Hope You Like It (a short story)
By silenthero
I just saw Wreck-It Ralph recently and was really moved. I just thought this story suddenly and wrote it just for fun. Enjoy.
All is well and fair in Sugar rush, as usual. Drivers were racing and citizens were happily cheering. But since that fateful day, many happened and changed forever.
It has almost been a year when a cy-bug had accidentally entered their domain and almost destroyed their world. The culprit had been a bad guy, who in his desperate attempt in recognition had inadvertently releases that same cy-bug into Sugar Rush. But this "bad guy" became the unexpected hero when he thought of a clever plan to exterminate the cy-bugs (that had bred to thousand of its kin) using Diet Cola Mountain as a bug zapper of sorts. Though the attempt nearly made him a martyr, a shunned racer named Vanellope von Schweetz saved him using her "pixslexia", a teleport-esque ability, to her advantage.
Also, the supposed king of Sugar Rush, King Candy, was revealed to be the notorious Turbo in disguise. The crazed racer reprogrammed Sugar Rush into his liking, locking all its inhabitants' memory to hide his activities. He made the princess of that world which is, surprisingly, Vanellope von Schweetz, a hated character labeling her a glitch of the game due to her unique ability. He did it in order that the game won't reset itself, thus undoing all his work, when the princess had crossed the finish line. But it was the "bad guy" Wreck-It Ralph who got rid of Turbo once and for all in his fizzled mountain plan.
It was quite a commotion when all of the arcade heard of Turbo's scheme, and was surprised even more when they learned it was a bad guy who saved the day. This event had drastically changed the outlook of the "bad guys" to a more positive one. They were now respected for their role in Game Central. It was a revolution that started a new beginning for everyone.
Now, the princess of Sugar Rush was in her office. Her office was actually the throne room. She just placed a desk in front of the throne and dubbed it her office. It doesn't have any seats across her so someone has to stand up while talking to her.
The décor of the place was changed a bit. It was less pink and more inviting. There were stuff toys in every corner and pictures of her friends in the walls. Her messy cart made by her and Ralph was parked smack dab in the middle of the room, for convenience according to her.
She had first thought being a president was a laid back job, commanding all your work to others. But it wasn't. You have to read an indefinite amount of prepositions, stamp a paper to approve or not a recommendation, read an invitation to be a guest of honor to other games, punish a foreign character for eating their land, and other boring stuff. She had no idea this was being a president really about.
She was sound asleep in her desk when the door peered open. She quickly took a random paper in her desk and begun pretending reading it. A huge head comically bobbed out of the opening. She instantly knew who her abrupt guest is.
"So what do you want this time, Sleaze ball?" the princess said, looking convincingly busy.
The guest, Wreck-It Ralph, opened the door fully to accommodate his huge size. He looked rather uncomfortable and nervous. "Uhm, hello? So, what are you doing here?" the bad guy asked weakly.
Vanellope gave Ralph a grave look. "What do you think I'm doing? Sleeping with both eyes open?" she sneered.
Ralph pointed a finger at the paper Vanellope's holding, "The paper you're holding is upside down. I think that's not how to read it."
Vanellope glanced at the paper and sure enough it was upside down. "Okay, I was sleeping. But this job is boring!" She took down the traitorous paper and said, "Got any interesting this time?"
"Well, I'm just here to invite you to my birthday." The brown haired man replied. "It's exactly next week from now."
"You have a birthday?" the princess asked not hiding her shock. "I thought birthdays were supposed to be the anniversary of the game."
Ralph rubbed the back of his neck, "Not really. Believe it or not, I have some background story and it says I have a birthday, so does everyone in a game."
"Oh, right." Vanellope quipped. "Where will you celebrate it? In the dumps, perhaps?"
"It's in the penthouse." Ralph replied. "The Nicelanders offered they'll be happy to arrange the party in there so I can't refuse. The party will start just after the arcade closes."
"Great! See you in the party, eh?"
"Ok, thanks!" Ralph closed the door but unhinged the door knob in the process, as usual. There he stood awkwardly holding the door knob and he left as if nothing happened, still clutching the broken thing.
Vanellope wasn't affected in any sense. She got used of Ralph's clumsy demeanor. It's really a good change of routine when you have good friends to rely on. She leaned back in her chair and begun to sleep again.
But she bolted her eyes open when a thought hit her. Sweet mother of monkey milk! I need to give him a present! And I don't know what to give him!
"I don't think a kid your age should be in a place like this…"
"Hey! How about Pac-man or any character that looked like a kid's toy?" Vanellope countered.
She was in Tapper's place and was standing in the counter in all her shortness. It was the first place where you get good suggestions, as Ralph said. But it was not proper her age (and position as princess) to hang out there. Only Vanellope's crude words rightly belong there.
"You're asking me what gift you should give to Ralph in his birthday?" Tapper asked while cleaning a mug.
The princess of Sugar Rush nodded vigorously and waited in excitement.
"As for me, I'll just give him a good brand of his favorite drink. He always liked drinks, you know. But he was never an alcoholic even though he is a "bad guy". Sorry, if that sounds 'labelist'."
"Wait, you just said what you will give to Ralph - and that's not helping me!" Vanellope pouted and turned her head around.
The bartender placed the cleaned mug in a shelf and placed his hand on the racer's small shoulders. "Listen here, Ms. Schweetz, it is the thought and effort that counts in every gift. It doesn't matter what you gave him as long as it came from you. I'm sure he'll like it that you gave him something."
"So, could I give him liquor like you do?"
"I don't think it's normal to receive that kind of gift coming from a cute girl like you."
Vanellope looked mightily confused but thanked him nonetheless for the suggestion and left. But she quickly returned and left a tip in the counter and finally left, noticeably happy. Tapper took it aside and went to his customers.
"So! What kind of gift would you give to Ralph!? " Vanellope shouted amidst the noise around her.
"Gift? I suppose I'll give him a pair of boxing gloves! With his large hands of his, it might look good on him!" Calhoun shouted back at her.
They were in a firing range where blasts of plasma gun and gauss rifle filled the room. Again, it wasn't fitting for her to be around in a place like a firing range, but she was with Calhoun so no one took mind of it, in fear of Calhoun's reply to them.
"You believe in practical gifts, huh?"
Calhoun carefully returned the gun to its compartment and replied. "Yeah. In a battle, things that do not help you hinder you. I guess he might use his boxing gloves for something more useful. He can be useless sometimes, you know."
"Hmm," Vanellope put her hands in her chin clearly thinking. "Would you help me cheat in giving him something?"
"Then it won't be special if I helped you, chipmunk nose. So, no." the lady soldier then quickly grabbed her pistol and shot at the target's bulls eye accurately, in a quick draw style. She blew the smoke out of the barrel of the gun and escorted Vanellope out.
"Nobody would give Ralph a cake so I would put it into myself in baking him one." Fix-It Felix said.
He was fixing the railroad of Game Central to Sugar Rush. Vanellope had derailed it, once again. She became annoyed of the tram's slow pace and started to glitch her way through. But her actions left the railroad with irregular curves everywhere; she accidentally glitch the railroad, too. It was too derailed that Fix-It was called.
To a normal person it would take considerable effort, but to a man with a magical hammer that magically fixes things in just a smack, makes it a piece of cake. No pun intended.
"A cake? You know how to bake one?" Vanellope asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well, it's one of my hobbies." Felix answered a bit embarrassed. "I'm the one who bake the cake when an occasion rolls around. The Nicelanders can only bake pies as far as I know."
"May I bake the cake for him?" Vanellope asked with her trademark puppy eyes.
"No offense, your majesty, but I heard from Ralph you're not adept in baking or making something. Last time you tried to bake a cake, you nearly ruined a factory."
"Ralph said that?!" Vanellope shrieked. "When I lay my hands on that stinkbrain…"
"He didn't mean to leave a bad mark on you, your majesty." Felix replied to calm the racer. "I'm only asserting the idea of giving him something he doesn't have yet."
The avid racer showed a face of wonder. "That's a good suggestion! Also, Ralph doesn't have much stuff so that's a great idea! I think I know now what to give him! Thanks, man." Vanellope skipped around in excitement.
"Glad to be of help, your highness." Fix-It smiled brightly. "The train is now fixed, though I advice you not to teleport yourself while in here. The electrical waves here might have messed with your ability so it affected the railroad, too -"
But before Fix-It finished talking, Vanellope was now glitching her way towards Sugar Rush, derailing it once again in the process. With a defeated sigh, Felix started to fix the rail again.
It was Ralph's birthday. The penthouse was decorated with generic birthday décor of balloons and banners. The penthouse was packed with guests, much to the surprise of Ralph. Even their anniversary paled in comparison to this one. But as the guests kept pouring in, they had to celebrate outside the penthouse to accommodate everybody.
The members of the Bad-Anon club were also there. Zangief had come dressed as a magician and had begun calling for volunteers, which no one dared to even do. The zombie was the unwitting victim of his tricks, however.
"Ok, everyone, gather around," Fix-It Felix proclaimed through the noise and everyone ceased doing something, like sawing a man in half in a box. "We are here to celebrate one of my best friends. He had changed our outlook towards people like him - people who are also one of us deep down. Without further ado, here is the birthday boy, Wreck-It Ralph!"
Everyone exploded in applause and sang a happy birthday song in off-rhythm melodies and different versions. Ralph, in his huge size, wanted to dig a hole and hide in embarrassment, but he quickly gotten over it when all stared at the cake being brought out.
It was a rather tall cake. "From Felix" was written in the base of the cake. It was a model of Diet Cola Mountain surrounded by hills and other landscapes. At the top of the mountain, a miniature Ralph was raising both his arms in triumph with a huge golden medal in his neck. Everyone knew that was the moment when Ralph had saved Sugar Rush, and it became a proud symbol for every bad guy to do the right thing when it counts.
Ralph leaned to blow the candle next to his mini self, and suddenly the mountain fizzled upwards raining them with candy sprinkles, and a pixilated "Happy Birthday" spelled in the air. Fix-It put a hand out to handshake his friend. All he received was a crushing bear hug from Ralph which, thank to his nature, Felix regenerated rather than dying.
"Ok, Ralph, I know there are thousands of gifts here so we will let you choose three gifts to open first!" Fix-It said to the big man.
"Wow. This is very hard to do. What would I choose…?" Ralph said after examining a pile of gifts. He took one that really stood out, and it reads "From Calhoun". It was a metal chest that was dented, scarred, blasted and had seen better days, but still durable enough to store something. It also helps the chests was in high definition and not pixilated like the others.
"Ok, here goes." Ralph opened the chest, but the first thing he saw was a small cy-bug suddenly latching on his face and he stumbled backwards. He quickly put his hands at the cursed bug and was surprised he couldn't touch it, and it vanished suddenly.
"A CGI bug?" Ralph wondered as everyone burst out laughing, especially Calhoun.
"I'm sorry, big guy. Can't help myself." Calhoun said after wiping a tear from her eye. "Anyway, the real gift is still there if you still want it."
Ralph gave her a surrendered look and went to the chest. "Boxing gloves, huh? It's kinda small, don't you think?"
"No, no." Calhoun snatched the gloves from him. "Press this button here and it went as huge as the one who pressed it. Neat, huh?"
"Wow, technology these days." Ralph said amazed, and smiled. "Thanks, ma'am." He placed it back in the chest as Zangief looked pretty jealous.
Ralph grabbed a gift that suspiciously bottle-shaped. "Let me guess, this is from Tapper."
"Righto, Ralph!" Tapper hollered from the crowd.
Ralph took off the wrapping and saw a beautiful, dazzling, sparkling, gem-like… empty Diet Cola bottle.
"Nice right? I thought giving you something to remember your heroics is a nice gift." The bartender smiled at him.
Despite being freaked out, Ralph was rather touched by the gift. "Thanks, Tapper. Always count on you to surprise me."
"Okay, next…" Ralph surveyed the remaining gifts. He saw something looked forlorn and the only gift looked unfurnished. It was wrapped in pictures of race carts. "To Stinkbrain" was written inside of a lining of a lop-sided heart, and a note reads "From Baroness Boogerface". Everyone was quite confused of its labels but Ralph knew better.
He smiled and picked up the gift. Vanellope then started glitching all around in excitement and yelling something incoherent. "That'smine! That'smine! That'smine! That'smine! That'smine! Openit! Openit! Openit! Openit! Openit!"
Ralph carefully tore the wrappings. Everyone peered over it as all held their breaths and saw… a black tee-shirt.
Everyone was silent save for Vanellope's ramblings. Ralph took the shirt and brought it up. There was a printed "The most baddest good guy in the Arcade" at the back. In its front, a pixilated version of his face with a heart-shaped medal hanging from its neck. At least it was his size.
"Okay, this maybe the hardest thing I ever did." Vanellope started talking. "So, I asked Tapper for help. He said the thought and effort what really counts. I poured a lot of thought and effort into it so I covered him. And he also said he'll give you your favorite drink as a gift."
Tapper furiously waved his hands when Ralph stared at him.
"Then I went to Calhoun and she said it must be practical. You can always use that tee-shirt anytime and it's easy to maintain so that's her. She also said you can be useless sometimes."
Ralph heard a whistling sound from the crowd and saw Calhoun casually cleaning her gun for the umpteenth time.
"And after I derailed the tram, Fix-It said I should give you something that you haven't gotten yet. So, I secretly went to your house to know what your size is, and found out you have few clothes to wear, other than your usual getup. So the tee-shirt covered him. And Ralph, how dare you say I'm not good at baking cake! But since it's your birthday, I'll let it slider.
Fix-It Felix Jr. dropped a sweet as everyone stared at him, Ralph included.
"So… do you like it?" Vanellope squeaked and leaned towards Ralph, staring at him with her trademark puppy eyes.
Ralph wore the t-shirt over his casual clothes and looked very pleased. "I really appreciate it, Vanellope. Thank you."
"Sweet mother of monkey milk!" Vanellope plopped to the ground looking very exhausted. "That took me a whole week to think about! It's the hardest thing I ever did since I became a princess! I'm glad that's over!" Everyone started laughing and the party then resumed its course.
As the event neared its end, fireworks were fired up in the sky, artistically making a pixilated picture of the huge man, and lastly, a gold medal inscribed "HERO" at its center. People were cheering and, unbeknownst to them, Ralph wiped a tear from his eye for his friends' effort into it.
Vanellope then stood in front of him and…
"Top shelf!"
It really is not that bad being the "bad guy", after all.
"I wonder what she will give me next year…"
Fin.
"When can we do this again?" – Owl City
Reviews are appreciated and will make my day. (^^)