"Taffyta, you need to stop crying!"
Taffyta did not open her eyes. She could clearly remember the last time that she had cried; at the time, realizing that everything had been a lie, that her memories had been fake, had seemed like the worst thing in the world. Now, that was nothing but a rough patch before sunny, race filled days.
Vanellope never touched her. Taffyta opened her eyes to see Vanellope's face only inches away from her and her hand out. It glitched as she touched it.
"Please, Taffyta," Vanellope said. "Smile for me."
"How am I supposed to?" Wiping her eyes was futile; she was sure the years were never going to stop at this rate.
"President's order."
Taffyta forced a smile while tears still leaked from her eyes.
"There's no need to be sad, Taffyta." Vanellope grinned. "They're getting the new remake of Sugar Rush at the arcade. I heard that it's going to be even better than the original! Plus, you'll be able to see me again."
Taffyta bit her lip. Her entire face was wet and dirty. At that point, she was sitting on the ground; her legs were too shaky to keep her standing up.
"But don't you get it, Vanellope? That won't be you."
Vanellope spoke on, but Taffyta never understood it. Her eyes remained shut and the tears still fell. She only opened them again when two strong arms picked her up and pulled her from the floor.
"I'm sorry, kid." Calhoun said. A heavy frown covered her lips. "I was sent to get you, to make sure that you were alright."
Taffyta looked away from her, back to where Sugar Rush once stood. All she saw was blackness.
"I'll come talk to you later, okay? I know you and the rest of your friend's are having a hard time." Calhoun bit her lip. "Death is tough, kid. You can feel the pain running through your code. It changes you."
Taffyta didn't respond. The tears just kept falling, no matter how hard she tried to stop them.