Ralph just stared at the small man as he walked away. Kid could… die… if he let her do this? He sighed. He really didn't want to break this to her, but have her trapped in the game when he could've done something to stop it was something he didn't want to think about.
Hearing small footsteps hitting the candy-coated ground, he quickly tucked the medal into his shirt. No need for Kid to see that. She walked - more like skipped, really - over, and stood in front of the 9-foot-tall wrecker of objects.
"Hey, d'you miss me?" she said, jumping around a bit, as if uneasy. Probably excitement.
"Uh, yeah, can I talk to you about something?"
"Later. Now, kneel down!"
"Kneel? But, no wa-"
"Can ya just do it?" Ralph sighed, and went down on one knee. "Alright, now close your eyes..,"
He was getting a bit impatient with Kid. But, he closed his eyes. Soon, he felt a… ribbon?... around his neck.
"'Kay then, you can open 'em now!" As his vision returned, he looked at his palm to see a heart-shaped cookie covered in brown frosting, with some words on it. it said, 'To, stinkbrain'
"That's… nice," he said, confusion clouding his features.
"Turn it over," Vanellope said sweetly. As Ralph did so, he saw this side was covered in blue frosting, and bunches of sprinkles. A few fell off as the necklace-cookie flipped over. This side read, 'You're my hero'.
Ralph's heart almost melted completely. His face held a look of… well, a mixture of a sad smile and who knows what. That kind of look you get when you get a gift that you just absolutely love, but can't find words for.
"Now rise, my royal chump! I've got a date with destiny." With a huge smile on her face, Vanellope strode over towards her kart.
"Wait, Kid…" Ralph hesitated for a second, thinking about what he was about to do. Break this little girls heart? Could he? Well, he was a bit too late now. he continued. "Maybe… maybe we shouldn't do this?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Well, I mean, it was fun making the kart and all, but…"
"Come on, Ralph!" She protested. "Why the change of heart?"
Turning away from her pleading face, those huge, saddened eyes, Ralph was about to continue when something fell out from the front of his shirt and landed on the ground. Before he even saw what it was, a staticky sound cut the air and Vanellope was by his feet, holding something gold in her small hands. The medal.
"You… sold me out…" Utter disbelief and heartbreak echoed through her voice. Ralph was filled with a longing to make her understand. He didn't want to lose her…
"No, he just… we just talked! I didn't say anything, he did all the ta-"
"Really?! Then why did he give you this back?! He bribed you! I'm not stupid!" Tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes milliseconds from spilling over. Her voice held the utmost level of betrayal in it.
"I never sa-"
"I TRUSTED YOU!" Vanellope's voice was unbearably loud to Ralph. A sob tore itself from her throat, followed by little splashes as her tears hit the ground. "I trusted you, I thought you felt the same, you helped me! You all think the same, that I'm a glitch that needs to be gotten rid of, before everyone else has a misfortune, but what about me? You people don't even thi-"
Overcome by anger - not at her, really, but more at everything else, Ralph yelled, "I JUST DON'T WANT YOU TO DIE!" His voice carried far, the echoes reaching even King Candy's castle. Kid looked up at him, fear in her eyes. His heart fell, smashing and breaking into a thousand pieces.
Suddenly very quiet, barely audible, he tried to explain himself, head looking at the ground. "I just… King Candy said that if you win, you're on the board. They'll see you glitching - being yourself, nothing even bad! - and say your game is out of order. You'll be unplugged. But glitches, like you… You can't leave your game. You'll die right alongside it. And I don't want that to happen." The end of his sentence was choked out, as if he couldn't breath. For once, he was the one with tears streaming down his face.
Heavily sitting on the ground behind him, he hid his face in his hands, and wept. He wailed, and cried, and shut out the outside world. A few moments passed, where his mind just… forgot the rest of the world. His life was wet, all tears and pained noises. Until he felt a pair of small arms wrap around one side of him, in an attempt at a hug.
He lifted his face from his hands, eyes all puffy and red. To his left was Vanellope, trying to comfort him. Half of her face was turned away, the other pressed against his side. Lifting his 'freakishly huge hands', as she had once called them, he returned the hug. For a while, they just sat there, oblivious to the world. But then they heard the sounds of engines churning, wheels screeching, rubber burning, and were unfortunately wrenched back to their real world. The race was ready to start.
So, first competent story. Yaay! Be sure to review whether or not you want more of this variation to the story, or just review in general. It makes me happy. Slán!