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Usual disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-It Ralph or any of these characters. I'm merely a fan, this is just a Fan-Fic. Please enjoy the story.
It started out like any typical day; Ralph would wreck the building, the gamer would try to help Felix fix it. Sometimes they would even proceed far enough that they'd clear the level. That was his favorite part (even though it didn't use to be), for he could watch his favorite squirt race for a second when the Nicelanders threw him off the roof. They might even play well enough to proceed to one of the Bonus levels, which Ralph found really fun (working with Q*bert and the others really livens things up.)
As much more enjoyable his job was now, though, his favorite part would always be at the end of the day, when the arcade closed. Then the Nicelanders would return to their apartments as they always had, Q*bert and the other new guys would go to the new homes Felix and he had built for him, and Felix and his wife Calhoun would meet up. Sometimes she would come here, to Felix's apartment, and sometimes he would go to Calhoun's living quarters at Hero's Duty.
As for Ralph, there was always one place he would go, and it was the main reason he always wished the arcade might close a little sooner. Once the lights were off, he would travel through Game Central Station to Sugar Rush, where he would watch President Fart-Feathers participate in the Random Roster Race. It was still set up much the same was as it was in King Candy's, or rather Turbo's day, with it being pay-to-play. However, nowadays Venelope arranged it so that a couple slots remained open, to be filled by a random selection from those that couldn't afford to pay in. Real genius, that one! Ralph thought proudly.
Of course, Felix and Calhoun would always meet him there before the race started, and they would cheer for Venelope almost as loudly as Ralph. He supposed they had grown rather as attached to the runt has he was. Perhaps they would end up adopting her. Of course, that would be just fine with Ralph, so long as they also named him her Godfather.
As Ralph boarded the tram departing from Fix-It Felix, Jr., Ralph wondered what ever happened to Penelope's real parents. Due to her being turned into a glitch by Turbo, Penelope's memory was permanently damaged, so she doesn't remember her backstory nor what had happened before King Candy (Turbo) took over. In addition, no one wanted to talk about it whenever Penelope was around, and since she always stuck to his side like taffy when he was there and she wasn't racing, well….
Today was the odd exception to his usual routine. He was still going to go to Sugar Rush to watch her race, of course. But first he had to make his way to Pac-Man's game for the weekly Bad-Anon meeting. He didn't feel he needed to go anymore, of course, as he was now more than comfortable in his role as a "bad-guy". He just liked to be there in the event any new members showed up, so he could share his story and help them the way he himself was helped.
Ralph had already clued the squirt in during one of the moments the had eye contact that day, and he supposed she would delay the race's start for until the meeting was over, as usual. It must be nice to be President and be able to do things like that, Ralph mused. Of course, he supposed it was much the same way back home now, with the Nicelanders being so nice to him these days; they deferred to him almost as much as they did Felix, and they never forgot to invite him to a party (though he hated to turn many of those invites down, as they often took place during the race). Still it was nice to be needed and wanted.
He saw Surge Protector off in the distance as he crossed SGC over to Pac-Man's. Surge was talking to Ma Fratelli from the Goonies game, but he glared at Ralph the moment he caught sight of him, and Ralph groaned internally. How many times must I apologize before he accepts that it was an accident? Ralph thought, It's not like I meant to launch in an escape pod with a Cy-Bug latched onto my face, nor that I intended to pinball around GSC in said vehicle! Whatever the reason, Surge seemed too busy to come harass him today, which suited Ralph just fine: Ralph didn't want to have the meeting run longer and take the chance of missing Venelope's race.
As Ralph entered the Ghost House where the meeting was held, he saw that everyone else was already there. As he hurried to take his seat, Ralph apologized, "Sorry I'm late you guys." Ralph apologized.
"No, it's all right. You're on time," Clyde countered, "Actually, we're waiting for someone else to show up."
"Huh?" Ralph asked, confused. He did a quick headcount: Clyde, himself, Bison, Ivo, Zangief Smoke, Bowser, Satan, Zombie, Kano, Neff, Mishaela, Beholder, Saw-hand. Yep, they were all there. "I don't understand," Ralph admitted.
"We have a couple of new members showing up today," Clyde clarified, "They were probably delayed by the arcade's Wi-Fi bandwidth."
Ralph suppressed another groan. He liked helping the newcomers, he really did. However, most of the "new members" who showed up these days, especially those who came from outside the arcade, didn't show up because they wanted help or intended to attend the meetings. They came to gawk at him: the bad guy who intentionally did something heroic, not accidentally or because it suited his own ends, like he'd heard Bowser had in a couple of RPGs he'd been in.
"So who is it?" Ralph asked.
"Not sure, actually," Clyde admitted, "I asked him, but he started complaining; acting like I should already know who he is, and how things were much better and simpler in his day, etc."
Great, Ralph grumbled to himself, at least one of our "new members" is an old-timer, perhaps from a game even older than mine. Probably would spend most of his time complaining about me and my "outlandish" behavior too.
Ralph was about to suggest that they wait for only a couple more minutes before beginning the meeting when he heard a grizzled old voice from the maze complaining, "I told you before, Junior, I can push my own wheelchair!" Ralph then heard what sounded like an ape grunting and howling, which sounded oddly familiar to him, before the crotchety voice retorted, "I know you just want to help, sonny, but I can take care of myself. Young whipper-snapper, why in my day…"
Before Ralph could find a reason to excuse himself or to ask anyone else if they recognized the voices, the speakers came around the door and Ralph's jaw nearly hit the floor: Pushing a wheelchair (in which sat possibly the oldest ape Ralph had ever seen) was Donkey Kong! The Donkey Kong, the original bad guy! Sure, Clyde was older by a year, but it was with the coming of Donkey Kong that players started referring to them as "Bad Guys", rather than merely enemies. As Ralph looked around, he saw that the others were just as stunned as he was.
Before he could come up with something to say, the next person who entered the door caused Ralph's jaw to drop further: it was Mario! Now he could understand why DK was there, and the old ape was a bit of a mystery, though a minor one. But what on earth was Mario, the original good guy doing here in Bad-Anon?!
Mario, looking very uncomfortable and sheepish, said, "Hello, a-everyone. Hey there, Bowsie."
Bowser, startled by this unexpected entrance and greeting, belched fire in what was only the second spit-take Ralph had seen from the Koopa, not that Ralph could blame him.
Finally finding his voice, Ralph asked, "Mario? What are you dong here at Bad-Anon? And Donkey Kong, we're all honored you can join us here today after all these years, but who's the old ape you brought with you?"
" 'Old ape'?" The elder ape exclaimed, outraged, " 'Old ape'?! I'm Donkey Kong, you young hooligan!"
Ralph, stunned and confused again, found himself speechless for a moment before he managed to stammer out, "But….but I thought….isn't this…?"
The elderly ape muttered for a moment before saying, "Young whipper snapper, this here is my grandson, Donkey Kong the Third, although he simply calls himself Donkey Kong or DK, thanks to those lazy game developers. They spend all that time and money making those fancy-schmancy CG graphics, but can't be bothered to call us by our given names? Why, back in the day, I had three frames of animation and I liked it!"
Zangief, catching on, said, "Wait, this is Junior's boy?"
"That's right, you muscle-bound ox!" The elder Kong grumped, "You know, you'd think a character with my history and stature would be given a little more respect! I was in three different games. Three! And that's not including the various home console remakes and spin-offs. But when they decided that they needed a new Donkey Kong game for their new system, do they ask me to star in it? No! They make my grandson an adult, give him my name, and rename me Cranky Kong! Do I look 'cranky' to you?!"
Wisely, no one provokes him further by answering honestly, although Zombie starts to before Kano shushes him.
Trying to diffuse the situation, Ralph said, "I'm sorry….um, did you want me to call you Donkey Kong, or…."
As Ralph trailed off, Cranky Kong grunts and grumps, "Eh, just go ahead and call me Cranky Kong. Everyone else does."
Ralph hardly thought that would calm down the elder, and he'd like to get through the topics of today's meeting quickly, so Ralph offered, "How about I call you Mr. Kong and your grandson DK?"
" 'Mr. Kong'?" Cranky Kong said thoughtfully, his expression brightening, "Hmm, 'Mr. Kong'. Yes, I think I like the sound of that! Very well then, Mr. Kong it is!"
Breathing a sigh of relief, Ralph continued, "Mr. Kong, I'd like to say what an honor it is to have you here today, and that I meant no disrespect by my unintentional comments earlier."
Cranky Kong chuckled wheezily as he said, "Don't worry about it, young pup. Anyway, I didn't exactly come here today to attend as a member."
Oh, boy, Ralph groaned internally, here it comes.
Cranky then continued, "I actually came to show support for my old rival here."
"Huh?" Ralph said, caught off guard, "Come again?"
Cranky, who wasn't paying attention, had turned to Mario in the back of the room and says, "It's okay, old pal. Everyone who's attending is here to support you, and if anyone dares to make fun of or belittle you, then I'll be sure to beat some manners into them!" Cranky adds, waving his cane menacingly.
Mario, who walked forward to take one of the two new open seats beside Ralph, said, "Hello everyone. It's a me, Mario. Oh, I a suppose you all know that already. I'm a here today because….because…" Mario bit his trembling lip for a second before sobbing, "…I'm a bad guy!"
Everyone, including Ralph, stared at Mario in shock. Everyone, that is, except for Bowser, who stood up and crowed, "Ha! I knew it! I knew it!"
Everyone except Mario, who was still sobbing, then turned to glare at Bowser, including Cranky Kong, who had rolled his chair forward to whack Bowser in the head with his cane.
As Bowser rubbed his head and protested, "Hey!" Clyde asked scoldingly, "Bowser, what is the number 1 rule of Bad-Anon?"
Bowser sighed and recited dully, " 'Whenever someone shares their stories or tells us about something they're upset or feel shameful about, we at Bad-Anon do not make fun of them, nor do or say anything that could make it harder for them to share. We show them the same compassion and respect we fellow bad guys would want for ourselves."
"It's okay," Mario sniffed, wiping his eyes, "I understand what you must be thinking Bowser. But what I'm a talkin' about is from before your time, back towards the beginning of my career."
"But," Ralph asked, confused, "I thought that in the beginning you were a hero then too."
"You're a mostly right, Ralph," Mario confirmed, "In my first game I was a hero. Of course, back a then I didn't even have a real name: I was just a called Jumpman. I mean, what a kind of name is a Jumpman? Still, everyone loved our game, everyone a loved me, and I felt a warm glow whenever I actually managed to save the girl and heard the laughter of the players when Donkey Kong fell down and hit his head."
"Hey," protested Cranky, "Those falls hurt, you know!"
"I know, old pal," Mario said ruefully, "I know. Anyway, when I'd heard that they were making a sequel starring us, and that I'd finally get a real name, I couldn't wait to jump at the chance! I thought there would be newer floor types, more variety of enemies for me to beat….it turned out to be nothing that I expected. Donkey Kong wasn't the bad guy this time, he was the victim!" Mario's eyes stream with tears again as he continues, "He was my victim! I finally had a real name, Mario, and it was the name of a bad guy! It was my name players said in anger and disgust. It was me that the players laughed at when I fell down after being defeated. I went from the most loved character to the most hated! I was so devastated that I couldn't even respond when I was contacted about doing Donkey Kong 3, so they gave the hero part to someone else. Eventually I started doing other things: playing golf, referee a fight. My happiest moment was when I found my brother Luigi. We started doing all kinds of games together: Demolishing buildings, clearing out sewers, even traveling to a magical kingdom!" Mario looked up at Bowser as he said, "That's where we first met you, remember?"
Bowser grumbled, "I remember."
Mario nodded, as if nothing was amiss, as he continued, "Everything was going so well, I almost forgot the pain my second game gave me. And then they had to bring those games into the homes as well. Of course, the remake of Donkey Kong had me being called Mario now, but that seemed to make it hurt worse. Of course, I knew that I couldn't just pull out and leave everyone hanging; I had too many fans counting on me now. But every time I had to be in Donkey Kong Junior again, I was so afraid that they would get so disgusted with me that they'd never want to play another game with me in it again."
Looking up at Ralph, Mario said, "That's why I am so often late to the different parties I'm invited to, why I didn't even make it to your 30th anniversary celebration until after it was already over. It's not because I'm to be cool or anything, it's just because I feel like such a fraud when I go. I'm afraid that someone there will see the bad guy deep inside of me and won't want me around anymore."
As Mario sniffed and fell into silence, smiled and thought fondly, And this is why I continue to attend Bad-Anon. Placing a comforting hand on Mario's shoulder, Ralph said, "Believe me Mario, I know just how you feel. I might not have started as a hero, the way you did, but I've been a bad guy in my game for the last 30 years, and during all that time I had no friends of my own. I had to live in the most miserable existence imaginable. The final straw came when I was not even invited to the anniversary party of my own game. I decided then that I was tired of living alone, so I would prove that I can be a good guy too, so the others would finally accept me and let me live with them. Of course, that nearly ended up a disaster. However, it was through the course of that misadventure that I met Venelope, a spunky little racer who accepted me for me. Because of what I learned, I finally was able to show everyone that I'm more than what role I play in my game. I could show them who I really am inside, and it turns out that they liked that person after all. And I know that you are really a hero deep inside. It's possible that you wouldn't even be half the hero you are today if it weren't for the time you had spent as a bad guy."
Mario wiped his eyes once more, then said, "Thanks, Ralph. You know, you may never have been a 'good guy', but I can tell that deep down you are a good guy. And who knows, maybe one day, you will get a sequel or a spin-off of your own, one in which you are the hero."
Ralph chuckled at the mental image, saying, "Yeah, that'll be the day! Of course, even it did happen, it wouldn't change a thing. Hero or bad guy, there's no one I'd rather be than me, and Venelope wouldn't want it to be any other way."
"Very good, Ralph," Clyde said proudly, "I couldn't have put it any better myself."
After that, the meeting went much like the others Ralph had attended before: they all shared new storied and updates, then closed out with the Bad-Guy Affirmation, with Mario and Cranky Kong joining in. Afterward, as Ralph rode the tram back towards GSC so that he can continue on to Sugar Rush, Ralph smiled as he imagined meeting Venelope at the finish line with the great new story he'd have to share with her today.
End of chapter