But It's MORE than Just Pie

by CandleHeadButt

A continuation of But It's Only Pie, Ralph and Vanellope find themselves baking pies alongside the Nicelanders of Niceland and discover that there is indeed more to the little NPCs than just pie. What will our wrecking hero and racer learn about these guys that no one else seems to know? Maybe this punishment isn't so bad.

1. Apple and Raspberry

Chapter One – Apple and Raspberry

"Ya know tha deal." Calhoun smiled as she lead Vanellope out of Sugar Rush "Ya have to bake a pie with EVERY Nicelander in tha buildin', PRESIDENT."

"Aw, really?" Vanellope grumped, hoping that after her session with Mary Calhoun would let her off the hook but considering that Calhoun was now CARRYING her by her hoodie, the racer was shown that the marine's memory was as sharp as her aim.

"Now, now. You're actin' as if bakin' pies is tha WORST thing ya could do." Hummed the marine "Less ya wanna go out an' scoop up Cybug doodie for a month…"

"What?! EW!" Vanellope gagged "How does that even WORK?! I thought Cybugs were all machine!"

"They lay EGGS so it HAS to work." Chuckled Calhoun, trying to hide her amusement at the girl's pouting.

The two boarded the trolley to Fix-it-Felix Jr, arriving just in time to see the little people milling about and cleaning up as they usually did. Vanellope looked around, a bit of guilt hitting her as she watched the troupe working together.

It was hard to look back at what she had caused only a few days ago, some horrid miscommunications and rumors at Tapper's launching the girl into an all-out attack on the people. If anything, it had only proved to the girl she was just as susceptible as everyone else in the arcade to fall victim to rumors and gossip and no matter her role in the game, no matter her own powers, there was no excuse to what she had done to the Nicelanders.

She could hear their tiny feet tapping on the grounds as they worked together to clean up the building. Vanellope realized that for all the talk she had done about them, she had never really taken any time to just stop and watch them herself. She had been told by others that the Nicelanders never did anything, that they let Ralph and Felix do all the work but before her they were working together, going here and there as Felix did his own repair work, making sure everything was spick and span, that other characters were taken care of. A few Nicelanders were tending to those in East Niceland while another were putting the final touches on the front of the apartment.

They were all pitching in.

"Easy, Ralph! EASY!"

A little voice hit Vanellope's ears, the girl turn to see Ralph and Gene trying to put the picnic tables back into place, the little mayor dangling his feet in the air as Ralph playfully held his end a little too high.

"Heh, ya okay Big Guy?" snickered Ralph, enjoying watching the tiny man hanging on.

Gene looked down, trying to get a good eye on where his feet would land had he actually been on the ground.

"To the left, to the left! Everything has to be pixel-perfect!"

"Geeze, Gene! I don't think they players are gonna notice THAT much of a difference!"

"HA! You say that, young man!" they mayor huffed "They see one thing off, ONE thing and it's-!"

"Kid!" Ralph said happily, Gene going to the ground "'Bout time ya showed up! Ready to head off to Tapper's?"

"Not tonight, she's not." Smiled Calhoun "Tonight, she has other things planned."

"Pardon MEH?" the wrecker asked, missing the smirk on his friend's face "Is there somethin' I'm missin'?"

"Oh, do not tell me the GREAT and POWERFUL Ralph has forgotten our deal." Said Calhoun "Lil Miss Candy-Butt here still has to bake pies with the Nicelanders to make up for the rather unfortunate events that became this GREAT HALL."

Gene looked off to the side, his ears starting to burn. Thankfully, it seemed that none of the others had taken notice in him and without saying so much as a word the little mayor quickly darted off for the apartments.

What was HIS problem?

"Ooooh, yeah…." Ralph grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck "G-Guess I forgot about it."

Calhoun tapped the man's forehead, a curtly smile on her face "Forgot? A wrecker never forgets, Wreck-It. Somethin' tells me BOTH of ya were hopin' I would have forgotten."

Both racer and wrecker looked down at the grass guilty, Calhoun erupting into laughter seconds after.

"I swear, this entire arcade is filled with BRATS!" the marine laughed "Ya two should be glad I'm goin' SOFT on ya 'cause for this? I would have sent ya BOTH ta shovel up Cybug manure."

"Wait, how does that even WORK?!" asked Ralph.

"That's what I asked!" Vanellope said "They're MACHINES. They can lay eggs, still. But HOW-?!"

"Okay, while you two wrap your heads around that conundrum, bake some pies…" Calhoun said as she took both by their collars and dragged them up the steps of Niceland "Startin' on tha lower levels an' workin' your way up!"

"Urrgh, this I gonna be tha worst punishment EVER." Moaned Vanellope "An' I live in a world that is nothin' BUT sweets!"

"Ya told me ya had a great time with Ms. Mary." Calhoun said, walking behind the two "What's so wrong about this?"

Vanellope said nothing, remembering the story that Mary had told her.

It still hurt her a bit to learn that her own actions were just a reflection of many things that had happened in the past that eventually lead up to Ralph's isolation for the group. To think that she might have been rekindling it made her skin bristle with goose-bumps; she didn't want to cause that much trouble, even if she did love pranks and wanted to protect her friend.

With Mary, Vanellope felt a sense of welcome, a sense of warmth and acceptance that she had always wanted and never had expected from a Nicelander but this was Nicelander Mary she was dealing with. For those in the arcade that actually had RESPECT for the Nicelanders, they knew her as the sweetest, kindest, most warmest person they could know. She was always there with a pie in hand and an ear to lend to them. Of course SHE would understand. Of course SHE would forgive Vanellope for what had happened.

But the others?

Vanellope was not too sure.

She was learning the hard way that the Nicelanders were not just one mass of think, the only thing separating them being the slight details of their designs. After what had happened with the pies, Vanellope realized that they were people, that they all had their own thoughts and ways of dealing with what was going on around them.

And with that, who knew if EVERYONE would be as welcoming as Mary.

If anything, THAT was what made Vanellope so nervous. That was the thing that made her sick to her stomach about baking with the Nicelanders.

She was scared of being rejected and this time, it wouldn't be because of something someone ELSE did but by HER actions.

But if she were half the president she presented herself as, she was going to have to bite the bullet….or in this case, PIE.

"So who's first?" asked Calhoun. Ralph looked down the hall, noticing the first number.

"Ah, I-I think Lucy lives here."

Calhoun arched a brow "THINK?"

"W-well, it's not like I'm familiar with their living spaces after all."

"I thought ya said ya knew EVERYTHIN' about this guys." The marine said, knocking on the door.

"M-Maybe I don't." Ralph mumbled "It's not like I had a chance to figure it out."

"Then maybe this is your chance." The marine smiled, giving Ralph a devious grin "After all, Vanellope could use some hands, if ya get my hint."

Ralph got it; he got it good.

Seemed that Vanellope wasn't the only in store for some pie baking this time.

"Who is it?" came a voice from the other side.

"It's Sargent Calhoun." The marine said "We have some VISITORS for ya!"

The tumbler on the door clanked, Lucy opening it to looked up at the taller characters. She looked most astonished to see Ralph peering down at her but a second later, the Nicelander let out a laugh, hands going to her hips.

"Oh, an' here I thought ya wanted to trade bakin' pies for shovlin' up Cybug-!"

"DON'T…..say it." Vanellope broke in, a little surprised that LUCY had overheard them somehow "I, um…well….Other than HELLO, I don't know what else to say, Ms?"

"Lucile." The young woman said tartly "Nicelander Lucile but drop all that guff. Just call me Lucy!"

Vanellope looked, feeling as she were looking at her own toothy grin the way Lucy was smirking at her.

"W-well, Lucy, it's nice to meet ya…on better terms that is."

"Good to see ya too, munchikin! C'mon in!"

Wow, Lucy was being VERY friendly but Vanellope and Ralph still felt a bit nervous. The group walked into the apartment, Ralph feeling increasingly claustrophobic in the tiny space, even more so once he realized that there was so much crammed into the small space.

"Geeze, what do ya guys keep in he-?"

"Ralph?"

The big man looked down, seeing Tony looking up at him in shock.

"Tony?"

"W-what are YOU doing here?" the smaller man asked, looking just as confused as ever.

"Urgh, Anthony! Don't tell me ya forgot!"

The man turned, looking at the annoyed woman "Forgot WHAT?"

Lucy rolled her eyes "'Bout our pie date with Vanellope! We were the first on tha list, 'member?"

Tony put a finger to his lips, brain working a bit. His eyes then lit up as he smiled "Ah, YES! Now I remember! But I thought they were gonna start from the TOP to the BOTTOM."

Lucy gave the man a miffed look, walking up and knocking his head with her hands "Hell-OOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I think your brain might be missin' again, TONY."

Calhoun turned away, trying not to laugh; these guys were nonstop entertainment.

Lucy took a few chairs from the table, waving towards them "Okay, off your feet before all the real work begins! Want some soda, coffee? We got plenty in the fridge!"

"Er, that's fine." Calhoun said "I have some things I gotta take care of back in my own game. THESE two are tha ones who you're gonna be dealin' with so make sure they're on their best behavior!"

Lucy gave Calhoun a salute, a cheeky grin on her face "Yes, Ma'am! An' if they misbehave?"

Calhoun patted the side-arm on her belt, winking at the woman "I trust ya know what ta do."

Ralph paled once he realized exactly what Calhoun was talking about "What the-?! Ya didn't sneak 'em WEAPONS while we were sleepin', did ya?!"

"BYE, RALPH!"

The door then slammed, leaving wrecker and racer alone with the two Nicelanders. Lucy smiled brightly as she hopped over to the kitchen.

"Okay! Seein' as we have tha, eh-heh, RULES laid out…."

Ralph's eyes darted around the apartment "Don't misbehave or I'll probably see somethin' that will haunt my nightmares?"

"RIGHT!" smiled Lucy "Let's get started!"

"Which pie should we make?" said Tony, walking over to Lucy "You know we both have our own."

"Oooh, good point." The young woman said "But since we made our promise to Calhoun, I guess makin' BOTH of 'em wouldn't hurt!"

"Wait, you two make different pies?" asked Ralph.

Lucy and Tony looked over at the other characters, their mirrored actions sending a chill down their spines.

"I thought you knew, Ralph." Said Lucy.

"Uh, well…." The wrecker felt a little embarrassed "I-I DO know ya have different flavors…I just don't know who makes what."

Lucy clapped her hands together "Aaah, then you're in for a treat! Prepare yourselves, because you're gonna make Lucile and Anthony's GREATEST APPLE AND RASPBERRY PIE! EV'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Sparks and fireworks seemed to ERUPT behind Lucy as she posed in the kitchen, Ralph and Vanellope looking on in awe. Out of the excitement, Tony tapped the young Nicelander on the shoulder.

"Lucy?"

"Oh, what is it?"

"Sorry to be so prudent like this but considering I am the older one, I should be firs-GWANGHY!"

Tony could not say another word as Lucy had reached up and PINCHED his nose, the gentlemen Nicelander squirming a bit in the hold.

"Tooooooony, of all the things for you to remember, it's THAT!"

"Urgh, SAW-WEE!"

"Wow, I guess you two make a lovely couple!" said Vanellope with a smile but her smile faded a bit once she saw the looks of horror on the two Nicelanders' faces, Ralph saying nothing as he scratched his chin.

"COUPLE?"

"Er, did I say somethin' wrong?"

Lucy suddenly exploded into a fit of laughter, Tony turning away to rub his sore nose. Vanellope was so horribly confused to what was going on, only wanting to know just what everyone thought was so hilarious.

"R-Ralph?"

"Kid…" Ralph said in a comforting tone, a hand on the racer's shoulder "They're brother an' sister."

Vanellope's face flushed as red as cherry, hands going to her mouth.

Oops.

After the confusion had been cleared up, the pie baking began.

"Put the hair net on!" Lucy said to Vanellope "Ya think I pin my hair back up like this ta be a prude? Nope! Even I care 'bout makin' sure my work area is clean!"

"Okay, okay!" the girl said, struggling a bit with her long hair "Gimmie a moment!"

"Anthony!" Lucy said, twirling her fingers.

"Yes, sis?"

"The MUSIC, if you please!"

"Of course!" replied the older brother, going to the CD player. The Nicelander thumbed through the MASSIVE collection of music, picking out one particular CD.

"This good?"

"What is it?"

Tony looked at the label "DDR. Full Mix 2003 Edition."

"Is that the one where they have a dual-side an' tha songs are sung BACKWARDS an' at a pitch higher?"

"Yes?"

"Good." Lucy smiled "Put it on…..but aim the CD player at the vent."

Ralph and Vanellope looked at each other.

Wouldn't it have been a better idea to aim the player AWAY from the vent?

"Ah, now for the raspberries!" Lucy tittered as she handed Vanellope a large basket "Fresh from the gardens, washed an' ready!"

The racer looked down at the fruit; they were smaller and more cube shaped then the ENORMOUS bouncy berries she was used to in her own home but she popped on in her mouth anyway, the sweet flavor quickly filling her mouth.

"Ya like?" the Nicelander smiled.

Vanellope nodded "Mmm, YES!"

"We always make sure to pick our fruit to tha, as Roy so ELOQUENTLY puts it, 'the quintessential point of ripeness! The PEAK of true flavor!'"

Vanellope couldn't help but giggle as the woman did an impression of the worry-wart Nicelander.

"There, I got ya laughin'! Now don't pull a Gene on me!" snorted the Nicelander "Mayor Booty Shorts ALWAYS manages to find a way to sneak tastes in before anything is done! Always goin' on that he's the mayor an' he can eat us outta house n' home because of it, blah-blah-blah! Hmph, he thinks he can do whatever he want cus I'm tha baby of the group! No fair!"

"Mmph, I wouldn't do that!" said Vanellope "I would ASK before takin' anythin'!"

Ralph rolled his eyes "Sure 'bout that?"

"Good girl!" Lucy smiled, patting the racer on the head "See, I don't understand why ANYONE would hate ya! You're so cute!"

Vanellope felt herself blush again, unable to really think of anything to say with the way Lucy was dotting on her. It was so odd to have a character be this open towards her, even though EVERYONE knew that the little racer was one of the primary figures of the fight that had been going on for the past week.

Maybe Lucy was different. Maybe Lucy was just as forgiving as Mary, at least that's what Vanellope was starting to think. Ralph looked over, feeling happy to see the Nicelanders warming up to his friend. He too had been worried how others would react but had he known, he had realized how the Nicelanders would act….

"Wow, I never knew…."

"Ralph, want do the honors with the dough?" said Tony.

"Er, sure." The wrecker smiled, pounding and flattening the dough to perfection "Who needs a rollin' oin when ya got THESE bad boys?"

Lucy smiled as she began to wash and slice apples, finding that things were going along great with two extra sets of hands in the kitchen.

"Mmm-hmmm, maybe we should rent ya guys out more often!" said the younger Nicelander "Then we won't have ta work as much!"

"Now, Lucile…" Tony scolded "This…this is just for a temporary fix. It would be unfair if we dragged these two away from their own fun just to bake pies."

"Actually, I don't mind it that much." Said Vanellope, trying to work on her own pile of dough "I baked a pie with Ms. Mary tha other day. It was a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be but it was so much fun."

Vanellope looked over, surprised to see such a smile of warmth on Lucile's face, especially after the wave of cheekiness she had always put on the others. Maybe it was the mention of Mary that had brought on the change.

"Ah, Ms. Mary…." Lucy said "She's like tha other mother I have since my backstory mom isn't in the game."

"Neither are the OTHER tons of brothers and sisters we're supposed to have, thank goodness…" chuckled Tony "But yes, bless Mary's heart. If Felix isn't watching over us, it's her."

Ralph looked over; the Nicelanders always did seem to watch over each other, even if they did quarrel from time to time. Maybe Mary was putting more on her plate than he first thought.

"U-Uh, Ms. Lucy? Mr. tony?" Vanellope squeaked.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"I-I….I wanna say sorry."

Tony looked rather confused, preparing the butter glaze for the pie "For what, young lady?"

Vanellope moaned "For all of this. I mean, looking back I really did fall for all that stuff at Tapper's when I shouldn't have."

"Oh, that is okay young lady…." The older Nicelander sighed "Of course, considering the situation I can understand why you were so upset."

"Can ya?"

"Yes." The man said, dusting the raspberries with powdered sugar "People were saying horrible things about Ralph. Had they said the same thing about Lucy, I too would have been in a tizzy!"

"Tony, ya get in a tizzy when ya forget ya left your shoes in the fridge!" the female Nicelander laughed "'Sides, I may be your baby sister but I can take care of myself! Need I remind ya of all tha times I've dragged ya outta trouble?"

"And need I remind YOU of all the time we've landed in trouble thanks to your actions?" the man smiled, flicking some dough on his sister.

"GAH! Anthony!"

"But still, it was stupid of me ta believe it!" said Vanellope "I should KNOW what rumors do but WHOOPS! I jump in on it anyway!"

"Kid, they said it was okay…." Ralph said as he noticed how upset Vanellope was becoming .

"Yeah, don't pop over there, Vanellope!" Lucy smiled "It's not like you're the first person to ever be roped into that guff!"

"Speaking from experience…." Said Tony.

Lucy rolled her eyes "There's always some stupid rumors goin' round that place. Hey, Tony!"

"Yes?"

"Remember back in ninety-three whens someone said that Dig-Dug was datin' Cammy an' Guile got so upset?!"

Tony shivered "UPSET is not the word I would use to describe how he reacted…."

Lucy puffed out her chest, posing like the aforementioned fighter "I am NOT gonna let one of MAAAAH top fighters go out with some chain-smokin'….WHATEVERDAHECK who pops red walkin' pimples!"

Lucy laughed again, the memory becoming clearer.

"Aaaah man! Not only did the POOKAS get miffed, Dig-Dug kicked his butt right there on the floor!"

"REALLY!?" said Vanellope, eyes wide "DIG-DUG? Tiny DIG-DUG kicked GUILE'S butt?!"

"Ya don't believe me?" Lucy pointed over to the fridge, a Polaroid of Guile screaming for his life as Dig-Dug wailed on top of him on the door "Pictures are for-EV-AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"AH! That's AWESOME!" the racer exclaimed as she looked at the picture "Oh my god, is he BITIN' him?!"

"VANELLOPE."

"Lucile, I don't think it's a good idea to expose Ms. Von Schweetz to such things…." Sighed Tony "I mean, as funny as YOU found it, what if it gets out that we've told the story again?"

Lucy turned, looking bothered "They've said plenty 'bout us over the years. If they can't take it, shame on them…"

"Lucile…."

"What? Don't deny it, Tony!"

"I'm NOT, it's just-"

Ralph looked at the siblings, feeling a bit of heat coming between them as they began to argue. He knew for the longest time that as air-headed as he was, Tony was always the one attempting to keep the peace between his sister and several of the other Nicelanders, even if the result landed the man in trouble. Lucy on the other hand was much more chatty, much more prone into taking things into her own hands if they went too hard. Ralph had known this, he just didn't know HOW far things had gone with the duo.

"It's none of our business."

"But they spread OUT business EVERYWHERE!"

"We just have to ignore it! YOU have to ignore it."

"What about all the stuff they said about YOU!? I never forgot that!"

"L-Lucile, it was just stupid banter."

Lucy began to peel more apples but Vanellope took notice that she was boring into them much harder than needed "Banter was the thing that was being called STUPID."

"Um, SAY!" Ralph blurted, wanting to break the tension as quickly as possible "So who makes the apple pie again?"

"I do." Lucy said proudly "Tony-Boy here makes raspberry!"

"Wow, so Felix gets all these pies?" asked the little racer "When I first heard about this, I thought…well, Mary told me you guys cheated a lil ta make different pies so…?"

"Yeah, we kinda did." the female Nicelander smiled "I think it was back durin' our first year or so. Everyone got tired of makin'….well, PIE."

"But, I thought that's what we were makin'…."

"No, no. PIE. As in, PIXELS. Nothin' more. It looked good on tha OUTSIDE but when ya took a bite…Nothin'! NADA! Just pixels an' BORIN'!"

"It was then that we all decided to take our favorite pies and make them for Felix…" Tony smiled as he watched Vanellope place her raspberries in the dough surface "Many of us were nervous at first."

"I WASN'T!"

"Yes, I am aware YOU weren't…." laughed Tony "But going against the code like that? It was unheard of. If you thought that you'd catch flack for going against the rules NOW, it was even WORSE back then."

Vanellope looked down; she knew. What Mary had told her weighed down on her greatly.

"For a while, there was a big argument between us…" Tony continued "We all wanted to do something for Felix to show our gratitude, to show how much he meant to us for helping keep people away…."

Ralph looked down; by Tony's tone he knew he wasn't talking about him, but others. Others OUTSIDE the game.

"And the thought of going against the programmed code to make our own pies? After seeing what happened when Turbo went….well, TURBO, we were scared that by overriding the program like that, WE would cause the game to crash."

Ralph could not believe what he was hearing from the Nicelander. While he had gone on his journey to obtain his medal, the thought of causing such corruption to the game only came through when Turbo had lied to him about Vanellope, how her glitching would cause the entire game to become unplugged and she would be lost inside.

But to heard that the Nicelander themselves had done some code-switching themselves?

He never thought the little people were capable of doing such actions and why?

Because they wanted to thank Felix.

"I guess we should consider ourselves lucky that such a change didn't mean anything…." Continued the male Nicelander, creating a beautiful ribbon lace for the crust "But man. The fights that broke out."

"It was half n' half!" said Lucy, swinging a knife a little too close for comfort "Half of us wanted to do it, half didn't! It was like a war was breakin' out between us! Some of us didn't even speak to each other for a while!"

"Was it that bad?" Vanellope said.

Lucy and Tony looked at each other, looks of shame coming upon their faces.

"You could say that…."

"Yeah."

It the clicked; Vanellope realized that the feud wasn't just neighbor versus neighbor.

But it was brother versus sister as well.

"Y-you two fought didn't ya?"

Lucy said nothing, looking away. Tony rubbed the bridge of his nose, moaning.

"Yeah, yeah we did."

Ralph felt a lump form in his throat; had a split grown so great over the simple act of pleasing Felix that even brother and sister were forced apart? He knew that Tony and Lucy would always joke on each other, the sister more so than the brother, but to be so angry at each other? Did they even speak to each other during the time?

"I wanted to bake Felix a different pie…." Said Lucy.

"And I was scared." Said Tony.

"It really got to both of us…" said the sister, putting the final touches on her pie "So bad, I was askin' Gene if I could have one of the empty apartments because I didn't want to share…."

Ralph could tell just by looking at the two that this was a memory that held a lot more weight than many others. It seemed that while the two were capable of taking the brunt of insults from larger characters in the arcade, things came to a halt when the fight became PERSONAL, so close to come.

The big man knew what it felt like to disappoint a friend, to bring someone to tears through their own actions, so to hear that the two Nicelanders had gone down that path themselves.

There was still so much he wanted to know.

"W-wow…" said Vanellope, knowing too well what it felt like to fight with someone whom you considered to be your best friend "But it eventually cleared up…right?"

"Ah, of course it did!" Lucy laughed, getting back to her playful mood "We-!"

The woman stopped, looking over at the CD player. Was she waiting for something?

"WEEEE…." The woman continued, as if nothing had happened "We all finally came to an agreement. Mayor Booty Shorts said we could but for the longest time WE COULD NOT TELL ANYONE ABOUT IT! Not even Felix!"

"But how long did that last?" asked Vanellope "I mean, it couldn't have taken that long."

"We were sitting on pins and needles for a while…." Said Tony "Felix would always compliment that the pies were tasting better and such. But one day he came to us all and had a 'talk'."

"A talk?" asked Ralph.

"He found out." Lucy said, shaking her head "I don't know HOW since we all tried to keep quiet about it but maybe someone said somethin', I don't know. All I know is that once he DID find out, he told us what we did was…..well, just shouldn't have gone behind his back to change the code."

Lucy shook, clutching her arms "It was like having your dad do one of those 'I'm not angry, just DISAPPOINTED' talks. It makes it like one hundred times worse!"

"But WHO changed the code again? I thought Felix was tha only one with tha know-how ta get inside since he's tha hero." asked Vanellope.

"Kid….Felix is the HERO, yeah." Said Lucy "He DOES know the code but who ELSE is in charge here?"

Vanellope put a hand to her mouth, suddenly realizing what Lucy had meant.

"It's funny though." Said Tony "Gene wasn't there for our talk but a little after, he came back looking so frazzled."

"He did?"

"Yeah, to this day he hasn't spoken of it but, MAN! He looked AWFUL for days."

Lucy and Vanellope exchanged looks; Tony was returning to his usual air-headed self but the two girls knew better. They EXACTLY why Gene would look so glum.

Because if FELIX were upset….

Ralph began to feel nervous again. He had expected such baking would lead to more silly things. He hadn't anticipated on so many things being revealed at once, so much so that he felt the need to move onto something else before the entire mood was dragged down any further.

"Er, so what's up with all the books?" asked Ralph "O-Or films? Or….wow, you guys have a lotta things here."

"It's our stash." Lucy smiled, putting the pies in the oven "We're kinda pack-rats when it comes to books an' all that stuff. We just wish we had more space to store 'em."

"Well, I am the owner of some old book shop." Smiled Tony "They just didn't give me the shop for everything!"

"And you?" Vanellope smiled as she looked up at Lucy "Do ya run somethin'?"

"Me?" Lucy scoffed "I am a free spirit! I have nothin' ta hold me down!"

"Actually…" the older Nicelander chuckled "She's here because our 'parents' thought she was misbehaving or something at home. Thought spending time with her more responsible-!"

"A soft-headed…" Lucy mumbled.

"OLDER brother while attending school would put her in the right place!"

"An' has it?" Lucy laughed "NOPE! An' I'm glad! Mwahahaha!"

"Can I take a look?" asked Vanellope, her eyes big and bright "There's so much here! All these books! All these records and music!"

"Sure, just make sure nothing takes a tumble on you." Smiled Tony.

"Has it reached track 20 yet?"

Tony looked over at his sister "What?"

"Oh, never mind! Find somethin' ya like kiddo!" smiled the younger Nicelander "I got all the latest from Skrillex!"

"Aw, no way!"

Lucy bent down near another box, going through the entire collection "Ah! This one was from Christmas Eve, twenty-oh-nine!"

"I don't even think Snowanna has that one, and she LOVES Skrillex!"

Lucy got on her toes, doing a few steps "Who doesn't! When I hear those notes, feels like I'm floatin' on air an' can more than these choppy frames!"

Vanellope began laughing as she watched Lucy 'dance', both Tony and Ralph looking over. Being as careful as he could, Ralph looked around the apartment, an embarrassed smirk showing up on his face

"Wow….I never really thought about what ya guys have in here."

"Heh, I know it all looks kind of samey from tha outside, but windows only show HALF the truth."

Ralph had to think for a moment; on all his years of the job, he never took the time to actually LOOK into the windows or at least in a manner where he could actually see the Nicelanders' lives. For the most part, he only focused on the medals and pie but never the things that went beyond that. From his point of view, he always saw scrambling Nicelanders and breaking bricks and mortar.

But as he stood inside the apartment, finally getting a chance to see the people INSIDE, he realized that he didn't know how neighbors as well as he thought he had, as well as he told the other members of Bad Anon. Only now was he learning who made what flavor of pie and only now was he learning just how close Lucy and Tony were to each other and how a simple act of kindness they wanted to show towards Felix almost broke them apart.

There were so much more to these little butter-balls than the big man thought.

He continued to look around, the smell of baking pie joining the smell of old paper, adding to the homey touch of the small space. Before he knew what was going on, he had struck up a conversation with Tony, both men going on and on about how lame movies based on video games were while Vanellope and Lucy gushed over a box of comics.

These were just TWO of the Nicelanders who had shared the game with the wrecker for so long, who were once scared of him, now sharing their home with him.

And only days ago, it could have all been lost thanks to misunderstandings and people around the arcade who still had a long ways to go when it came to respecting their fellow game mates.

"HOLY COWTAILS! CAPTAIN N?! THE ORIGINAL BOOKS?!" gasped Vanellope, nearly shooting out of the roof "THIS-?! I-?! WHERE DID YOU FIND THESE?!"

"Plenty of tradin' n' seachin'!" smiled Lucy "We have the entire set!"

The girl was near to tears in jubilation as she held the book "This is the most RIDICULOUS story I have ever heard but it's…it's so WONDERFULLY ridiculous! I could only find SCRAPS in Sugar Rush but you have the whole set?!"

"Wait, what do ya mean by SCRAPS?" Lucy said, her brows furrowing.

"I used ta have my own collection of things back when Turbo took over the game." Vanellope said, looking at the books "But when Diet Cola mountain EXPLODED, everything inside was destroyed. Including my old home…"

"Aw nah" Lucy said, an angry look on her face "NAW NAW NAW NAW! I'm not havin' this!'

"Ma'am?"

Lucy took the large box and placed it in Vanellope's hand "It's yours!"

Ralph and Vanellope felt as if they had been blown away, Lucy standing over Vanellope with a powerful look on her face.

"B-but Ms. Lucile!"

"No, I'm not about ta let some kid go without a good set of comics!" the woman said "Specially because some jack-off-!"

"LUCILE! MANNERS!"

Lucy didn't give a single care.

"Because some JACK-OFF put ya in a cave an' then has tha NERVE ta take everythin' with him once he dies! I already had enough of this crap! It ain't happenin' again!"

Ralph looked over at Lucy; a nerve had been struck, BADLY. Vanellope on the other hand could not believe what she had been given, especially from a character whom a few days ago she declared she hated and whom could never change.

But the Nicelanders were starting to live up to their name to her. Lucy looked down at Vanellope, the smirk on her face like that of a big sister.

"Ya want any more in your collection, ya know who ta call. I love comics like this!" the woman sniffed "I know I look all stuffy and mwa-mwa-mwa in my WORK clothes but that stuff? That ain't for me!"

"An' pie bakin'?"

A bit of blush formed on Lucy's fface, the woman wringing her hands "Well…..well, I do love pies. I love makin' pies. I guess that's somethin' I can't shake."

*DING!*

The timer went off, tony going to the stove to check on the treats.

"Ah, perfection!"

The four then went to the table as the pies were laid out, Lucy getting a bottle of fresh milk from the fridge.

"Who's ready to chow down?" the woman smiled.

"I am!" said Vanellope "This looks so good an'-!"

*Ca-CLICK!*

A sound caught Ralph's ear "Tha heck was-?"

"EB EB EB! AL AL AL LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOO! TOOHS WNOD EEEEEEEEM HSAMS! BEEEEEEEEEEEE! EEEEEEIYAAAA MOOOO NAAAA!"

*STOMP STOPMP STOMP!*

"LUCIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILE!"

The group looked up, the ceiling fan shaking.

"Is that-?"

"No, no, no…" Lucy smiled, taking a bite of pie "We're here to ENJOY this moment. An' if I want to enjoy the moment ACCOMPANIED by Captain DON upstairs screamin', that is my joy to take in."

Tony shook his head "I don't understand why you rail on him, sis."

"It's in my backstory!"

"THAT IS NO EXCUSE."

*STOMP STOMP STOMP!*

"LUCY! LUCY! TURN THAT CRAP DOWN, DAMN IT!"

Vanellope gulped hard, sinking in her chair.

"Should I cover Vanellope's ears?" moaned Ralph.

"No, wait till the accent drops! It's HILARIOUS! He sounds like-"

"Lucy, this is why Don shoves you in closets…." Tony sighed, cutting a slice for Ralph and Vanellope from each pie.

"What? You want me to turn it up LOUDER? OKAY!"

"LUCIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILE!"

"Wait, wait! I THINK HE'S GONNA START SWEARIN' IN SWEDISH NOW!"

"Now I understand why she aimed the thing at the vent…"