Chapter One- Bullied

"How were the races this fine night?" Ralph smiled, Vanellope grumping beside him with her hands in her pocket.

"I lost the roster place."

"What, really?" Ralph asked, stunned to hear such a thing coming from his friend.

"Yeah." Vanellope snorted, a smug little grin appearing on her face "Been that way since tha guys unlocked all those new moves of theirs. I guess tha challenge has upped itself an' it's gonna take a lil more than a glitch ta get ahead of the crowd."

"Aw, don't feel so bad about I kiddo." Ralph smiled, his voice warm "Ya win some, ya lose some. I know tha feelin' too well."

"Yeah, sure Stink-Breath." The girl smile "But this'll clear! Can't quit now, big guy! What kinda President would I be ta just skid off without even tryin'! Just gotta keep drivin, gotta keep goin' gotta-!"

"KEEP IT OUTTA HER REACH, GUYS!" shouted a voice, both Ralph and Vanellope jolting as a rush ran passed them.

"Outta her reach?" said another voice, laughing "That's WAY too easy!"

"Whoa, what's goin'on?" Vanellope blinked, trying to see just where all the excitement was going but before she could take another step forward-

"Please, STOP!"

Ralph turned, surprised to see a Nicelander running towards him. He blinked in shock but he stood in place even as the woman was nearing him.

"Ms. Meg?"

Meg indeed.

The little woman was trying her best to keep up with the group as they ran ahead of her and from the look on her face, both Wrecker and Racer knew nothing good was going on. Meg looked so upset, so scared and yet she was there chasing after the group of larger characters, her tiny legs and feet struggling to keep up.

"W-Wait!"

"Ms. Meg!" Vanellope waved, glitching in front of the woman and catching her before she tripped "Ma'am, what's wrong? Why are ya runnin' around like some sorta mouse?"

Meg panted in exhaustion but forced herself up, scrambling to get out of Vanellope's hold.

"D-Don't stop me! Th-they have Earl-Grey!"

Earl-Grey?

Meg's pet?

Vanellope remembered how nervous the little Nicelander was to even show her the beloved chinchilla the first time they met and if such other characters had him-!

"Aw, an' here I was hopin' for a PEACEFUL night!"

It didn't take more than two seconds for Ralph to realize that there was trouble coming and for Meg's sake he was just the hero she needed to end things before they got really bad.

"Watch her kid." The big man growled, jogging to catch up with the others "I need ta take care of some business."

A few paces ahead, the group realized that Meg was no longer following them. What was the point of playing keep-away when the main 'target' was no longer in sight?

"Hey, hey, hey! Stop!" shouted the leader, screeching to a halt as he held out a hand "Where tha lil butter-chunk go?"

The second character, the one holding tightly onto the chubby, puffy ball of grey, paused. He looked back and to the side but no one else was there.

"Think we lost her?"

"Maybe but I dunno why she would just drop outta sight like that…." Said the leader as he took the chinchilla out of his partner's hands roughly "Doesn't she care for this stupid thing? I thought of everything on her, THIS would-!"

"EXCUSE ME."

The group screamed as a thundering voice boomed behind them, all turning to look right into the angry eyes of one Wreck-it-Ralph!

"Ah. HEH." The man said, pointing to the animal in the smaller character's hand "May I ask. Where did ya get that thing?"

The second of the group was shivering so hard that had he done so even more, he might as well have just broken into pieces.

"A-A-AH! W-w-wel, ya see-!"

Ralph nodded, his eyes looking coldly into the group "YES?"

"W-We just found this lil thing an' thought it would be a good idea ta return it ta its rightful owner!" the leader said, slamming his hands upon his partner's mouth.

"Goodness, REALLY?" Ralph said, his voice full of sarcasm "Because if I hadn't know any better, I could have SWORN the owner of this lil fluff-ball was going after YOU guys. An' from tha sounds of it, she REALLY wanted this lil guy back but-! Heh, ya wouldn't stop for her…."

The characters gulped.

"She was just BEGGIN' for SOMEONE ta let him go…."

The characters slinked back.

"So…."Ralph growled "What was THAT about?"

"Um, we thought it was the wrong person?" the leader smiled nervously.

"Listen here!" Ralph growled, taking the leader by the collar of his uniform "I don't like roughin' people up like this but I have gotten SICK of ya guys goin' after my neighbors like this!"

"H-Hold on Wreck-It! It was just a joke!"

"A JOKE?!" Ralph boomed, holding the man even higher in the air "If it's a joke, how come Ms. Meg was CRYIN' back there?!"

"I-It was tears of laughter?!"

The Wrecker was in no mood to deal with bullies this night, his huge fist balled up as a warning.

"I wanna tell ya guys one thing. We have STANDARDS in this arcade an' that is NO, an' I mean NO ONE, has tha right ta go after a person an' mess with 'em for no reason!"

"Urgh, I told ya we should have picked another target!" said the second character.

"Dude, shut it!"

"I want you ya guys to go back there an' APOLOGIZE ta Ms. Meg for-!"

Perhaps Ralph wasn't the only one who was in a foul mood at that moment as even Earl-Grey was tired of being held so tightly in unfamiliar hands. The chubby ball of fur kicked its legs and growled but when that didn't work, he opened his mouth and SUNK his teeth right into the hands of his captor!

"OOOOOOW!"

Ralph and the other gasped as the round rodent seemed to fly from the hands of the character, landing on the floor with a bounce as it skittered away!

"Aw NO!" Ralph gasped, dropping the ring-leader of the bunch on the ground and taking off after the animal "Earl-Grey! EARL-GREY! Come back!"

Such a sight had never been seen before in Litwak's.

Earl-Grey ran as fast as such a round little thing could, going over the feet and under the legs of several characters, a few screaming when they saw the unfamiliar creature crawling up to them. And the thing that took the cake?

A nine foot man was chasing after the thing.

"Excuse me, EXCUSE ME!" Ralph said, accidentally plowing a few people over in his attempt to catch up with the tiny rodent but somehow Earl-Grey outran the big man, looking for his owner all over the place

"Great, we have a competitor with SONIC for tha fastest fur-ball alive!"

Earl zigged this way and zagged that way but he could not find Meg and even worse, it seemed as if the entire station were growing more and more busy with the evening rush. If Earl should find himself under foot of someone who didn't notice him-!

GAME OVER

The chinchilla darted for a corner but as it turned, it cried out as its tail was stepped on. He pulled and pulled but once the foot raised, he snapped forward, rolling much like the ball that he was into a wall. He crashed hard, dizzy for a moment but once he saw just how lost he was, he began to panic. He trembled and shivered, much like Meg had often done in the past whenever Ralph attempted to approach her but just as things were starting to look dark for the little chubby creature….

"Are you okay?"

A tiny voice.

Earl opened an eye and looked up, two big eyes looking down upon him.

They weren't that of Vanellope's but someone else. Though he could not talk, he began to uncurl from hiding and look at the girl, her long dark blue pony tail hanging over her shoulder, a few bits of snowflakes fluttering from her body.

Adorabeezle Winterpop.

"Aw, what a cute little thing." The girl smiled as she reached down and picked the chinchilla up gently "But where did you come from? I've NEVER seen an animal like you before."

The collar on the animal's neck glowed in gold, the racer eyeing it.

"Hmmm?" she said as she looked down, reading the engraving "Nicelander Meg? Apartment 2B?"

"BEEZIE!"

The girl turned, seeing three others approaching her.

"Ya….ya caught him?" Vanellope panted as she wiped her brow "Ya actually CAUGHT Early!?"

Adorabeezle looked down at the little ball of hair in her arms, its ears twitching "Er, w-was I supposed to CATCH it? I-is this a game? I-Is THIS thing the prize?"

"Nah." Ralph said, looking off to the side rather upset "Just a buncha jerks messin' with folks again."

"Is he alright?" Meg shivered, much too shy to even approach the racer "H-he's not hurt is he?"

"Um, he looks fine to me, so no?" Adorabeezle said, a little surprised at Meg's reaction.

It was so strange to Adorabeezle to see someone react in such a way. If anything, the little racer was more used to being in MEG'S position; so shy, so scared. To see it from another angle was so weird.

"Oh, why does this always happen?" moaned Meg.

Yet so familiar.

"Um, here…" the little racer said in a soft voice, handing Meg her pet "I-I can tell you want him back..."

Meg nodded, trying her best to look mature and stable in front of the others but from the way she was shaking, Ralph could tell she was greatly upset by what had taken place.

"Ms. Meg?"

"They always do this…." Meg whimpered, holding Earl close to her chest "I-I don't know why but they do."

"They do what?"

Meg looked over, noticing the look of curiosity on Adorabeezle's face. The Nicelander couldn't take it, blushing so red that she would have made a cherry envious. She ducked slightly, her face sinking into the large neck of her sweater as she turned and ran off.

"S-Sorry!" she meeped "I-I have to go!"

"Ms. Meg!" Vanellope called out "Wait! Are ya okay?"

"I-I didn't upset her did I?"

Ralph and Vanellope turned, Adorabeezle peering down at her feet and twiddling her fingers.

"I-I mean….she looked as if she were crying."

Ralph let out a heavy sigh as he rubbed his neck "Nah, don't blame yourself for this kiddo. People…people always seem ta go after Meg."

"Why?" the small racer asked, peering up at Ralph.

"I couldn't tell ya." The big man shrugged "What I can tell ya is that I'm gettin' sick of it."

"But what can ya do, Stink-Breath?" said Vanellope "I would think that after bustin' down a few walls or somethin' with your HEAD, people would listen to ya when ya tell 'em ta lay off people!"

The man scowled, his cheeks puffing out as he pouted.

"Ya would think that…..but I guess there's still some things even I can't do."

Not too far away, Meg made her way back to Niceland but not before several of the neighbors noticed her running down the hall.

"Megan?" Gene said in surprise as the woman ran passed him. He turned back, taking her by the arm "Whoa, slow down sweetie! What's wr-?"

"LEAVE ME ALONE, GENE!" the woman shouted, turning and glaring at the Mayor though her attempts to look mad were broken when he saw her face reddened and tears coming from her eyes. Gene took a step or two back but once he saw just how UPSET she looked-

"I-! Gracious, are you alright!?"

"St-stop treating me like I'm a kid, okay?!" the woman sobbed, rubbing her eyes "I-I'm FINE!"

"Are you certain?" the man asked, stooping down a bit to look Meg more clearly in the eyes "You seem-!"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" the woman cried out again, pushing the door to her apartment open before slamming it in the Mayor's face.

"AI!"

Several of the others had gathered around, wondering just what in the world had caused such a commotion.

"Was that Meggy?" Lucy asked, a hand on her hip "Huh, it's been a long time since I've seen her get angry like that!"

"And you know that's never a GOOD thing." Said Gene, rubbing his chin as he thought "Goodness, maybe we should talk to-!"

"M-M-Mr. Mayor?"

The Nicelanders turned, the unfamiliar voice surprising them but once they saw the form of the frost-bitten racer before them.

"Oh!" gasped Mary "Oh, it's one of the Sugar Rush racers!"

Adorabeezle nodded but she shyly put her hands behind her back, looking down at the ground "I, um….I wanted to see if Ms. Megan was okay. I-I ran into her at the station when she left."

"You did?" asked Gene as he approached the girl "Did you see what happened?"

The racer nodded her head no "Mm-mmm. Vanellope an' Ralph did though. Th-they are probably the best to get the full story from."

The little racer bit her lip as she turned away from the Nicelander leader; the way he was looking at her, the way that they were ALL looking at her. Now SHE was the one who felt so horribly cornered.

"I-I just wanted to see if Ms. Meg was okay." The girl managed to squeak out, her cheeks blushing brightly "Sh-she ran away from the station so-"

"It sounds like it was worse than I thought!" Gene said in worry, his brows bunching in anger "Darn it, you'd think after EVERYTHING we've been through people would just STOP!"

"Dear, don't go overboard with this." Mary said in a calming tone as she put her hands on her husband's shoulders "I think it would be best if cooler heads tackled this. Let's talk to Felix and see if he can fix it."

The portly Mayor crossed his arms against his chest but his love was right, as usual. He knew it would be better if Felix had a say in what had happened, should more chaos ensue over the event.

"Fine." The Mayor snorted, walking towards the repairman's apartment, the others following him "But I swear, if anything else goes wrong-!"

"Dear, just calm down."

With the Nicelanders gone, Adorabeezle was alone in front of Meg's apartment. The little racer inched closer to the door and her sharp hearing was able to pick up a faint sound from within.

Crying?

Small sniffs and sobs.

"Oh no…" the girl said, her hands raised to her lips.

Things must have been much worse than they seemed.

The little racer gulped as she looked up, the door feeling like it was stretching miles above her. She had an idea in her head but as usual she was much too shy to carry on with it.

Or was she?

Her heart beat faster, she swallowed a nervous lump in her throat but without hesitation she raised her little hand into the air and-!

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Knocked upon Meg's door.

"M-Ms. Meg?"

Not a word came in response to the girl's call but Adorabeezle knew she couldn't give up. She knocked on the door again, a little harder this time.

"Ms. Meg?"

"W-Who is it?"

"It's me." Responded the racer "A-Adorabeezle Winterpop? I-I found your….your PET?"

Inside her apartment, Meg sat on the floor, her back leaning on the edge of her sofa as Earl-Grey rested on her lap. She sniffled, rubbing her eyes but feeling the need to hide even more with the revelation that someone had FOLLOWED her from the station.

"O-Oh, yes." The Nicelander said, her voice sounding frantic "Th-thanks so much dear but I-I don't think I will be needing anymore help, if that is the reason you came by!"

"Well…." The girl said at the other side of the door "You LOOKED like you needed help. I just wanted to make sure there was anything else I could do."

"NO, I assure you there isn't!" Meg said, going all out PANICKED as she rose to her feet and pressed her back on the door as if she were trying to keep people out and away from her "P-Please just go back to your game! You don't need to waste your time with me!"

"I…."

Adorabeezle stopped, trying to quickly figure out what to say.

"Ms. Meg, are you sure you're okay?"

"I-!"

"It's okay to tell me." The racer said "I know how you feel."

At that very moment, the little racer felt an odd chill come over her, even odder since she was USED to cold wind and freezing snow and ice.

"Do you?" whispered the Nicelander "Do you REALLY know how it feels, young lady?"

Even with no one around to see her, the racer nodded her head "I…I know it feels like to be the shyest one."

"How can-?!"

"They always talk about it?" Adorabeezle continued "There are people who just keep coming to you even when you tell them to stop?"

Meg's heart began to beat faster, Earl-Grey feeling it against his fur.

"You wanna be better than that…." The girl continued "You wanna feel as strong and as happy as the others but you can't-"

"Y-you can't…." Meg sniffled, her throat staring to hurt "You can't turn it off. You can't turn off feeling so scared."

"Yeah." Said Adorabeezle, shaking her head "You just want to smile but you're so worried that people are going to laugh. That you'll do the wrong thing and they'll keep talking to y-"

"STOP." Meg shouted "Stop, stop! I-I get it!"

The tumbler of the door clanked loudly as it creaked open, Adorabeezle seeing Meg peek out from the crack.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Meg said nothing, looking down in shame at the way she had behaved. She said nothing but the look in her eyes said so much to the racer before her. The door opened a bit wider and, with some caution, Adorabeezle stepped in.