposed to know everything my ancestors did. I’m sure you don’t know what yours did either”
“Yeah, very convenient… Do you at least know what this portal could look like? Or what kinda place it should be?”
“It’s probably in a temple of some sorts, because my ancestors still had traditions they wanted to leave for future generations of whatever creature inhabited this planet”
“Yeah alright, then if you don’t mind, I’ll get to ground level, so I have an easier time identifying a temple”
“How does that make any sense?”
“You said your ancestors had traditions… That means I’m not gonna find said temple in the air, that’s not how I found Eldorado, it was very well hidden”
Quartz stopped eating for a second, thought to herself, then shrugged, saying: “I guess you’re right”
Open world Driving among dinosaurs #
Ralph then flew down and landed on the landscape that looked like a beautiful painting of prehistoric times, where he saw trees he couldn’t see on the surface, rivers with different formations and of course, dinosaurs everywhere. The dinosaurs put a genuine smile on Ralph’s face as he drove around, the underworld felt whimsical to him, and it clearly brought back memories. He saw the dinosaurs jumping through the land and some flying. Quartz noticed the happiness on his face and asked:
“I see you like it here. It’s unlike any place on the surface, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… It looks awesome. As a kid, I had many dinosaurs and robot toys. Actually, any kid my age back then liked dinosaurs and giant robots, it was the cool thing at the time”
“The way I see it, it’s not different than liking animals, but I guess I can understand liking it more since you haven’t seen them before… I just wish that’s how you saw dragons”
“I mean, many kids like dragons, don’t get me wrong… Just because most of the media treats them like villains, it doesn’t mean it’s a general thing”
“But that’s still is the most popular consensus…”
“Well, they’re also afraid of AI and robots, but here I am, being the world’s savior. Do you feel offended, Stacy?”
Stacy replies: “Not at all, driver. The Galactic Federation has data surrounding this after all”
Quartz pouts, saying: “That’s not the same thing! AI and robots don’t feel offended… But I’d never say mean things to Giselle… She’s such a sweetheart, she listens to everything I have to say about ancient mechanics”
“Heh. I’m happy for it. Just know none of us think you’re the big bad… At least… Eh… Except for Lin”
“Hmph! What the blue potato thinks of me is none of my concerns”
Cutscene How many horses in a horsepower? #
Ralph laughs a little, then keeps driving and looking at the dinosaurs. He suddenly says: “The dinos don’t seem to be bothered by my horse”
“Horse? You mean your vehicle?”
“Yeah, this car is named after a horse”
“That’s… Strange, it doesn’t have any horses pulling it”
“Artistic decision. Plus, it has 600 horsepower”
“Horsepower? What is that?”
“It’s how we measure engine power”
“And how does that work? Why is it named after horses? Is it based on how many horses it would take to equal its power? But how do you measure that?”
“Well, uh… It’s kinda like this, but not really? Like, one horse can have more than one hp”
“I don’t understand, care to elaborate?”
“It’s complicated”
“I can handle complicated explanations”
“But I can’t, I’m not a teacher”
Quartz gets a little upset and says: “Then how do you know how it works?”
“I just do; I work with cars after all”
“You know how it works, but can’t explain it?”
“That’s right. There’s a reason why I didn’t go to college after all. I’m doing very well being a mechanic, not an engineer”
“Oh, come on Ralph, tell me how it works!”
Ralph sighs, saying: “Stacy, can you tell her how horsepower works?”
Stacy replies: “I could, but I’m afraid you have more important matters to care about right now”
Ralph gets confused and looks at the windshield, asking: “What?”
Cutscene A human girl in the underworld #
Suddenly, Ralph sees a human girl getting closer, then he hits the brakes immediately, which, thanks to the Horse Power’s technology, it breaks fast and safely both for outside and inside people. Ralph is shocked to see the girl right in front of his eyes and so is the girl. She approaches the car making idle engine noises and is very curious about it. Ralph says:
“She’s human?!”
Quartz answers: “Maybe I should’ve told you this, but humans have always lived here too, it was the hideout of many who escaped Toba… But due to this environment being very dangerous and volatile, they didn’t evolve the same way”
“She is…” He says as the girl inspects the car but is shortly interrupted by a tremor followed by an extremely loud roar, which makes her look behind, then to the side and blow a whistle. From that whistle, a giant dog-like beast comes to her, and she climbs on it, going towards the tremor. Ralph is shocked for a second, then gets ready and says: “I’m pretty sure that was a kaiju, that roar felt too unnatural. Stacy, let’s get to work”
Robot combat Kaiju fight beside the girl and her pet #
Stacy says: “Affirmative”, then the car turns into its mecha form. From there on, gameplay starts.
The player won’t need to proceed, they will see a bunch of smaller kaijus in front of them and they will attack the Horse Power if the player does nothing. In the meantime, the girl they saw shortly before this was on top of her pet kaiju, which sometimes attacks like a dog, carrying a giant axe made of kaiju bones in its mouth, but sometimes the dog stands on two legs and uses the axe with both front legs, which makes Ralph surprised and excited. The two keep fighting kaijus until the last one is down. Ralph is laughing and saying: “Hell yeah! Take this, you big freaks! Horse Power is stronger than Zilla!”
Cutscene The girl speaks #
Suddenly, the girl approaches the Horse Power with her pet kaiju, she is smiling and saying: “Adu! Dutto komerah ke pif is sich!”
“I don’t know what you’re saying, but you’re welcome!”
Quartz says: “Surprisingly, you know she’s thanking you for the help”
“Wait, really? I was just assuming”
The girl continue: “Mon dogo dana! Keru juka bm mai lai no ka?”
“What did she say now?”
Quartz says: “She’s saying you’re very powerful and asking you if you don’t want to come to her village”
“Uh… I came here for a different reason, but I don’t mind helping. How do I tell her that?”
Quartz pushes Ralph aside and answers: “Do goi do tana”
The girl gets happier and says: “Mo to gai da na!” and then pats her dog, which makes it start running from the place.
Cutscene The village (the script ends here) #
“I guess she’s asking me to follow her?” Ralph asks and Quartz nods. Ralph then makes his robot morph back into a car and starts following the giant dog. Everyone arrives in a small village, a tribe of prehistoric people who get ready to fight as they see the car, but the girl gets down from her pet kaiju, raises both hands towards the people and says:
“Emu da ka na to ka!” and then the prehistoric people lower their guard. One of them points at the car and asks:
“No nai da kara to ga?”
Quartz says: “He’s asking what kind of monster is this”