So, this was my very first story. I came back across it two years later, and fell in love with it once more. I have an ending this time in mind, so I'll be redoing every chapter as well as writing new ones until I finally complete this story. I hate to leave things unfinished.
This story is about Vanellope and Calhoun. These two characters I don't even believe were even introduced in the movie, However I won't spoil anything. I believe this first chapter needs a bit of an explanation first. As I said earlier, I don't believe these two characters were introduced in the movie, so It begins with them still not ever properly meeting, although a decent amount of time has passed. I hope you find this story to your liking because I just had to put it down officially somewhere.
Engines roared and tires screeched as sixteen distinct, Candy-covered Go-Karts accelerated past the audience stands uprooting toffee and fudge mud in their wake. The little racers swerved between each other constantly, causing the mud to be slung all over the audience stands. Three certain individuals seated in a reserved location received a shock as the chocolate mud splattered their clothes and became embedded in their hair.
"What are ya doin' kid?! The lead is wide open! GET UP THERE!" a nine foot tall giant of a man boomed into the air.
"You're doing great Vanellope! We are all so proud! Keep up the good work!" a much smaller man cheered merrily as he viewed the action from afar.
Felix continued to beam a pearly white grin. That is until he felt two pairs of eyes bore into the back of his skull. He rotated his head behind him where his two friends were positioned and his sweet dinky grin fell into a nervous and uneasy smile. Two very un-amused faces glanced down upon his delighted features with strong reproach. The adorable little handyman smiled apologetically back up at them. The blonde just rolled her eyes.
"For Mods sake Felix," Calhoun complained as she attempted to rub out the now crusted candy from her soft blonde hair, "Why did you drag me to this sugary sink hole of hell?" She continued to bellyache at her new boyfriend's direction.
"Well Ma'am, Miss Vanellope down there-"
"Who?" Calhoun interrupted.
"You know who Miss Vanellope is, don't cha?" Felix began with certainty, but offered a look of confusion as Calhoun's eyes were blank, ready for an answer to her question.
"She is the small one down there with candy in her hair." Ralph stated nonchalantly.
"Congratulations Idiot, you just successfully described over half of the residents of this mod forsaken game." Calhoun retorted becoming slightly ornery.
"Well it is NOT my fault you are unabl-"
"RaaAALPH!" whined Felix as he pleaded his co-worker to shut up before Calhoun blows a gasket. Felix then focused his attention back on Calhoun to give her the answer she desired.
"Do you remember when we kissed on the bridge over there?" Felix continued to focus his eyes upon Calhoun while shooting his thumb in the direction of Sugar Rush's entrance.
"Wait... You guys kissed when we saved Sugar Rush?! BLECH! OH GROSS!" Ralph sputtered, causing a sharp glare from Calhoun and a passive look from Felix pleading with him to not speak anymore. Nevertheless, Ralph shut up about it.
"Look short-stack, what does this have to do-" Calhoun begun
"Wait! -What were we doing before that happened?" Felix questioned before she could.
"Shooting the living carcasses also known as Cy-Bugs into oblivion. Obviously" She matter-of-factually stated without skipping a beat. Felix sighed as she continued to miss his point.
"Okay, there was someone on the bridge with us. Remember?" Felix hinted and smiled a bit as Calhoun's eyes lit up with understanding.
"No, I… Oh. Well, maybe there was. Did she, maybe, have candy in her hair?" She trailed off as Felix and Ralph shared a look in secret.
Calhoun peered back up at the chaos before her. The clump of racers were inching closer to the finish line. The closer the end was, the more elevated the friction between those around the lead. No person from the stands were able to pinpoint who exactly was in that position anyways. Metal and candy karts grated across each other as they struggled for first. Things were beginning to become tense. The crowd's roars began to crescendo as the racers flashed by the stands one final time. Calhoun pulled Felix from under his arms into her lap and shrunk her head into the base of his neck. Shocked by this immediate display of affection, which wasn't like her at all, Felix felt honey glows rise up to heat his cheeks in a furious blush. He was nearly about to cuddle back when a wave of Toffee and Fudge slapped him across the face like a tidal wave. His eyes grew wide, his face blanked out, and his smile compressed into a tight thin line across his face as he realized his girlfriend used him as a shield. As if to apologize for her action, Calhoun rubbed her gloved hand in small circles on and around his still red cheek to wipe off the mud. She quickly planted a small peck to his face, but let her tongue roll out before she pulled her head away to have a taste of his chocolate face. She pulled back quickly and diverted her eyes away from his face when she realized how dangerously close she was to having an extreme make out session with his face. Now she was the one with honey glows flowering across her face.
Startling the trio, the announcer began babbling out unintelligible nonsense from excitement as Vanellope glitched from 5th place to 1st within inches of the finish line. Calhoun's eyes grew larger in shock. She waited to hear for an official on the loudspeaker to call out some illegal action used in the final act of the race. Instead, fans of all different flavors roared as they were breath taken by the climatic display of the day's Random Roster Race. Puzzled, she looked around her to find some other face that looked just as confused as her, yet she failed to find even one. Wasn't that some form of cheating? Did anyone even see what kind of stunt the girl pulled?
Calhoun's blue eyes landed on the four racers that should have finished before the girl. They had similar expressions of irritation and anger that stood out on their small faces. One of them tossed their helmet off their head violently and threw it to the ground. Calhoun leaned forward and wrapped her fingers on the railing in front of her to get a closer look. She was able to read the words "I can't believe this happened again" on the lips of the racer with white hair wrapped around her face. Her grip tightened around the candy cane colored bar around her hand. What was going on here?
To her left, both Ralph and Felix sprung in a tight hug, fresh tears flowing from Ralph's face displaying his immediate happiness from the unexpected win of little Vanellope Von Schweets. Felix wriggled in his arms in a desperate attempt to grab oxygen. Calhoun glanced at the sappy sight beside her and gave a strong scowl in their direction. Strong enough to bring concerned looks in her direction.
"Don't get your panties in a wad ladies. That cute little trick cavity kid pulled down there isn't enough to pull out the water works you bunch of pussy-willows." Calhoun seethed. Her eyes cut in their direction like sharp daggers. Ralph let Felix slide out of his grasp as the little handyman coughed to fill air back in his lungs. She let her gaze turn back to the racetrack to avoid their concerned look.
Felix was nearly about to ask what was wrong, but a patch of bright, blue light covered the trio's features. They raised their hands over their face to shield their eyes. A mass of coding sputtered in front of them violently and massed together like atoms to form a tiny physique.
"DID YA SEE ME?! DID YA SEE ME?! OH SWEET MOTHER OF MONKEY MILK THAT WAS SO SWEET!" Vanellope jumped into Ralph's arms. He and Felix cheered along with the girl as she bubbled up with excitement. Calhoun recognized the winner of the race before her and let her face darken with irritation.
"DID YOU SEE THE LOOK ON TAFFYTA'S FACE AS I WHIPPED PAST HER! I WAS ALL LIKE-ZOOM, VROOM, WIIUUSH, BLASAPT." Vanellope sounded out random plane and car noises as Ralph seated her atop his shoulders.
"Those babies don't even know what hit them I'm so good." Vanellope shrugged off her victory as if she could have done it in her sleep. Ralph and Felix laughed along with her.
"You know Ralph, I bet you two gumdrops I could win blindfolded next time. These losers make winning so easy. They don't even put up a fight." Vanellope gloated.
That sentence was Calhoun's final straw.
"You want a challenge pipsqueak? Have you ever tried winning without cheating? Have you ever even won once without that little superpower of yours?" She snapped at the young girl who looked at her in surprise.
Felix and Ralph gave her severely upset and confused looks. Ralph held onto the girl atop his shoulders, knowing she may jump off to confront Calhoun. That would end up turning really bad, really quick. Despite the hold Ralph had on her, Vanellope glitched out of his arms to stand before the aggravated woman.
"What the? Who are you? Who do you think you are?" Vanellope started.
Felix leaned to whisper to Ralph, "Looks like neither of them remembered the other." He said as he tried to make light of the tension in front of them.
"You gonna answer me tiny?" Calhoun tilted her head. "Or are you too afraid to admit that you can't win without your crutch?"
"I CAN WIN WITHOUT MY GLITCH!" Vanellope tensed up, she began to shout.
"Have you though?" Calhoun prompted her to answer.
"Ye-"Vanellope began, but she couldn't think of a time she raced without using her glitch. "Uh, I- I.." She looked to Ralph to back her up.
Ralph recognized the look Vanellope gave him and he attempted to end the tension choking the air.
"Look Calhoun, what does it matter? She won fair and sq-"
Calhoun jumped up in response
"It is anything but fair, Ralph!" She looked at him in confusion. "Did you guys not even see what happened!? Why does no one think her little party trick is some big cheat?!" Calhoun asked earnestly. She was exasperated from not understanding why everyone was okay with this.
"I DIDN'T CHEAT" Vanellope retorted. Calhoun looked down at the kid once more in irritation.
"Kid, if it wasn't for your parlor trick you would have finished fifth, not first." Her anger bubbled close to the surface.
"So, the kid has a special talent. Why is this such a big deal to you?" Ralph cut in. Calhoun shook her head as if the answer was as obvious as the color of the sky.
"There are racers down there who actually deserve to win. They are the ones who race fairly. They play right. What she does, it isn't any bit fair."
"People who have to cheat their way to the top" She cut her eyes at Vanellope. "They are going to get what is coming to them eventually, so why not save her the time."
"TAMORA!" Felix huffed, absolutely dumbfounded she would utter such words. Calhoun was greatly displeased at the sound of her first name, but decided that it could wait for later. Vanellope was becoming as red as a cherry and tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes.
Vanellope stuttered, trying to think up some clever retort, attempting to match the venom that surrounded every work the Sargent spoke, but falling a bit short. Vanellope began to become more irritated by the second.
"What is YOUR PROBLEM?! HUH? If you are so mad about those losers doing what they do best, then why don't you go join them? No one wants you up here anyways!" Vanellope scrunched her face up at the lady as she nudged her thumb at the other racers huddled at the track below. Calhoun leaned closer to the girl ready to set her straight.
"Oh, so this is the thanks I get for saving your life and your game when the Cybugs were crawling around. You should thank me you little Sour Patch brat. I see you can't thank as well as you can't drive." Calhoun spat, pressing her index finger against her tiny nose in a harsh manner. This caused Vanellope to flush with anger being talked down upon by someone she wasn't even properly acquainted to.
"Well Ralph saved us, I should thank him instead of a big meanie butt like YOU!" Vanellope seethed through her tightly clenched teeth.
"Are you kidding me?! The big palooka was the one who started the whole mess in the first place. Don't you know anything kid?" She stated.
"HEY! DON"T BRING ME INTO YOUR ARGUMENT! "Ralph bellowed.
"Maybe we should all just take things down a notch." Felix jumped in. The tension was nearly too much for him to take. Calhoun continued to argue despite the warning.
"Well you shouldn't have asked for it by nearly KILLING US ALL! You can be so STUPID. I don't even think you realize how bad things could have ended up if Felix and I were not there to clean up YOUR MESS!" Calhoun retorted. She stopped short to look at her ankles to find the small kid pounding her balled up fists at the armor on her thighs.
"DON'T TALK TO HIM THAT WAY YOU BIG JERK!" Cried Vanellope. Fresh tears were pouring from her eyes from the amount of anger this person made her feel.
"Get off me you little Cavity!" Snapped Calhoun as she tried to push her away. Vanellope continued to fight against her pushing hands. Felix had enough. He opened his mouth to stop the commotion, but Ralph, out of frustration, slammed his fists violently into the stands before a word could be said and without a thought about the consequences. Felix fell flat on his face as the popcorn stand they were seated upon shook violently. The tremors tore the girls apart as the stand nearly toppled over.
Vanellope's balled fists opened in hopes of grabbing at anything. She teetered beside the edge, swinging her arms in a frantic motion as she attempted to balance on its side. She tried to glitch away, but she couldn't get her footing right. There was a long way to fall and she knew it. Calhoun pulled herself back onto her feet and flipped her hair out of her eyes in enough time to see Vanellope. Vanellope gave a small and extremely frightened yelp as lost her fight to stay balanced and she toppled over the side.
Calhoun's heart leapt to her throat as the small girl dropped from the side. Without hesitation, she pushed her feet off the unsteady place beneath her feet and dove headfirst over the edge of the stands.
As they were dropping to the ground, Calhoun threw her arm at Vanellope and grabbed her leg to reel her in tight against her armored chest as she curled herself into a ball over her still in mid-air. Vanellope wrapped herself tightly to her torso, as if life itself depended on it. She found it very hard to breathe for a few moments as Calhoun's arms pressed against her back and time began to slow.
CrrRRAACKK
Vanellope's mind blanked. Flashes of light blinked rapidly into her vision from around Calhoun's arm wrapped across the back of her head and waist. Then the light seemed to just stop. Instead, everything became darker, but her stomach continued to flip. She was still falling. She held onto Calhoun even tighter.
Calhoun's back then hit the ground. She took the blunt force of the fall and it left her breathless. Vanellope rolled away from Calhoun's grasp. She couldn't breathe when she laid on her back, so she flipped onto her stomach. Calhoun pressed her hands into the ground as she entered into a coughing fit to get air back into her lungs. Her fingers curled in closer to her palm as she shivered into her first gasp of air once more. She coughed again when the dust around her entered her lungs.
She gazed around through the dusty darkness that curled around her wrists when she finally got her bearings. As her eyes adjusted to the lack of light around her, they focused on a darker shape a few feet from where she kneeled. The kid lay unconscious beside a larger rock embedded near the center of the…room. As Calhoun's eyes adjusted, they began to take in shapes such as rocks, a thin layer of dirt, and walls. When her mind clicked into place with what she was seeing, Calhoun quickly threw her head back to look at the sky. She winced in pain from the sudden movement and opened her eyes back up. What she found instead was one small beam of light glowing gently on both of the girl's features. She felt her heart fall from her throat into the lowest pits of her stomach.
Turning her attention back to the limp form to her right, she crawled over to the girl to make sure she was okay. Calhoun reached up her hand over the girl's head and hesitated before she ran her delicate fingers through the girl's raven hair to check for bleeding or serious injuries. When she was absolutely sure that there was none, she leaned her body over the girl's and whispered above her head.
"..id...kid...HEY WAKE UP!" A nearby voice shouted a bit too harshly.
Vanellope jolted upright and smacked her skull right into Calhoun's own. Pain shot through her forehead as her brain battered around for a moment
"OH MY MOD! WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" Calhoun jumped backwards and landed on her back once more, wailing in pain and rubbing her forehead in small circles.
"Wha?!-What Happened?! Where, What, Why, How?" Vanellope spat out faster than a motorboat Calhoun pressed a gloved hand over her lips to shut the child up. When she had obtained her attention the Sargent rolled upright into a seating position with her legs crossed looking intensely at Vanellope, all the while she pointed a delicate finger upwards. Vanellope's eyes trailed up slowly from her finger to the sky. What she saw was no sky at all, but a ceiling.
A small hole of light shed just enough for Vanellope to make out distinct features on Calhoun's obviously upset face.
"We fell." Calhoun stared blankly at the girl, intending on the young racer to understand the severity of their situation.
"Yeah, I know." Vanellope stated a bit confused. Calhoun stopped her as she locked their eyes and repeated.
"No, we fell further than the ground." She pointed around this time. Vanellope could faintly make out a few shapes and formations around her. Vanellope's eyes grew as she continued to peer to her surroundings. Slabs, alcoves, rock walls. Her heart sank as she now realized Calhoun's anxiety, and the severity of their situation.
They were underground.
