A/N: The Marleys were dead: to begin with. Wait a second. Aw nuts! Wrong story!

*ahem* Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I submit here, for your approval, my first attempt at a Wreck-It Ralph fanfiction (and first publicly displayed fanfiction), Be Careful What You Wish For. For those of you who missed the summary, this will eventually be a Jawbreaker fic (i.e. Ralph/Vanellope), but that's not for a bit yet. For the time being I would like to set the story and get all of my ducks (*hears Felix yelp*) in a row.

Now then, I would also like to take this time to dedicate this story to the lovely Ms. MotorcycleChickenSmile, for without her inspiration, talent, comedic wit and good friendship I doubt I'd have concocted the wild ride that is to follow.

So in the words of the inimitable John Cleese, "And now for something completely different…"

Be Careful What You Wish For

Prologue: What is…

"C'mon Ralph! Move your molasses!"

For the umpteenth time in the half hour since he'd set foot in Sugar Rush, Wreck-It Ralph let out a sigh of mild frustration as he followed the teal colored speck that was Vanellope Von Schweetz. The giant of a man was currently following his friend through the Candy Cane forest, his massive frame lumbering along behind Vanellope's much faster movements, owing in no small part to her glitching ability.

"Vanellope," he called out, swatting a few stray peppermint branches away from his path. "Ya mind telling me what we're doing out here? I mean, what could possibly be hidden inside the Candy Cane forest?"

"It's a surprise Ralph," the sugar & spice sovereign answered back. "And I told you, it's not in the forest, it's past it."

"Riiiiiiight," Ralph said under his breath. "As if that helps clear things up."

The moment he'd descended the Rainbow Bridge into Sugar Rush that fateful Saturday night, Vanellope had all but collided with him with nearly as much force as that time Calhoun slugged him. She'd been even more excited than her usual self at his arrival, speaking a mile a minute about how she needed his help with something, that it was super important and that he was the only one who could help her. He'd been more than happy to help until she'd informed him that said task required a walk through the Candy Cane forest.

Still, Ralph couldn't bellyache too much. He was hanging out with his best friend, embarking on another oddball adventure together again. It still amazed him how much fun they'd had since they'd first met, the two of them now a familiar sight in Game Central Station, sometimes walking incongruously side by side, other times with Ralph sitting on the spoiler of Vanellope's kart, grasping the body of the vehicle in white-knuckled terror, and other times with Vanellope perched upon Ralph's shoulder, the two of them sharing a smile that somehow made Game Central Station seem even brighter than usual.

They'd visited every game in the arcade since they'd met, a new experience for both of them, given that Vanellope was no longer trapped in Sugar Rush and Ralph had never felt the desire to visit many of the other games besides Tapper's and a few others due to his (though he'd never admit it) fear of being cast out because he was a bad guy. The two gave strength to each other; each one knowing the other had their back against anything any game could throw at them.

Ralph wasn't sure what it was Vanellope wanted him to help out with, but he had the distinct feeling that it was going to be something that they wouldn't unanimously agree on being "fun." But the dense collection of red & white striped branches and trunks was starting to clear up, giving Ralph a little hope that the journey was almost over.

"C'mon Major Body Odor," he heard her call again, her tiny voice managing to echo against the peppermint trees. "Quit pickin' branches to try and freshen up that breath of yours and get out here! I ain't gettin' any younger!"

"I hear you, Grand Duchess Guttersnipe," he answered back, finally emerging from the minty mesh with a few more swats of his massive hands. "Now ya mind tellin' me what's so important that we walked…all…the…way…here?

Ralph's voice trailed off as his eyes took in the sight below the hill he was standing on.

From where he stood, it looked like a massive cornfield, but he immediately dismissed that idea because corn would have no place in a world like Sugar Rush. Lifting one of his hands above his brow to shield his eyes from the sun above, Ralph could make out little cones of orange, yellow and white candy poking out of the stalks.

His mind began to slowly cobble the pieces of the puzzle together. "Is that…"

"Candy corn," came Vanellope's voice right next to him, jolting the wrecker out of his thoughts with a start. She was sitting on one of the candy striped branches that was level with Ralph's head, making her seem a lot closer that she usually was. "Welcome to the Candy Corn Maze!"

"Uh-huh," Ralph nodded dumbly as he began to make out the rows of discordant lines that made up the maze. "So what is it we're here for anyway?"

"An engine," Vanellope replied matter-of-factly, as if a field of candy corn was where someone would regularly acquire a new engine. Before Ralph could ask any further questions, Vanellope hopped off of her branch and skipped down a path of gumdrops leading down the hill towards the waiting entrance of the maze.

Ralph quickly followed behind her, staring at the entrance as though it were some kind of trap. "Kid, could you please start from the beginning. I'm having a little trouble jumping on board the train of thought."

Vanellope placed her hands on her hips and looked up at Ralph with an expression that said 'really?'. "I told you Ralph, we're here to get a new engine. This is…"

"The Amazing Candy Maize Maze," came the droning voice of Sour Bill, finishing Vanellope's statement for her.

Ralph and Vanellope turned to look in the direction Bill's voice had come from and immediately did a double take. There, standing in all his foot and a half tall green glory, was the ever dour-faced Sour Bill, only he was wearing a ridiculous straw hat like the one a scarecrow would wear and a piece of straw poking out of his mouth.

The two friends looked at the royal announcer, then back at each other, and then back at Sour Bill again. Vanellope was the first to fail, with a burst of giggles escaping her lips and leaving the saccharine sovereign laughing at what was possibly the funniest thing she'd seen all week. Ralph, to his credit, brought a hand to his mouth and managed to keep the chuckles that fought to be released contained, but not without a few telltale wracks of his broad shoulders.

Sour Bill simply let the princess get it out of her system. He'd been expecting this reaction the moment he'd overheard Vanellope's plans to seek out the fabled maze. He didn't like it (then again, he never liked anything), but it was his job to inform anyone seeking out the engine upgrade what lay ahead of them and he had to do it in costume.

When Vanellope finally got herself under control, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye due to laughing so hard, she walked up to her royal announcer with a grin that irritated the tart servant to no end. "Well howdy there, Plower Bill. What brings you out here?"

Sour Bill ignored the obvious joke made on his name and continued on with his deadpan information speech. "Congratulations on discovering the maze. If you can navigate your way to the center of the maze, you will be awarded a brand new engine for your kart."

"Wait, what," Ralph blurted out. Ralph was not a big fan of mazes, partially due to his large size and the subsequent fear that he might break something. Even when he was in the maze in Pac Man he was afraid he'd inadvertently punch through one of the walls just by stretching. "We gotta navigate this lollipop labyrinth just to get a new engine? Why can't we just get a new one from the cart bakery?"

"Because Stinkbrain," Vanellope chimed in. "Those are all stock engines and this one is a special bonus engine that'll put my kart ahead of the pack and leave everyone else eating my Pixy dust." The look of pure determination on Vanellope's face told Ralph that he was in for the long haul now.

With a roll of his eyes and a sigh through his nose, Ralph looked down to regard Sour Bill once more, the comical straw hat atop his head no longer giving him as much mirth as it had been. "Alright Sour Till, anything else we should know about this maze?"

Bill ignored the second dig at his appearance and Princess Von Schweetz's snort of laughter. "Since this is the princess's attempt…"

"President," Vanellope spoke under her breath.

"…Given her unique abilities," continued Bill, "She is forbidden from using her glitching ability to reach the engine inside of the maze."

Ralph and Bill looked to Vanellope, the two of them expecting some form of protest from her about not being able to use her power. Vanellope simply stood there, an odd grin set on her face and a mischievous glint in her eyes. When no one said anything for a minute, she took to tapping her foot in the dirt as a sign of mounting impatience. "Anything else, Mr. Referee," she asked in an all too sweet tone that had a strong undercurrent of sarcasm.

Sour Bill regained himself from what was as close to surprise as he ever got to and fixed Vanellope with another of his deadpan stares. "Yes. Just like the kart baking mini-game, you only have one minute to navigate the maze and claim the engine. Is that understood?"

"One minute," Ralph blurted out. "It's impossible! I get lost just trying to find the restroom in Pac Man. How are we gonna…"

Vanellope silenced him with a conspiratorial wink. Ralph closed his mouth and let his puzzled thoughts run inside his head. The kid had some kind of plan. The only question was, what?

The hard-shelled royal announcer didn't like the feeling he was getting from the princess's air of confidence, but he would simply have to wait and see just what particular ace she had up her sleeve. "Are you ready to begin the maze?"

"I've been ready since I got here Sour Bill," Vanellope replied. "Start the timer already, jeesh."

As if cued by her words, an hourglass full of corn kernels appeared next to Sour Bill and began running quickly. Ralph was prepared to follow Vanellope head on into the maze, but Vanellope just stood there, her arms folded across her chest and a smile of extreme confidence lighting up her face. Ralph was just about to ask her what she was waiting for when she looked up at him and pointed at him, as if to say, 'you.'

Ralph, to his utter confusion, pointed at himself with one brick-sized finger, as if he were asking, 'me?'

Vanellope shook her head in the affirmative. She then pointed at him again, then pointed at not the entrance of the maze, but the wall leading to it. Looking at the wall, then back to her, Ralph's brow knit itself in even further confusion. Just what was the kid playing at?

Once more, Vanellope pointed at him, then at the wall and then followed the two gestures up with another that suddenly made her plan as plain as day. She held one of her tiny hands up, palm vertical, then with her other hand she made a fist and brought it into the center of her other hand, making a slapping sound as she did so.

A broad smile split Ralph's face as he understood what she wanted. Giving her a wink that nearly matched her own in sheer mischief, he walked towards the wall of candy corn stalks, while at the same time interlocking his fingers and pushing them forward with an almighty crack.

For his part, Sour Bill didn't understand what was going on until it was far too late. Before he could utter even a sound of protest, Wreck-It Ralph had formed a massive fist, pulled it back as far as his body would allow and brought it forward at an incredible speed for a man of Ralph's size.

The punch caught the wall high. This was exactly how Vanellope wanted it, for if Ralph had punched lower, he'd have only succeeded in destroying the wall. While that wouldn't have been bad in and of itself, it would've made their goal slightly harder to get to. Instead, Ralph's fist slammed into the top of the wall of stalks and pushed it forward. As that wall toppled over, it caught the wall opposite of it and pushed that one over. Then that one pushed the one opposite of it over and so on and so on. The walls experienced a domino effect all across the field as stalks fell over and ears of candy corn went flying until finally the last wall fell, revealing a glorious golden kart engine floating in midair, just waiting to be claimed.

The minute the shining engine was revealed, Vanellope immediately began cartwheeling her way across the fallen stalks, cheering in her trademark fashion all along the way. It took her all of five seconds to reach the engine, jumping up and latching onto it in a fierce manner. "It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! It's mine! Wahoooo!"

Ralph couldn't help but smile at his friend's exuberant behavior, knowing full well that racing meant the world to her. And if making the little girl who'd called him her hero happy meant knocking down a wall or two, Wreck-It Ralph would gladly bust through the Great Wall of China if he knew it'd make her smile.

A dull groaning brought Ralph back to reality as he peered down at Sour Bill, who was currently massaging the area between his eyes as he attempted to deal with the frustration of having the entire maze being knocked down in one fell swoop. Ralph felt a tiny twinge of regret at his action, knowing that Bill was usually the one to bear the brunt of his and Vanellope's antics in Sugar Rush. He was about to offer an apology but was stopped short by Sour Bill holding up one of his tiny green hands. "Just go Ralph. The maze will grow back within a few days." Despite his stoic voice, Ralph could just make out an undertone of irritation.

Turning away from the sour servant, Ralph made his way across the fallen stalks to where Vanellope was desperately trying to pull the engine down from its floating position. Smiling at her determination, he reached over with one massive hand and picked it and her up as if they were nothing. With his other hand he picked Vanellope up by her hood and deposited her on his shoulder, earning himself the sight of the raven-haired princess sticking her tongue out at him for his display of strength. The wrecker took it in his stride, slinging the engine under his other arm and without a word of direction from Vanellope began what would be a long journey back to the palace.

X – X – X – X – X

Hours later, with parts strewn all about the floor of her royal (or, presidential) chambers and the kart they had crafted together sitting upon blocks of rock candy, Ralph and Vanellope were still laughing about how they'd "beaten" the maze.

"Did you see the look on Sour Bill's face when those walls fell," Vanellope chortled. "I thought he was gonna have a heart attack!" Another fit of laughing seized her as she played the image over and over in her head.

"Yeah, he's probably not too happy with us," Ralph replied. "Good thing you run the show around here kid, or else he'd make sure I'm kept out at all times."

They laughed at the thought of anyone trying to keep Wreck-It Ralph out of anywhere, with the only person likely to succeed being Calhoun. For another hour they continued on in this way, laughing at their own jokes like two friends who had been together for decades.

It wasn't until Ralph let out a lengthy yawn that their merriment began to wind down. Picking himself up from where he'd been sitting on her comfortably carpeted floor, the wrecker stretched his arms and legs before giving his friend a tired smile. "Alright kid, I think it's time I went home. We'll finish installing the engine tomorrow, okay?"

"Why don't you just stay here tonight, Ralph," she asked in that hopeful voice she used when she wanted her way. "Tomorrow's Sunday so the arcade's closed and you wouldn't have to travel all the way from your game to get here."

Ralph considered this for a moment, stroking his chin with his heavily calloused fingers. While he did enjoy sleeping in his own bed, sleeping over at Vanellope's palace was always a pleasant experience. There was something to be said about waking up in a place that perpetually smelled like a bakery. And the kid did have a point about tomorrow being their day off. Deciding that he'd rather save himself the trip and just spend the night, Ralph nodded to Vanellope. "Alright, you twisted my arm. I'll stay."

Vanellope's response was a series of jubilant cheers around her mammoth bedroom, hopping over scattered kart pieces and glitching to and fro.

A little while later, the lights in the room were off and the two were settling in for a night of (what Ralph hoped would be) peaceful sleep. Despite Vanellope's offers to sleep on the gargantuan bed, Ralph opted to sleep on the floor, which was arguably as comfortable as the bed with its thick carpeting. Still, his massive form was right next to the bed, his chest nearly level with the plain of the mattress.

It didn't take long for Ralph to feel sleep slowly pulling him into its embrace, but just as he felt himself about to slip beneath the pleasant abyss he heard Vanellope whispering to him. "Hey Ralph?"

"Hunnnh," he answered in his half asleep state.

"Will we always be best friends," she asked in a tiny voice.

That question got Ralph to open his eyes and lean up to look at Vanellope. Despite the pitch black of the room, years of living in the darkness had given Ralph excellent night vision. Were it possible, she looked even tinier wrapped up in the blanket she used and even smaller in comparison to the bed she slept on. And what he could also see was that her normally jubilant hazel eyes held a twinge of uncharacteristic worry.

Ralph couldn't understand where this was coming from, but he felt it was better to soothe any anxieties she was harboring rather than inquire about them. Propping himself up on one arm, he reached the other arm into her bed and extended a massive pinky towards the petite girl. Tentatively, Vanellope brought one of her own pinkies up to touch his, her digits much too small to even try to wrap around one of his massive fingers.

Smiling at her through the darkness, Ralph said, "I promise that no matter what happens, you and I will always be best friends."

The vow did the trick, a content smile returning to Vanellope's cherubic face and a hopeful light reigniting in her eyes. With her own little yawn, she bundled herself back up in her blanket and was qickly falling into the depths of sleep, but not before sleepily telling him, "Good night, you smelly hobo."

Ralph smiled at her choice of endearing terms and simply replied with, "Good night you little homeless lady." And with that the wrecker fell asleep, all the while dreaming that some kind of odd, warm weight had taken up residence atop his chest.

X – X – X – X – X

Some of you may recognize the candy corn field from a deleted scene from the movie. I thought it was a neat little scene, despite being almost completely incongruous to the plot we ended up getting. Please read & review and I REALLY appreciate constructive reviews. Many thanks!

Post Disclaimer: I own none of the copyrighted characters or locations mentioned herein.