Characters of Wreck it Ralph does not belong to me. They are property of Disney! This story is the Sequel to "Just a Matter of Time"
It had been six months since it happened; her husband's game was unplugged and she could do nothing to help him. A lot had changed in the six months that had passed. Now left without a home, Ralph and the other homeless game characters had taken up residence in the land of Sugar Rush. What the gamers didn't see was extensive, the island that was Sugar Rush expanded far beyond the race tracks including a small village. Q-bert and his friends had moved into some of the gumdrop houses on the outskirts of the village, the town residents helping to make the new additions inhabitable.
Upon the president's insistence, Ralph had been given a room to himself in the castle. He turned it down at first, saying it was too fancy a place for the wrecker, but she wouldn't let it go. That and upon seeing the housing in the village he figured he wouldn't fit in to well there either. It wasn't that he was ungrateful for his new home at the palace, he was. But he missed his old home, his game and those lost in it. Heck, he'd even go back to living in the dump if he could have that back. But it was all gone.
The loss of the game Fix it Felix Jr was hard on everyone, though it was hardest on the one who married the games namesake 5 years earlier. She didn't show it much, but those close to her could tell the change in her. The Sergeant had a job to do, and if she slacked on it, it could lead to the downfall of the entire arcade.
The Sergeant was usually top of her game, rarely getting injuries or being stopped aside from when something happened to the FPS where they messed up. But on her rougher days, she would find herself occasionally slipping up. Not every day, but on the days she found it harder to bare what happened. She had never been one to experience a death in game play, until 6 months ago.
After hours was a completely different story. It was true that video game characters didn't need to eat or sleep to survive, but for intense game characters like the First person shooters it kept them in tip top shape, and honed their reaction time. After the event, Calhoun didn't sleep much anymore, not more than an hour or two at a time anyway at most. She had always had nightmares, but they had gotten worse over the past 6 months.
She had found other ways to keep herself busy, because if she was busy, she could almost forget the pain and loss. Almost. Unlike with her memories with brad, and having to relive them every day in her game, she knew those were just memories. Brad was never real, just some cruel joke of a back story her programmers had given her. This was all too real. Felix was gone; she would never see him again. She hadn't been able to save him, she had failed, again.
She had found various tasks to keep herself busy, some said they weren't necessary, but she felt they were. Felix had been one of the people to originally convince her it wasn't necessary, but he wasn't there to do so now. She made it a habit to regularly make rounds to the other games. Making sure the characters were acting as they should, and the game was working properly.
Due to her military training, she knew a bit about computers and electronics, more than most game characters. She may not by far be able to fix everything, but she could try. So something like what happened to Fix-it Felix Jr's game didn't happen to any other. Not if she could help it.
The arcade should have been closed by now, they hadn't gotten any players in 20 minutes. Waiting for the all clear she shifted on her feet with a sigh, not knowing what was taking so long. Her face hardened as she turned to her soldiers. "GREEN! Go out and check the station and see what's going on." Standing up straighter the Marine saluted her briefly before jogging off down the corridor.
Taking her helmet off she ran her fingers though her short blonde hair, everything was sore, even muscles she didn't know could get sore. Though she didn't show it she was tired. It had been 6 months since she got anything close to a proper sleep, having to use more than the normal slight makeup to hide the bags that had formed under her eyes.
Green returned five uneventful minutes later, offering the Sergeant another salute before giving her the information that he had gathered. "Encountered the Surge protector, Ma'am." Though he shut up slightly at the glare she gave him, forgetting they had stopped calling her that 6 months ago. He straightened up more before continuing. "He informed me that the arcade is closed, for the players. But they're bringing in a new game."
Their game didn't have a two way console like a lot of the others did, which was good in a way but they couldn't see anything that was going on from the outside if they wanted to. Neither could Surge for that matter, so the information must have come from another game.
That's just what she needed. Taking off her helmet she tossed it to Green before striding towards the bullet train that would lead her to the station. "You know your jobs, now get to them. Kohut, you come with me." They hadn't had a new game come to the arcade in a few years, though she scoffed at her next thought. She was surprised it had taken so many months for him to find a replacement for the most recent unplug.
Shaking her head she pushed the thought from her mind as she boarded toe bullet train that would transport the two of them to Game Central. She would much rather go back to her bunk and sleep, but she had to check out the new game. Well, she felt she had to. Since the all clear wasn't sounded, the station was empty but as they exited Hero's Duty there was a flash of blue and Surge appeared before them.
He had his signature clip board in his hand as he looked at who had made the early exit. Instantly he stood up slightly straighter, knowing better then to cross the Sergeant. "Sergeant Calhoun. I'm guessing your soldier told you then. Looks like we're getting a new cabinet plugged in over at…" He trailed off before correcting his line of thought. "In the slot across from Pacman. So if you'll follow me..." In another flash of blue he was gone.
Tamora knew what they were doing, dancing around mentioning him or his game. She knew why they did it, but it still annoyed her. It was just as bad as to remind her. As the Surge protector took off she followed after him her steps quick. When she made her way to the entrance, she looked up at the still blank sign. They must be still working on installing it. "…Any idea what game we're talking about?"
Surge shook her head. "No, my sources tell me that they're bringing the cabinet in covered. Humans are clumsy, probably trying to protect it." He opened his mouth to continue, but a sound interrupted him. The sound of metal scraping. The three turned towards the outlet plug as the metal prongs became visible; they were plugging the game in.
Shifting on her feet she crossed her arms, just wanting to check the game out and get it over with. What she saw though caused her whole demeanor to change. As soon as the plug slid in fully, power soaring up the cord and bringing life to the machine, the previously dark sign above the portal lit up. "Fix-it Felix Jr."