Game Central Station
Vanellope Von Sweetz stood on the side of the pole holding up a gigantic exit sign, informing the viewer that 'parting is such sweet sorrow'. The tips of her right fingers grazed gently against the blue, holographic substance that separated Sugar Rush from Game Central Station—that had so long separated the little girl from the rest of the world. She had come to this gate occasionally, to start into the holographic gate that went up a rainbow bridge. She could even remember the first time she had come here—coming and banging mercilessly against the hologram with tiny fists.
It was different, today.
Today, the gaggle of sweet-themed racers watched her quietly from a distance. Candlehead, Taffyta, Rancis, Gloyd…all of them. They didn't dare come closer; if anything, her fellow racers did their best to stay their distance. All of them knew that this was going to be either a huge success or a massive failure; it was all up to Vanellope Von Sweetz on how to take either side of the extreme.
The girl swallowed; she couldn't believe herself. Not only was she acting SCARED, she was acting scared in front of her subjects. Vanellope figured that just was not how a ruler should hold themselves. Then again, Vanellope really didn't know much about being a ruler—president or princess, it had certainly been something thrust upon her suddenly. But no matter what she was couldn't determine the will of her programming or the will of the holographic wall next to her.
The racers were whispering hurriedly to each other, gathering around each other. One of them shrieked as their hand stuck to Taffyta's headpiece; the latter smacked her hand against the offending limb and glared at the offender. Rancis shrunk away from her endless mirth. "You fools, how could you touch my hat?! I'm NOT prying any of you off it again."
"Not my fault it's so sticky." Rancis muttered.
"Guys, guys." Candlehead waved her arms back and forth then pointed to Vanellope. The girl was now standing in front of the exit from Sugar Rush, staring blankly ahead. "Shouldn't we be helping the Princess?"
"President." They all corrected.
"Uh, yeah." Taffyta rolled her eyes and stuck her lollypop back in her mouth. "But what are we supposed to do? Like, PUSH her?"
"Sure, why not?" Gloyd asked.
"Stupid, we can't push a princess!" Rancis snapped.
"It's either that or watch her stare like an idiot at that exit all day." Taffyta drawled. "She wants to go over there, but our fearless leader is suddenly filled with horror."
"Well, I can kind of understand why…" Candlehead said uncomfortably. "She has a lot of…well, friends out there, doesn't she?"
"Well, duh." Taffyta said. She had no elaboration, though; Candlehead was completely right. Thanks to the King Candy incident, Vanellope had a much easier time leveling with programs from other games over leveling with her subjects. "So? We pushing her or what?"
"Yeah." Gloyd said. Rancis rolled up his sleeves hesitantly, and Candlehead covered her face with her hands. The rest of the racers watched the chattering four in curiosity. Finally, they tromped up behind Vanellope; Gloyd placed a hand on the princess's left shoulder, and Taffyta placed one on the girl's right shoulder. The black haired girl looked at them curiously, almost suspiciously but the pair smiled sweetly.
"Bye, President." They said in unison as they shoved her past the holographic boarder.
Vanellope landed on the other side with a loud shout; her tiny hands hoisted her body up. Looking around, she realized she was staring at the exit gate…from the other side. The girl covered her mouth in shock as the other racers waved back; a few of them wore smug expressions, which the princess chose to ignore. Instead, she turned around to look at the rainbow road curving up into the station.
Without looking back, she dashed up the station. Vanellope had never been in Game Central Station; the glitches in her caused by Turbo had forced her to remain in Sugar Rush. Now that the game had been reset, her 'glitch' had turned into the special skill it had originally been intended as. Now…now Vanellope Von Sweetz, princess slash president of Sugar Rush, could finally enter Game Central Station.
And she couldn't be happier.
As she bounced off the trolley and emerged into the long hallway, Vanellope couldn't help but stare in wonder. For her entire life, the girl had been surrounded by a saccharine and candy coated world; this new place was sleek and modern. Entrances lined the hall; each one went to its very own game. All sorts of characters that Vanellope had only caught a glimpse of from the console were now in full sight. She bounded down the halls in delight; this was incredibly exciting to her. However, she quickly calmed herself down and lightly hopped down the halls to check the entrances. A small, immature snicker snuck out when she skipped past Hero's Duty.
Finally, she skidded to a stop with a demented smile on her face; glancing up at the clock in the middle of the station and tuning out the voice of Sonic on repeat, she assured herself she had time. The conductor escorted her into the mostly empty train; only a few, awkwardly-moving round programs sat there. They smiled uneasily at her. Not many people visited their game—usually it was just the characters from the game, going in and out. It was especially odd seeing such a small girl fidgeting in excitement.
"Now leaving Game Central Station for Fix-It Felix Jr." A monotone voice drawled as the cart jolted to a start. It certainly wasn't interesting to Vanellope; her cart went ten times the speed, so this train was boring beyond all belief to her. But she could tie down what little patience she had, especially as she began to see the light of the game in the near distance. It jolted to a stop again and she hopped out energetically.
"Little girl, are you lost?" One of the Nicelanders asked as they jumped off the train after her. Vanellope looked at the round woman in confusion. "Not many characters come to visit this place, don'tcha know. Especially since there isn't any event scheduled tonight. The 30th anniversary party was two weeks ago."
"Yeah! And I'm sorry for missing it." Vanellope smiled brightly. The Nicelander looked at her companion in confusion. "If ya don't mind, I'm in a bit of a hurry. Could you maybe direct me to where I can find Ralph?"
"Ralph? OH!" The Nicelander lady giggled. "You must be his little friend from that go-carting game. He lives over with the adoptees."
"Cubert and all those homeless ones, right?"
"They aren't homeless anymore, dear! We adopted them in to be part of our game." The Nicelander chuckled, pointing lazily at a row of buildings in the near distance. Vanellope nodded and bounded towards the settlement; she didn't even bother to tell the lady that she knew about the adoptees. The girl had much more important things to do as she skidded to a halt next to the row of houses. Raising a hand up, she slammed her first against the door.
"Who IS it…" A half-asleep, mildly annoyed voice sounded from inside.
"You must open the door for a president, Stinkbrain!" The girl called enthusiastically. There was a bit of a rustling sound from within, and a few bricks accidentally got smashed out of the wall. "Ya better watch out there, ya don't want to knock yer whole house down!"
"Vanellope?" The door finally opened with a jolt, Ralph looking at her in wonder. She smiled, almost shyly, and waved a bit. "You're outside of Sugar Rush! But the glitch—"
"Special skill programmed into my character." Vanellope finished. "I found out tonight that I can leave the game! After the reset, that problem was corrected—my error was completely patched up! I really can leave the game, Stinkbrain!"
"You can? You CAN!" Ralph picked up the little girl and placed her on his broad shoulder. Vanellope giggled excitedly. "I'm proud of you, kid. Tell you what. Tappers just installed an upgrade—family zone area for a bonus level. Why don't I get you a burger? You deserve it."
Vanellope squealed; she had never had food other than sweets, and had wondered for a long time what such a thing could taste like. Her tiny feet beat excitedly against Ralph's shoulder. "Yes, that sounds great! Yes, yes, yes!"
As she sat bouncing excitedly on the massive man's shoulders, she couldn't help but think how nice it was to not be trapped.
Sugar Rush was nice, but the world outside it…
Vanellope hugged against her friend affectionately. The world outside Sugar Rush was just as nice.