I do not own the characters, nor the idea. It was a request.
Black. That's all the short man could see. An unending wave of black. Felix lay awake in his bed, not bothering to try to forget or deny it anymore.
Sleep did not help. Endless nightmares plagued him- about her death, about how it was his fault, about anything and everything he could have done to save her. The humming of the cybug wings haunted his ears. The sight of her cold, dead, bloodied body drove him to the brink of his sanity everyday. He wondered if this was what Tamora experienced when she lost Brad.
Ralph and Vanellope kept telling him that it wasn't his fault, Vanellope confided that she blamed herself for not glitching out fast enough and saving Tamora. Ralph confided that he blamed himself for not tackling the bug. And it killed both of them when she died.
But none of them fell like he did. He sank through like sand through cracks in the sidewalk. Ralph's and Vanellope's sympathy did nothing for him. His psyche was too far gone. He was hurt. He was enraged. He blamed himself for being weak; for not being quick enough; for not sacrificing himself instead of her; for calling her name when she was unarmed; for not riding the hover board and carrying her to safety.
A broken heart is like broken code. When a heart is broken, a piece of that person is gone. But he or she can always regenerate the missing fragment. Character's can't.
"Felix, you're daydreaming again." Ralph stated in a concerned voice. Felix shook his head, clearly waking up from a daze. He bit his lip and gazed at the ground.
"Felix." Vanellope said, an unnamed emotion in the simple name.
"I-I-I-I'M-F-F-F-I-N-N-NE!" He sputtered. The two gasped, and Vanellope fell back onto the grass.
"F-F-Felix!" Ralph shouted.
"What?"
"You glitched." Vanellope breathed.
"I...glitched?" He asked, his voice hollow.
"Did you feel weird at all?"
"I felt kind of spacy, and like my brain was on pause, and like my body was being ripped from itself!" He said, his octave rising with every word.
"He's glitching!" Vanellope cried throwing her hands around him. "I already lost my mom, I can't lose my daddy, too!" She sobbed. Felix's breath quickened as he hugged the small, sobbing girl. Ralph backed away from them.
"I can't...I..." He panted. "Felix..." His lip quivered.
Felix extended his free hand to his brother. "Ralph, please," He begged. "Don't make her go through this alone."
"BUT YOU'RE NOT GLITCHING!" Ralph screamed. He smashed the closest tree and roared with anger. "YOU'RE NOT GLITCHING!" Vanellope sobbed while Ralph continued to shout and scream. Felix held the girl, feeling numb.
Felix waited till Ralph stopped smashing and Vanellope became quieter. The numb feeling wouldn't go away, but he forced his mouth to move. "Calm down, fellas." He let go of Vanellope and stood apart from them, forming a triangle. "This is probably just a one-time thing. See?" He walked towards the entrance to his game. "I'm not a glitch. I can-" He felt a strong force throw him to the ground, and his pixels separated. He stared at the entrance as Vanellope wailed once again.
"I'll get Dr. Mario." Ralph flatly stated. He raced out of the game leaving Felix alone to calm Vanellope down.
WIRWIRWIRWIR
"What's the problem?" Dr. Mario asked his client.
"I'm glitching. Not even my hammer can fix it." Felix said, his voice coated in worry.
"When did you begin glitching, Felix?" Dr. Mario asked him.
"Right after my wife…was killed." Felix responded sadly. Dr. Mario left his place on the couch.
"How long ago was that?"
"A week."
Ralph shifted his position in his chair. "Why does that matter?" He spat, angry at Dr. Mario for purposely bringing back bad memories. Vanellope sat on Ralph's knee, sniffling.
"A broken heart is like broken code." The doctor explained calmly. "The malfunctioning code spreads throughout the character, becoming like a cancerous cell. The character temporarily becomes a glitch-"
"Until his heart heals?" Ralph asked.
"-until he fades away."
The four remained silent, only interrupted by Vanellope's sniffles. Finally, the little girl wiped her nose and spoke. "How long does he have?"
"Five months. Maybe."
"But I don't understand!" Felix exclaimed, rising from the couch. "Tamora had a broken heart, too, and we were married for five years."
"If she was programmed with it, then she would live." Once again, a heavy, somber silence filled the room.
"I'll give you some time to process things." Dr. Mario let himself out.
Felix was still as stone, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening. "When are we going to tell the Nicelanders?" Ralph finally asked him.
Felix heaved a heavy sigh. "Tonight."
WIRWIRWIRWIR
"You're dying?!" A woman screamed as the Nicelanders panicked. Couples hugged each other, some ran in circles, others stood in place and screeched.
"Calm down, fellas!" Felix yelled, to no avail.
"SHUT UP!" Ralph shouted hollered. The Nicelanders quieted.
"I'll make arrangements for all of you to move in with me in my castle." Vanellope said.
"?&#!"
"You too, Q*Burt." Felix said. "And the rest of you bonus-level critters."
Some of the women burst into tears. "But Felix," Mary spurted, being held by Gene. "You're our friend! How could you die?!"
He forced a half-smile. "Things happen."
WIRWIRWIRWIR
"The penthouse is BORING, Ralph. I just want to race!" Vanellope whined.
"Felix is sick, kid! We need to be there for him!" Ralph stated in frustration.
She was silent for a long time. "Is it going to be okay?" Ralph never answered her.
The Nicelanders all tried to smile and pretend the crisis was non-existent. Ralph had preached after Felix left the gathering for bed that everyone should make his last days memorable and happy. The Nicelanders threw parties once-a-week, making sure the Felix's last months were memorable. Being the extrovert he was, he loved the dancing, talking, and being with his friends. Yet, every party reminded him of his numbered days.
Despite Vanellope's attempts to train him to control it, Felix couldn't help his glitch. It happened when he least expected it- even a few times during work! After a period of time, he noticed that he would glitch mostly when he was upset, such as when he was thinking about Tamora's death, his own, slow death, or the friends he would leave behind. So, at least when working, he tried to keep his mind from wandering to those things.
At first, Ralph and Vanellope were very supportive and sweet- a little too sweet. It made things tense and awkward. Then, Vanellope started suffering from racer's withdrawl- seeing as how she spent most of her free time with the two men- and she began to act irritably. Ralph became very protective of him and would constantly fret over anything he did. Felix hated it. He wanted them to be real with him, regardless of his physical state.
When they weren't around, though, Felix felt scared and lonely. He started withdrawing from everyone, especially when he got worried looks for glitching.
But all of this odd behavior stopped after two months with a simple question:
"Mr. Felix, what's it like in heaven?" Vanellope asked one day.
Startled Felix and surprised Ralph gaped at her. Ralph made a neck-slicing motion with his hand. Neither Felix nor Vanellope noticed. "I don't know." Felix said, sitting on his small bed. "I've never been to heaven."
"But you talk to Sergeant Smiles, right?"
"How would I talk to her?"
Vanellope folded her hands together. "Prayer."
Ralph was completely silent. Felix gulped. "S-S-Sometimes," he stuttered.
Both grown men resisted collapsing into tears. Ralph's eyes teared, and Felix wiped his eyes with his bare hand. He gathered Vanellope in his lap and resumed sitting on the bed.
"Yes. Yes. We talk all the time," he lied.
"What does she say?"
"Well," he begun choked. He turned to glance at Ralph, who was struggling with holding in his own tears, but nodded. He turned back to the little girl. "She tells me that she misses you very much."
"Are you two still still married?"
"...Yes. Yes we are. My vow to her was 'till the end of time do us part.'"
"Does she tell you what it's like up there?"
Felix smiled heavily, holding back tears. "Yes." He croaked. "The streets-" he dramatically gestured his hand. "-are covered in gold. Mermaids swim in the ponds. There are unicorns and pegasi. There are dance parties every night! And you can ride fire-breathing dragons."
"Is there racing?!" She asked excitedly.
"In heaven, you can choose and build your own racing track."
"What about candy?!"
"There are whole mountains just full of candy!"
Vanellope squealed and jumped in excitement. "Its sounds awesome!" Felix and Ralph smiled at her. Her excitement died down, and her expression turned serious.
"Do you still miss her?" Ralph turned as still as a stone.
Felix paled, and his grip became tighter. "Of course I do, sweetie,"
She hugged his waist. "I'll...miss you." He swallowed and glitched. Ralph's heart broke as he saw Vanellop's arms collapse through thin air. When he materialized again, tears were already streaming down his face.
He kissed her forehead and pulled her close. "I'll miss you, too." She hugged him and sobbed, glitching with him. Ralph moved his feet and gathered both of them in a hug, cringing when all he felt was air.
WIRWIRWIRWIR
"Keep it together, Felix." Ralph muttered, through gritted teeth, not moving another muscle.
The Nicelanders were silent, and inside Fix-it-Felix Jr., it was as quiet as a cemetery. Felix held his golden hammer in the air, being very careful not to move. He felt his body ripping from itself.
"NO!" Felix thought. "Remember what Vanellope taught you. Stay focused. Focus. Focus."
"It doesn't look broken to me." Litwack said, glaring at the screen.
"But Mr. Litwack," the boy said. "his pixels split up, and I couldn't move him."
"I've been getting a lot of those complaints, but I can't do anything about it until I see it for myself."
The man returned the small boy his quarter. "Go try another game." The boy ran off. Mr. Litwack glanced at the game curiously. "What's going on with you?" He muttered, before walking away.
Everyone let go of the breaths they didn't know they were holding. Felix nearly glitched from the side of the building had a woman not caught him.
"Felix," Ralph said, climbing down to meet him. "You need to control yourself. You are two months from being done. We don't need that day to come any sooner." He said in anger. Felix uncharacteristically glared at Ralph. He hopped from the side of the building and returned to his spot on the side. Ralph groaned and rolled his eyes, before following Felix's lead. He climbed down the rest of the building and walked to see a still Felix, staring at the ground, arms crossed over his chest. "Felix, I-"
"I don't want to hear it." Felix stated flatly.
"Buddy, listen-"
"No." Felix turned and looked up at Ralph with an unbearable expression. It scared Ralph. "Do you think I don't know that I have to focus? Do you think I'm not trying to? Do you think I want to die"- his voice cracked- "sooner than I have to? Do you think that I'm not scared half-to-death?!" His voice rose. "Do you think I don't understand how serious this is?! Do you think I don't know what I'm leaving behind?! I'm dying, Ralph!" His body shook, and Ralph stated his name to calm him down, but he ignored it. "Ralph, I don't even know if there is a heaven! I don't know if I will ever see Tammy again, or you guys, or what is waiting for me! And I'm definitely not sure if heaven is lined in gold!" Felix shouted, throwing his hands in the air and relinquishing the tears he had been holding back. He sighed and turned away from Ralph. "I'm scared." He muttered.
Ralph reached out to him, only to see Felix glitch. "Felix-"
"Quarter alert!" Gene called. Ralph sighed, gave Felix a long, sad look, not knowing if it would be the last time he would ever see his brother. He stumbled over to his side of the game.
"I'm gonna wreck it!" He shouted more forcefully than usual. He violently damaged the building, almost using it as a punching bag for his pent-up sorrow. The Nicelanders had seen him wreck it before, but never this violently.
"Fix it Felix!" The called.
"I can fix it!" Felix strained, holding his hammer in the air.
WIRWIRWIRWIR
It was getting harder for Felix. His pixels were paling, and he was getting slower and weaker. Every day he moved slower and grew more tired. Everyone with baited breath for when the day would finally come.
"Hi fellas." Felix said with fake enthusiasm, waving his hand at his two closest friends. His code was becoming transparent, and it was getting harder to see him. Ralph gulped and faked a smile. "It's finally time, huh?" Vanellope couldn't bare to do it, though. She erupted into tears.
Ralph bent down to shush her, but before he could, Felix placed his hat on the little girl's head. She stopped wailing and grabbed it off of her head, holding it like precious treasure. "Take care of my favorite hat. My father gave it to me. It's only fair that it passes on." Felix smiled a real, genuine smile at the teary-eyed girl. He took off his tool belt and gave it to Ralph, hammer and all. "For when you wreck things. I can't follow you around and fix your disasters forever." Felix joked. Ralph took the tool belt wordlessly, unable to move his mouth.
Felix's legs went out from underneath him, and he fell to the ground with a painful groan. "Felix!" Ralph shouted. He picked Felix up, and cradled the small handyman in his arms. Vanellope glitched to his shoulder, sniffling. Both were silent, not knowing what to say, nor remembering how to move their mouths- the lumps in their throats were in the way.
Felix was fading away more and more by the second. He could hardly breathe, much less speak. He became nothing more than a mess of soft colors in a pale outline. "I see Tammy." He finally whispered.
"What's she doing?" Ralph asked, spilling a tear.
"She's holding an arm out to me." He said so faintly Ralph and Vanellope had to strain to hear. "She's saying 'welcome home.'" Felix smiled, and closed his eyes. Then, he completely faded away. Vanellope sobbed into Ralph's shoulder. He picked her up and hugged her close to him. He shakily walked to the lobby of the penthouse, where the other Nicelanders were waiting.
"Pack your bags. We're moving out."
WIRWIRWIRWIR
Once again, a sorrowful and heavy funeral was held in Hero's Duty with all of the soldiers, Nicelanders, and Sugar Rush characters. Since there was no body to bury, they sprinkled some of Fix-it-Felix Jr.'s dirt from the game onto the plot of soil next to Sergeant Calhoun. There was a gray tombstone next to her grave, "For all of the battles the brave little man fought for, mostly in the background, making the job a little easier on everyone else without them realizing it," as Kohut put it.
WIRWIRWIRWIR
"Now I lay me down to sleep. Pray the Lord my soul to keep. And if I die before I wake, pray the Lord my soul to take."
A small, raven-haired girl kneeled down beside her pink- sorry, salmon- bed.
"Hi Mr. Felix. Hey, Sergeant Smiles." The small girl smiled at her special nickname she had given to the woman like her mother. "How are you guys? Are you two happy?" Her smile turned into a frown, and her lip quivered. "I...miss you guys. So much." She wiped her eyes and stood up. "I hope you're enjoying heaven." Before she turned out her light, a glimmer caught her attention on her salmon dresser. Right next to her hat, were two gold rings chained together, forming a gold necklace. She walked over to the dresser and picked it up.
"What are these?" She asked herself.
"Hey, kid." Ralph said, walking into her room. "How are you doing?"
"What are these?" She asked the bigger man, holding up the necklace. He took it and studied the rings.
"They're Felix's and Tamora's wedding rings. Tamora's was buried with her and Felix's faded away with him. How did you get these?" He asked softly, clearly confused.
"I found them on my dresser."
The two felt a breeze pass through the room, and saw Felix's hat spin around.
Ralph smiled at her. "I think he's trying to tell you what heaven is like."