Disclaimer: I do not own Tangled or Wreck-It Ralph.
Wreck-It Ralph Gets Tangled
Chapter 1: Bad Guys
^Corona Castle^
"Princess, the children are here for the story reading." A guard peered into the castle library where Rapunzel was getting everything ready for one of her many special deeds. Children all over Corona were so entranced by Rapunzel's telling of her adventure with Flynn, Pascal, and Maximus that it gave her the idea to read stories to some of the kingdom's children.
Rapunzel stopped what she was doing and turned to the guard. "Thank you, send them in. I'll be ready in a second." The guard nodded and left the princess. Okay, mental checklist. Story, check. Chair, check. Snacks, check. She looked over at Pascal. Loyal companion, check. Everything was in order.
"The princess!" A voice cried out. Rapunzel turned around to see two dozen little children accompanied by two guards.
"Hi, princess!" "Your highness!" "I can't wait for you to read a story!" "Me too! What are we reading?"
The children's energy was infectious, Rapunzel found herself giggling at their excitement. "Thank you sirs, I'll take it from here. If we need anything, we'll let you know." She told the guards. Both guards nodded and closed the library doors as they left. Then Rapunzel looked to the children. "Hi, everybody, I'm sure you're excited to hear me tell a story." The children grinned and some even started to bounce with excitement. "So let's get into the story, hmm?" She teased playfully.
"Yeah, let's read the story!" "Come on, start it!"
"Alright," Rapunzel sat in the chair she usually used for story time and gestured to Pascal. "In case you're not familiar, this is my best friend, Pascal. He's a chameleon." To emphasize her introduction, Pascal crawled up onto her shoulder and turned purple to blend in with his master's dress. Once the children were impressed, Pascal reverted back to his normal green and hopped back onto the table beside Rapunzel's chair. Rapunzel picked up the book on her lap and opened it up. "Let's begin…"
Once upon a time, there was a magical kingdom called Niceland. Not only did people inhabit it but also all sorts of creatures. There were people made of candy, animals that could walk and talk, and many other citizens. The kingdom was ruled by a king and a queen, two beloved leaders. What many didn't know was that there were those who wanted to take the kingdom for themselves. One day, a princess was born and the kingdom celebrated the wonderful addition to the royal family. However, one was not celebrating, in fact he hated the new princess and he hated the monarchy. They were in his way of power and he was determined to do something about it. When the princess was just a few days old, in the middle of the night, this mysterious man snuck into the castle and snatched the baby from her room without a trace. The kingdom was saddened by this sudden occurrence, most saddened were the king and queen. After weeks of searching, everybody decided it was time to give up and face the truth that their new princess would not be seen again. Everybody moved on and tried to get things back to the way they were. This lasted a few years before the king and queen were mysteriously murdered by poison. In response to this sudden change, the kingdom crowned the royals' closest advisor as the new king. His name was King Candy from then on. King Candy tried to cheer everyone up by creating the Sugar Rush racing circuit. This seemed to work as the kingdom went back to being cheerful and praised their new king for his actions. What the citizens didn't know was that King Candy had dark secrets that select few knew. King Candy wasn't worried, there was no one that could possibly expose his secrets let alone find out. How wrong he was because things started to unravel and it started with a misunderstood citizen named Ralph.
^Tapper's Tavern^
Ralph groaned. "I don't get it. Why do those guys see me as a bad guy? Sure I'm a bit clumsy but that doesn't make me a bad guy. I may wreck things on accident but I've never done it on purpose unless someone asked me to." The large man was at a table with others who have been outcast by the kingdom residents.
"Ralph, people just don't take time to get to know us. We're different, they feel too scared to connect with someone different." Clyde said. Clyde was an orange ghost with siblings that were also shunned by others.
"Yeah, they are so scared of Zombie that when they see Zombie, they run away." Zombie, who actually was a zombie, added. He didn't really eat brains and bones all that much but when he did, it was always from a dead body, never a live one.
Zangief, a hairy man in red shorts and boots, shrugged. "They stay away from Zangief just because of hairy pits and out of fear of being squeezed between Zangief's thighs."
Ralph sighed and sat up straighter. "Okay but that doesn't excuse the fact that they don't want anything to do with us. We're people of the place too so they should at least give us something like the time of day. I'm just glad Felix does otherwise I would go crazy."
Clyde nodded his head (er, body) at Ralph's statement. "Yes, family is a good thing to have Ralph. And don't worry, it's not just Felix that talks to you. We do too, family goes beyond those related by blood."
Ralph smiled a little smile. "Thanks, Clyde." The ghost as well as the others at the table nodded. "Well, I should get going. Felix said there's a party going on at his house tonight and I'm invited. Hopefully, that will help my image." He stood up and prepared to leave the tavern.
"Good luck!" Eggman grumbled. He didn't think a party invite would get Ralph's reputation patched up.
Ignoring that last hint of doubt, Ralph continued on. "Bye, guys! See you around!" He waved. As he went to the door, he passed by Tapper. "Thanks, Tapper!" He waved to the bartender.
"You're welcome, Ralph." Tapper responded.
Out into the open air, Ralph breathed in the smell of the forest. It was nicer than being in Niceland itself. Curious about Felix's party, Ralph wondered what it would be like this time as he walked down the path that would take him to the bridge that led to Niceland. Soon he reached the bridge and saw Surge Protector at his station. "Hey, Surge!" The wrecker waved to the guard.
Surge looked up from his clipboard and glared. "Ralph…" He muttered with distaste.
Used to Surge's dislike for him, Ralph lumbered forward across the bridge. It was getting to be later in the evening and that meant the children were heading inside for dinner and getting ready for bed. Sugar Rush was coming up again and the children were always riled up about it. Even though it was late evening, the pathways were still bustling with business and fun. Then Ralph came up to a fairly sizable house and music could be heard through the windows. "Guess Felix started up the party already." Ralph mused. Lightly, Ralph pounded his knuckle on the door.
^Inside Felix's house^
"Great party, Felix! This is one of your best ones." Deanna commented to a short man in blue workman's clothes.
Felix's cheeks blushed. "Thanks, Deanna, it was nice that everyone could come. I hope a few more people show up." Hopefully Ralph would arrive soon. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Oh good, more guests." He brightened. "Gene, could you get that?" The handyman called to his friend.
"Sure, Felix!" Gene called back. The man was even shorter than Felix. He skipped over to the door and pulled it open to see Ralph in the doorway. "Aaaah!" Gene slammed the door shut. "It's Ralph! He's at the door!" Gene screeched at the other party guests. Some of the other guests became startled and started worrying.
Felix waved his arms in the air to try to get attention. "Calm down everyone, I'm sure Ralph is only here to join us in the fun."
Gene scoffed. "More like wreck the fun. Don't let him in, Felix."
"Hey, don't be rude to the guy." Sonic jumped in. "He lives in Niceland too. He has as much right to come to the party as we do."
Mary cringed in fear. "But, Sonic, he only wrecks everything. I haven't forgotten how he wrecked my cake at my thirteenth birthday party."
Q*Bert rolled his eyes in annoyance and made some noises, the only way he knew how to communicate. "That was an accident years ago. Let it go already!"
Mary gasped in shock. "Q*Bert!"
"I would rather let that stupid zombie, Zombie, eat my brain than share a party with Ralph." Gene retorted.
Felix crossed his arms. "Gene, if you don't shape up that attitude soon, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. It's not nice to exclude others like that." Gene rolled his eyes and huffed. At the door, Felix opened the door and stepped outside. "Sorry about that, Ralph. You know Gene."
"Yeah," Ralph sighed. "Maybe I should just leave. They clearly don't want me in there." He said.
Felix gasped for a moment. "What? No, no, Ralph that's not it. In fact, Q*Bert, Sonic, and I spoke up in your defense. People do want you at the party." Ralph looked away, feeling unwanted. "Look I invited you to this party and you came so you might as well come inside and have some cake."
Ralph sighed again. "Felix, I don't know."
"Come on, brother. Just stay long enough to have a piece of cake and then you can leave if you wish. If you back out now then you won't have a chance for people to try to get to know you." Felix reasoned.
Felix's brother mulled over it for a little bit. "Alright, fine, but just long enough to have one piece of cake." He said sternly.
Relieved that Ralph was going to at least try, Felix pushed open the door and stepped back inside. "Make room, everyone, Ralph's coming in." Instantly, several party guests scrambled away from the door to avoid being near Ralph.
"Hi, everybody," Ralph waved to the others. "Hey, Sonic! Hey, Q*Bert!" He addressed the two. Sonic and Q*Bert greeted him back.
"Hello, Ralph…" Gene hissed. "What are you doing here? This party is for invited guests only."
Ralph shrugged. "I was invited. One of the rare times I was invited too so I wasn't going to turn this down. Why are you here? Besides making others fear other citizens for ridiculous reasons." He glared at the small man.
Gene huffed. "You? Invited? That's a laugh, who in their right mind would invite a party wrecker like you?"
"I would." Felix answered. Gene gawked at him and several gasps were heard around the room. "What? He's my friend, you really expect me to treat him like that." He replied. There was awkward silence as everybody processed Felix's sentence.
Finally, Sonic had enough. Quietly he dashed into Felix's kitchen and returned with a cake in hand. "How about we have some of that cake, guys?" He asked the crowd. Felix nodded and Mary went to slice the cake up for everyone.
As slices were handed out, Gene decided to open his mouth again. "Don't give a piece to Ralph, he'll just end up smashing it. He doesn't deserve a slice anyway."
Felix gasped. "Gene! I thought I told you to mind your manners."
"Yeah, not cool dude!" Sonic added.
Q*Bert bleeped again. "Quit picking on him, you jerk."
"I'm just telling the truth." Gene stated. "Ralph destroys everything he touches. We're all better off not being near him so he doesn't end up killing us." The other party guests gasped in horror. Pac-Man, who had been gobbling up abandoned cake and drinks paused and beeped in shock.
That did it for Ralph. Now he was seeing red. Others noticed how mad Ralph was looking and took steps back.
"Gene…" Deanna squeaked in terror.
Felix too saw Ralph's rage. If something wasn't done about this soon he would blow. "Gene… I really think you should take that back."
"Nope, not taking it back. I'm right. He claims that all the wrecking he does is accidental but I say that's a lie. His wrecking is a hazard to everyone." Gene responded.
Ralph's breathing got heavier and angrier. "Jiminy jaminy…" Felix pulled down his cap and covered his ears.
The misunderstood guy roared. "What is your problem, Gene! What is your problem with me, huh? Why are you so intent on making sure no one tries to be my friend? I'm just like you all are. Sure I may be bigger and stronger but that's no excuse to make me seem like a criminal. If you would just give me a chance for once I could show you that I'm not a bad guy. I'm a good guy." He raged.
Gene didn't back down. "You're not a good guy. You're a bad guy who destroys every good thing someone else does. You're just like all those other freaks that hang out in the forest. Ghosts, zombies, giant fire-breathing reptiles, you, all of you are outsiders never meant to be part of this kingdom. Face it, you could never make a friend and you certainly could never do something good."
"Yes, I can." Ralph challenged.
"No you can't."
"YES, I can."
"NO, you can't."
"YES, I CAN!" Ralph instinctively raised a fist and slammed it into the floor, making Felix's floor crack. No one dared to utter a word after what they saw.
The short man that hated Ralph with all of his existence looked down at the crack on Felix's floor. "That proves my point. You're a raging monster and that's that."
Just then, Ralph noticed what he had done. He lifted his arm back up and pulled it back. "Just wait, Gene. I'll show you. I'll show everyone that I can be a good guy." Without a word, Ralph left the house.
After Ralph left, Gene turned his attention to the rest of the party. "Come on, let's get back to the party." The other party guests stared speechlessly at him.
"The only place you're getting back to is your house." Felix remarked. A rarity for Felix, a scowl was on his face and his arms were crossed. Sonic and Q*Bert appeared the same. Gene turned his attention to Felix and saw how he was. "I'm sorry Gene but I'm not going to tolerate that. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"You're kicking me out?" The short man asked incredulously. "You're kicking me out and you didn't bother to kick out Ralph for wrecking your floor." The handyman didn't respond and only scowled. "Alright, I'm leaving then." Fuming, Gene exited the party and went out into the streets. He saw Ralph just a few feet away and getting farther by the minute. "I hope you're happy! I just got kicked out of the party because of you!" He yelled. His yell went ignored as Ralph kept on going. "You wreck everything!" He yelled again. Ralph kept on going. Angry, Gene turned the other way and went towards one of the late-night bars to get a martini.
^Ralph's home^
As Ralph's anger vanished, he trudged down the forest path to his home. Nobody wanted him in town so he set up home in the forest. At long last, he reached a tree and climbed. "I'll prove Gene wrong. I'll prove them all wrong." He grunted under his breath. After climbing up some branches he reached his tree house. Maybe Tapper can help, he would see the bartender tomorrow. Ralph covered himself up with a blanket that Felix had given him. It wasn't much but it still helped. He dozed off into the bliss of sleep.
^Unknown Location^
She marked one more day on her calendar. A couple more days to go until Sugar Rush. This is so exciting! She yawned, it was getting to be past her bedtime (not like she followed it anyway). Deciding to call it a day, she hopped over to her bed and crawled under her blankets.
^Tapper's Tavern^
Ralph's brows lowered in concentration. "So, you're sure there isn't anything big I can do to get people to see I'm not as bad as I seem?" He asked Tapper.
Tapper filled up a mug with his famous root beer. "Sorry, Ralph but there isn't anything I can come up with." He slid the mug over to Ralph across the counter. "Here, you had a rough night last night so have one on the house." It was early in the morning and Tapper's had just opened for the day before Ralph arrived, wanting to talk with Tapper in private before customers came in.
"Thanks," Ralph quickly downed his mug. "I don't know what to do. I don't want to try to do little deeds at a time, it'll take too much time and no one would ever ask me for help."
"Wish I could help you Ralph but you know how busy this place usually is." Tapper gestured to his tavern.
Ralph sighed. "Well, thanks for the help you've already given." He rested his chin in his palm. "I just wish I knew what to do." Realizing he still had his mug, he gave it back to the bartender.
"Well, if I can help in any way then I can at least give you a little advice." Tapper spoke as he wiped out the used mug. "Try taking a walk in the forest. Whenever I'm in a slump with business, I usually take a walk to clear my head and come up with an idea to get business up again." He put the mug back in its place.
It seemed like a good idea to Ralph, a good walk always is useful. "I see, thanks for your help Tapper." Ralph slid off his stool and began to leave.
"Any time!" Tapper called after the wrecker.
Now with the intent of taking a peaceful walk, Ralph left the tavern and walked deeper into the forest. Meanwhile, Q*Bert was on his way to Tapper's when he saw Ralph leave and head into the forest. "Ralph? What's he doing? I bet he's still mad about the party last night." The orange creature wanted to follow but he felt it would be best to give Ralph his space and go do what he came to.
^The Forest^
Okay, how was he going to change his image, everyone always avoids him. This was going to be difficult. How could he prove he's a good guy if he can't get near anybody? Sometimes the citizens of the kingdom visit Tapper's so maybe if he got a job at the tavern and did it very well, perhaps that would help him. Not sure if Tapper would let him help, the bartender already does a good job by himself so he probably doesn't need an extra hand. He ducked under a low branch and stepped over a fallen log. Then there was Felix, he was always willing to help Ralph get a better reputation. Considering Felix was always out fixing things, he wasn't sure how well that would go over. Ralph followed the path as it curved around little hills and past large trees. There was Clyde and the gang, they might have ideas, except the citizens don't really like them either so their plans might not work. So that idea was out too and that left one option. The last option was to wait for an emergency to come up and help out with that but some might think his intentions were different and try to pin the blame on him. He did not want to end up in jail. "Grrr, why does having to prove I'm a good guy be so hard?" His anger at not being able to come up with an idea distracted him from watching his path. The anger was so distracting that Ralph's large feet tripped over a small boulder and Ralph fell to the ground, rolling as he went. "Ouch! Ow!" Ralph tumbled and tumbled until he rolled over the edge of a cliff. "Aaaaaaaah!" He screamed as he fell. "Ow! Oof! That hurts!" His fall was stalled as he landed in a tree branch full of leaves on the side of the cliff. He fell through the branch and continued to fall. "Aaaaah!" Finally, he fell onto a fluffy bush of leaves and flowers. Rolling off of the bush, he plopped onto the firm ground. "Ouch…"
^Niceland Castle^
King Candy slipped into the throne room where he met up with Sour Bill, his green gumball assistant. "Sour Bill, I'm heading out." The king told his assistant.
"Yes your majesty, right on schedule." Sour Bill replied. A nod of acceptance from the king, Sour Bill went to watch for any unexpected visitors as King Candy snuck behind the throne and accessed a secret passage. Sour Bill had gone with the king a few times but he usually stayed behind to keep any attention from being directed at the king.
^Niceland Bridge^
A hidden passage opened up and King Candy got out. Now all he had to do was get across the bridge and into the forest. To avoid detection by citizens or Surge, the king snuck under the bridge and used a boat that was kept under it. As he rowed to the other side of the waterway, Felix was up above. The handyman was pretty worried about his friend and the fact that he hadn't seen Ralph yet today was unnerving.
"He must be really upset." Felix mused. If it weren't for the fact that he had never gone into the forest on his own, he would have already gone in. "He has to be in there somewhere. He's probably sulking at Tapper's Tavern again just like he always does when he's bothered by something like what happened last night." Just then he noticed Q*Bert crossing the bridge. Perhaps he's seen Ralph today? "Q*Bert! Hey, friend, can I ask you a quick question if it's not too much trouble?"
Q*Bert bounced over to the handyman. "Hello, Felix, did you see Ralph today? He looked pretty bummed over at Tapper's."
Felix was taken aback. He was going to ask Q*Bert about Ralph but apparently he didn't need to. "You saw Ralph? At Tapper's?" The orange character nodded. "What was he doing there?"
"I don't know. I just saw him leave. It looked like he was heading deeper into the forest." Q*Bert replied.
"Deeper? That doesn't sound good." He pulled off his cap and started to scratch his head, looking for an answer. "I hope he's not in any danger. How am I supposed to go after him? I would go but I don't want to go alone. Who knows what could happen in there?" He racked his brain for a solution.
As Felix thought so did Q*Bert. The orange friend knew about Felix's problem with going into the forest alone. Suddenly he heard a voice.
"What the heck do you think you're doing, Markowski? Back to your patrol!"
Searching for the source of the voice, Q*Bert whirled around and noticed a tall woman in black and red armor. It was Sergeant Calhoun. The woman was one of the top guards of the kingdom and was currently reprimanding one of her inferiors for slacking on his job. "What about her? She could probably help you." He told Felix, pointing his trunk to Calhoun.
Following Q*Bert's direction, Felix saw who he was pointing at and quickly got flustered. "Her? No, no, no, no, I don't think so."
"Come on, Felix, she's one of the strongest in the kingdom. She would be the best help you could get."
"Well, what if she's very busy. She wouldn't want to do anything for me." Felix responded.
Q*Bert turned his casual look into a piercing stare. "Are you sure that you're not just too chicken to ask her because of your crush on her?"
Felix's face got even redder and his body got hotter. "What? That's ridiculous Q*Bert!" He was failing to mask his uncertainty. Q*Bert just had to pull out the crush bit on him, didn't he.
"Then ask her for her help in finding Ralph. I'm sure she could find him in no time at all." Q*Bert badgered.
"I'm not sure. She's sharp but I'm not sure how well she and Ralph would get along if we found him." Felix reasoned.
"Just ask her and see what she says. She might say yes. Who knows, maybe then you could try to spark something with her. If she doesn't agree to help then we can find a Plan B." Q*Bert continued. His eyes drifted to the sergeant. "Here she comes, ask her now!"
The sergeant was walking their way. "Excuse me, Sergeant?" Felix asked as she approached.
Calhoun walked over to them. "What do you want, civilian?" She asked with an intimidating tone.
"See, I'm worried about my friend, Ralph, and I was thinking I should go see if I could find him in the forest but I think I might need an extra hand so could you possibly come along and help me track him down?" Felix asked, his voice nearly cracking from intimidation.
"Why would you need me?" Calhoun pushed on.
Felix took off his cap in respect. "It's just that you're one of the best in the kingdom's guard and I thought if you helped me then the sooner Ralph would be found and the sooner he would be safe. He had an awfully hard night last night and I think he might not be back to his old self yet." He explained.
Calhoun looked from Felix to the forest. She had been in there a few times in her time as part of the guard. "You said Ralph, as in Wreck-It Ralph, correct?" She confirmed.
"Yes, ma'am!"
She took a few seconds to process the request before she gave her answer. "Alright, let's go." She decided.
Felix blinked as if he hadn't heard right. "Really?"
"Yeah, that big klutz might do something that might affect the rest of us and I'm not taking any chances. There can be strange things in a forest. Let's roll, Short Stack!" Calhoun commanded. Then she pulled out a communicator. "Kohut, this is the sergeant. I'm going on a search in the forest, you're in command until I get back. If something big comes up, page me." A response played back and she put away the communicator. "Come on, we should find him before night falls." She started crossing the bridge.
Felix grinned in acceptation. "You got it. Thanks for your talk, Q*Bert." He thanked his orange friend and jogged off to join Calhoun. Q*Bert beamed as he watched the two leave. His work was done here. Ralph would be found and Felix might come back with a romance.
^The Forest^
After Ralph had momentarily blacked out, he regained consciousness a few minutes later. "Ooh, that hurt a little." He noted the last few minutes. He sat up and got back on his feet. "Where am I?" He didn't remember ever visiting this part of the forest. Last he recalled, he had tripped over the edge of a cliff. He should probably find a way back up there. With a new goal in mind, he started walking, looking for a way to get back up to the rest of the forest. As he walked he observed the new surroundings. It still looked like part of the forest so he was still close to home. He was passing a rock face when he noticed something odd. Those vines on it didn't look right. Deciding to take a closer look he walked over to them and pulled them aside. Behind the vines was a dark tunnel. Where would that lead? Was that a cave? Investigating this new discovery, Ralph ventured inside. Walking in the dark for a few minutes, he started to see light which he presumed was coming from another side of the tunnel. Shortly, he reached the other end and walked out. Everything looked normal here. There were trees, flowers, a pool of water, and a tower. Wait, a tower? Ralph focused his attention on the tower. What was that doing out here in the forest? There was one thing to do. He advanced on to the tower.
"Break time!" Rapunzel declared, closing the book on a bookmark.
"Aww…." The children whined.
"But we want to hear what happens next." "Yeah, we want to know what Ralph finds in the tower." "Who was the person that couldn't wait until Sugar Rush?" "Come on, Princess, keep reading please!"
The children's interest in the story amused Rapunzel and Pascal. They shared a chuckle at the sight. "Sorry, kids but I promise the story will be continued after we have a snack."
"Okay…" the children sighed. Some of the children's little tummies rumbled.
"I guess I am hungry…" "Let's eat! The faster we eat the sooner we can hear what happens next." "I got dibs on the crackers and cheese!" "I need to potty!" "No fair, I want the cheese!"
Pascal snatched up some grapes before the snacks were bombarded by the majority of the children. A few patiently waited for the mess to clear up before getting a snack and a few other children left to use the restroom. In order to avoid being caught up in the mess, Pascal eat his grapes and retreated to Rapunzel's shoulder. He could only hope that the rest of the week wouldn't be so hectic.