Characters of Wreck it Ralph do not belong to me. They are property of Disney!

Chapter 1

Time at the arcade always seemed to pass like nothing at all. Kid come and go, while most games stay unchanged. They had lost some games over the past 5 years, but that was the life of video games. As they lose popularity, malfunction, or just better versions arise, new games come into replace them. It had been a few years since the whole Tur-bug incident in Sugar rush and everything has pretty much gone back to normal. Well, almost everything that is.

A lot of games have found a newfound respect for their systems 'bad guys' after Ralph paved the way and brought to new light that they're not really a bad guy, it was just they're job. Characters no longer fled in fear at the sight of one of these villains, though some were still wary of them.

The real thing to fear, were the only true 'bad guy', the Cy-bugs of Hero's Duty. These mindless creatures could infect any game to the point of it being demolished, and by fault unplugged. Since the episode in Sugar rush, and a certain couple making the characters aware of the dangers there has not been an incident since.

The gamescape of Hero's Duty was desolate, acrid smoke billowing through the air. Despite the environment, this was home for the solders of this game. Waiting in the briefing terminal for another quarter alert, the Sergeant sighed, running a hand though her short blonde hair. Today had been a long day, and she couldn't wait for it to end. It was a relief for her and her soldiers when she heard a shout from off in the distance, past the viewing screen.

"All clear!" It was the voice of one of the games towards the front of Litwaks arcade, signaling the man himself had just left and locked the building. Standing up straight, with a slight scowl on her face Calhoun hung her helmet on the wall beside her before turning to address her men. "Alright men, that's all for today. But remember! Even though the arcade is closed, that doesn't mean our job is finished. "Her tone was sharp and to the point, much like it always was when she was addressing them. "Markowski! I did not dismiss anyone" She shouted as the soldier in the back tried to leave prematurely. "Just for that, you're on guard duty tonight. I expect you to not leave your post and radio me at the slightest disturbance. The rest of you are dismissed! I better see you all he at 1400 hours alert and ready!" With her normal speech finished, she strode down the terminal that would lead to game central station.

She didn't take more than two steps out into the main area then she heard a familiar sound that made a small smile spread across her lips. Turning to her left she saw a small, much less proportionate handy man bouncing towards her grinning ear to ear. As he landed beside her, she pushed the bill of his hat down over his face. "So, you're actually on time tonight, civilian?" Her tone was much softer then when addressing her troops, though there was still an air of command in it as she smirked down at him.

Fixing his hat, he smiled up at her. "Yes ma'am! Are you ready to head on home?" There was an emotion in his voice, a bit of hesitance in his accent that caught her interest. Something in his eyes that she didn't often see that caused her to frown a bit. But that could wait until they got home.

Home. It wasn't a hard decision to make once they were married. It was a rarity that she allowed him into Hero's Duty, due to the all too real danger. So most of their time together was spent in Niceland or one of the other arcade games like Sugar Rush to visit friends. They made their home originally in Felix's penthouse apartment, but it was quickly apparent that would not work for long. The apartments were the perfect size for the Nicelanders, but given her realistic proportions, Calhoun would often hit her head on the ceiling or door jams. The furniture didn't work all that well for her either. Her feet would hang over the edge of the bed, and she would have to spread her feet out in front of her to sit on any of the chairs or sofas.

She never complained though, she was happy that she found him, and that they were living they're nights in a much less threatening environment. It wasn't long before Felix decided they needed a larger place, for more reasons than one. With the help of the handy power equipment provided by the game and his co-worker/friend Ralph, they had built a nice one story house just outside of the view of the public. The home was built to accommodate her taller build, but Felix still felt comfortable in the home.

Living in Niceland had perks that she still, after 5 years, was getting used to. No guards, no locking the door. Those were foreign concepts to her due to her programming. She would still carry a gun with her when she left her post, but has been getting in the habit, more to Felix's prompting then to her own choice, of leaving her riffle at Hero's Duty.

Being the gentleman that he was, as they arrived home after the short railcar trip from the station, he opened the door and stepped aside to allow her through the entryway first. Moving into the house she let out a sigh, stretching her arms up over her head. It really had been a long day and it was good to be home. She headed over to a small closet where she proceeded to remove her heavy metal armor, revealing the still military issue outfit underneath. She wore the white wife beater and khaki pants issued for downtime wear, her dog tags dangling from around her neck that was now visible with her armor removed.

Shutting the door to the closet softly, she turned to her husband with a smile only to have it vanish quickly. As she turned she took in the sight of her husband, staring out the window to their home towards the screen to the outside world. She knew that look. She saw that look on many characters faces as they contemplated life inside a video game. None of them knew how long they're games would last. How long could one game stay popular? What happened if they malfunctioned? With luck, the residents of the game made it to game central station before that happened, but that didn't happen every time.

Closing the distance between the two of them, she took hold of his hat, sliding it off his head before kneeling beside him so that she could look into his eyes. "What's wrong, love?" Her voice was uncharacteristically soft, though she found herself using that tone more often over these years, though only around him.

His round eyes gazed up at her, moist as he turned to face her. "…Its nothing….It's just.." He sighed, looking out the window once more. "…Our game..It's getting older. We've been going for 35 years. I'm just a worried wart I guess…" He frowned as he spoke.

Knitting her brow she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him towards her. She too had noticed how worn his game was looking. Paint losing its color and peeling. Sure, kids still played it, but how long would that last for a retro game like Fix it Felix, Jr? How long did any of them have for that matter? The thought crossed her mind from time to time, like a Cybug gnawing at the back of her mind. "You're worried about that again? Well, buck up soldier. Your game has been around for 35 years! And you're still popular with the players. What is there to worry about?" She did it again, always doing so when things got emotional. Shutting out her own worries and emotions and speaking harsher them she meant to. When he looked away from her she sighed, moving her hand to his chin she turned his face to look at her once more. "Sorry" She spoke softer now, placing a kiss to his nose. "That worry is all too real, I know that. It can happen to any game..but yours has done so well for so long; you shouldn't let yourself worry too much…"

He smiled a little at that, leaning into her as he wrapped his arms around her. "…I guess your right… It's just…I don't know.. Our game seems to be, I don't know..Acting a bit strange is all." His voice was quiet, worry still laced in his tone. That was one thing that made it easier for her. She wasn't all that emotional of a woman, thanks to her lovely back story, but since he wore his heart on his sleeves, it left little guessing on her part as to what he was feeling.

That comment worried her. A game acting strange was no laughing matter. When games were broken or glitching, they were unplugged. Game over, permanently. "What do you mean acting strange? How long has this been going on?" The authority entered her voice again as she stood up, looking out the window in front of him at the landscape of Niceland. It looked normal enough, but she wasn't present during game play. Was something going on that she wasn't noticing? Was she getting soft? No, she couldn't allow that to happen. She wouldn't allow anything to happen to this game, or more importantly to Felix.

"I don't know. It's only happened just a few times. Maybe I'm just imagining it…" He rubbed a gloved hand against the back of his neck. "When we have a user, sometimes, I don't know, I don't move right. At least, not as they intend. I've been losing more often than winning lately, and I don't think its they're fault…"

She felt as though her blood ran cold at his words, fear clenching her heart. Fear was not an emotion she ever felt. Not in the whole Turbo incident, not in her world. Fear was nothing but a four letter word. But as she heard his words, truth ringing in them, she felt fear for the first time. It couldn't be. Not his game. Not now. She wouldn't allow it! Kneeling down next to him once more, she placed her hands firmly on his shoulders as she gazed into his blue eyes. "Nothing will happen to you…Do you hear me? I won't allow it!" Leaning down, she rested her forehead against his, causing him to smile slightly.

"Now come on, short stuff." She smirked, taking his hand as she stood. "I think we could both use a little 'R&R'" As she most often made him do, his face turned red at her suggestion. So old fashioned and Innocent. But that was part of what she liked about him, not to mention he was one of the few men that wasn't afraid of her. "..Y-Yes ma'am"