Exile of the Sorceress
by Robert Teague
This story was written for the entertainment of Wreck-It Ralph fans, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: This is the sequel to Quest of the Sorceress, taking place several days later.
Chapter One
The members of BadAnon filed into the central room in the game Pac-Man for their weekly meeting. Snacks and drinks had been set out, and conversation was light before the meeting began.
Last into the room was the only female member; Sorceress. To the surprise of all, she had two female elves with her that only one member had met before. He came over to greet them.
"Good evening, Sorceress, Ilwyn, Olwyn," said Ralph with a grin.
"Ralph," Sorceress said with a nod and a smile.
"Hi, Mr. Ralph," the identical twin drow elves replied in stereo. They sounded a little nervous since this was one of the first times they had been outside Castle Quest despite it having been plugged in for over ten years. They were servants and friends to Sorceress, and contributed to the gameplay, but had always thought they needed to stay in Blackstone Castle.
"Welcome to BadAnon. We've got all kinds of snacks and drinks tonight," he said, gesturing at the table. He was holding a paper cup with punch in it, tiny in his enormous hands.
"Oohh, coffee!" said Olwyn, and pulled her sister toward the table. Ilwyn let her, but was eyeing the hot tea instead.
"Kinda surprised to see them here," Ralph said to the elf-woman as he watched them making drinks for themselves.
"They wanted to come," replied Sorceress, "Besides, we need more female members."
The wrecker grinned. "Can't argue with that!"
"Do you think they'll be allowed to join? They aren't major bad guys," Sorceress asked.
"Of course they will!" said Clyde, gliding over to them, "All bad guys are welcome!" The small orange ghost had a cup of juice that was hovering in place beside him.
"Good to hear," nodded the blue-skinned elf, "While I've got you, Clyde, I have something we need to discuss tonight. It's important."
"Oh? What's that?" he asked.
"I was stopped by the Surge Protector last week…" she began, and the wrecker and the ghost both sighed.
"…and I learned that he targets bad guys because we try to avoid him. Considering we avoid him because he targets us, we are in a vicious cycle."
"I see," said Clyde, thinking, "I'm glad you found this out. I'll call on you when we get to new business. You can introduce your associates then too."
"All right, thank you," she nodded, and Clyde moved off to talk to someone else.
"Wow, good catch!" said Ralph, "This might actually improve things for everybody."
"I hope so," she said, "It's about time I was able to contribute."
A few minutes later the meeting was called to order. The drow twins were enthusiastically welcomed, to their embarrassment, and the news from Sorceress was debated hotly for some time.
It was finally decided that Clyde would meet with the Protector tomorrow and see if an understanding could be reached.
After the meeting adjourned with the Bad Guy Affirmation, Ralph, Sorceress and the twins got together and slowly made their way out of the game after the others while they talked.
"So, what did you girls think?" he asked them.
"That was a lot of fun!" said Olwyn. She was still nursing a cup of coffee.
"Yes, I liked meeting all those people," added Ilwyn. "Can we do it again, highness?"
Sorceress smiled, "Of course!"
They discovered that the rail car was gone; the other BadAnon members had gotten impatient waiting for them, so Ralph pointed to the call button.
"Would someone push the button? I broke it three times already," he said.
Olwyn did so, and they continued to talk while waiting for it to return.
Finally they got to the terminal at Game Central Station and stepped into the mall proper. Other game characters were there, walking, talking, flying, and generally enjoying the evening after the arcade had closed. None of the bad guys were still around, though.
"Well, I need to get back home," said Ralph with a grin, "We're expecting to be busy tomorrow, and I need my beauty sleep." Since getting his own place to live, he was finally able to take baths and perform general hygiene, which made his popularity soar wherever he went.
Sorceress grinned back. "It was great to see you, Ralph. Have a good evening."
"Bye, Mr. Ralph!" called the twins, again in unison, as the big man moved off back to Fix-It Felix, Jr. with a wave. The three left behind watched him wistfully.
The trio of elves headed back toward Castle Quest, their home. Sorceress walked with the twins. She could have flown, but they didn't have that magic, and it would have been rude to leave them.
Most game characters found Sorceress, with her blood red dress, blue skin, and red eyes intimidating enough. But now she was with two more elves, these with dark ash-gray skin, white hair, and red eyes, wearing blue dresses with white trim, and that was worse, so everyone moved out of their way.
This saddened all three, as they were not evil outside their jobs, but most people wouldn't believe that.
"What are we going to do after work tomorrow, highness?" asked Ilwyn, doing her best to ignore the reactions of people around them.
"I thought we could go to Sugar Rush," she answered, "You can meet everyone and maybe watch a race."
"Oh, thank you!" said Olwyn, loudly, clapping.
Their mistress stopped and looked at them. "I want to remind you that you're free to go anywhere at any time. You don't have to depend on me."
"We know, highness," answered Ilwyn, "But it isn't as much fun without you."
Sorceress blushed, which on her manifested as her face turning a darker blue. "Thanks."
Just then they arrived at the terminal to Castle Quest. It looked just like all the others in Game Central Station, except that the red LED display over the entrance announced the game's name.
As they got to the threshold, the twins took the lead. While on duty, it was protocol for them to precede their Mistress through any door. A rainbow-colored interference pattern appeared, and Sorceress ran into it. It sprang her back a few steps, and would have fallen if Olwyn hadn't caught her arm.
They looked at each other in shock. What had happened?
All three put out a hand, and the drow's hands met nothing while Sorceress was stopped by the pattern again. She pushed, and pushed hard, but it was no use. She was trapped outside their game.
"What do we do now, highness?" asked Olwyn. She and her sister were now holding hands to comfort each other. But they were ready to defend Sorceress if this was some kind of attack. "What is this?"
"I've no idea!" said Sorceress, "How could this happen? I need to think a minute." She sat down on a convenient bench while her servants stood beside her, instinctively taking defensive positions. They watched others as they passed by, but nobody bothered them.
Just then a blue bolt of electricity raced up to them and became the Surge Protector. He was carrying his clipboard and pen, but put them away.
"Here you are!" he said, "I'm glad I caught up with you. I would have been here sooner, but had something to see about. Sorry."
"Did you do something so we can't get into our game?" asked Sorceress, suspicious, "You haven't given me any warnings lately."
"Me? No, I had nothing to do with it," he protested.
"But do you know what happened?" asked Ilwyn.
"I'm afraid so," he answered, adjusting his glasses. "While you were at your meeting, an upgrade to your game was installed."
The elves looked at each other.
"But we weren't upgraded," said Sorceress, "At least, I don't think so. I haven't felt any different."
"Me either," added the twins in unison, which made the small, bald man stare for a moment.
"No, you weren't. I monitored the upgrade, and after the reboot went in to check." he gave them a sad look. "You can't get into your game because you're already there."