The end of the line – they, here, in the few short moments they had left, found this to be their final destination. All the game jumping, the splitting up, the heart-shattering loss; it had all thoroughly exhausted the group beyond their means until they could find no longer the strength within themselves to lose yet another home. Sugar Rush's days were numbered, as it had come to be expected. Every racing game at Litwak's will have their day, but just as likely as this is, it is also just as likely – to the point of being inevitable – that the game will ultimately NOT remain the favored. This is especially so when newer and updated versions start to appear; every racing game has the same principles, so what are you losing when you move onto the next, more advanced one?
A lot more than you'd know, would argue the citizens of Sugar Rush. A lot more, indeed; Ralph and Felix had deigned to stay in the now almost bitterly-sweet Sugar Rush on the more than unfortunate unplugging of their own game. Litwak had been dealt a bad hand, he'd come to realize; the ever increasing readability of home consoles had begun to quickly render the arcade industry ever increasingly obsolete, and soon enough there wouldn't be a need for them. Upon realizing this, Litwak quickly decided he needed a backup plan, no matter how devastated he may be that his own business was becoming without a cause. He needed to conserve his money, he needed to conserve his money until he could afford to do something else; unplugging games – this could be the only way. Games that didn't attract a lot of traffic, or were overly expensive; those who cost more for upkeep than they did bring in revenue were now as of much use to him as arcades were to gamers. He'd come to accept this.
Fix-It Felix Jr. had been the first to go. It'd had it's heyday a few years back, in the curiously introduced patch that added Q*bert and friends, but those days had long since passed; predictability was the arch-nemesis to a game. No matter how much of a classic it may be, a dynamic so simple will eventually wear out its charm. Sure there were plenty of things that generally maintained the basic idea, i.e. Pokémon, Mario, Call of Duty… but the thing was, Fix-It Felix Jr. only comprised of a single level, during which the only aim of the player was to dodge Wreck-It Ralph's torrent of scattering bricks as he pounded the Niceland compound to rubble. Q*bert may have mixed it up, but the aim was no different. Kids these days wanted storylines in games; they wanted development. You couldn't really blame them for this, but it was sad nevertheless when beloved classics such as Fix-It Felix took their turn to bite the dust.
Ralph and Felix had managed to escape the immediate demise, but unlike the Nicelanders, they knew they had a place elsewhere, they knew they belonged to more than just Fix-It Felix Jr. anymore. The Niceland building though, was the citizen's home; it was all they knew. They'd have rather gone down with the game than live as immortals in Game Central Station knowing they could never go back. So, they did. Neither Ralph nor Felix could deny them this right, as much as they'd tried to convince them that there was a life beyond their cabinet. They'd decided to perish along with their game.
This was a sad day for both of the characters. The Nicelanders were their family, and despite how they may have treated Ralph in the beginning, it didn't help soften the blow by a bit. Litwak himself may as well have been gashed with the pain he felt at having to abandon one of his first games. It'd created so many memories here, being one of the most popular during it's day, and he couldn't think of one that wasn't fond to him, looking back on it all. Only once before had he been so upset about having to remove a game; Turbo Time had been adored just as Fix-It Felix Jr. and it's terrible malfunctioning, along with Roadblaster's, had been a shameful day… though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't more disappointed with Turbo Time's impending absence – it'd been the first game in his arcade, after all. He'd had it before his arcade, even.
Then, next was Hero's Duty. It's expensive play fee in all actuality, had come to drive away more customers than it's advanced graphics could bring in. That accompanied with an expensive upkeep, this one was a shoe-in for the chopping block. It hadn't been a difficult decision for the soldiers; they wanted to remain behind; they wanted to stay. They wanted to keep their honor… for the most part. Some had gone out to make relationships of their own, outside of their cabinet, and deemed to stay behind with newly found loved-ones, which Tamora could more than understand, seeing as she was a part of this minority. Her men were brave and valiant though; if there was an afterlife for video game characters in the way that the humans believed in heaven in hell, she was sure which one they'd go to. It wasn't the latter, mind you, despite her often claims of such in the past that usually earned a round of hearty laughs from the men.
The trio had taken to staying in sugary sweet game after the aforementioned events. It wasn't as if they weren't over there just as often in any case, ever since Ralph's escapade to the cavity-inducing lands that few years ago, and it certainly had the room; staying hidden from the gamers would be a cinch! Sometimes, it was wondered why the game had so much extra space when such a small fraction of it was seen at any given time… however, it wasn't worth complaining over. Not only this, but the imposter king had left behind, in his death, the konami code to the mainframe vault. Vanellope, ever a curious one, had started toying around within the dark and roomy confines sometime in the beginnings of her self-proclaimed presidency (which was an oxymoron in and of itself). She became skilled with it very quickly, and when the time rolled around for the three now homeless characters to take their place in Sugar Rush, implementing their code into the base of the game was a piece of cake – they didn't want any accidents, after all. If they somehow bit the dust, and Vanellope hadn't went through this procedure, then Ralph, and Felix, and Tamora would all be gone for good, and this certainly wasn't worth the risk when the answer was so simple!
As mentioned previously however, the end of Sugar Rush had been inevitable. Racing games come and go, and in all honesty, compared to other games of it's kind, Sugar Rush had lasted an impressive amount of time. There was not a doubt that this had been in thanks to Vanellope; after the gamers got to try out her persona on the track for both their and her first time, and upon seeing the glitch-teleport ability so prevalent in the little chibi, she'd became an instant favorite. Arguments even began to erupt over who would get to play the little candy-confetti haired girl as early as the very year she had been introduced. This may have not been such a good thing, but for the humans to dispute over who got a certain racer… well, you could imagine it was a very flattering compliment. However, this wouldn't last forever. Any racing game will wear itself out, and the citizens of Sugar Rush had been lucky to see it advance so far in it's popularity while it lasted. This and also the contributing factor of Litwak slowly losing business would be the swinging hammer that'd send them to their own oblivion in the end, and the trio – so tired of running to buy themselves another day – had decided to succumb to the fate. While Sugar Rush had not exactly had an influx of activity recently, it still was relatively popular amongst the games that remained; if Sugar Rush was getting unplugged, chances were the others weren't far behind. So they stayed; Ralph, Felix, Tamora, and Vanellope; all were doomed to an unimaginable fate, but there was some comfort to be found in the fact that they'd be together in their last moments.
They'd all clamored into the castle on that fateful day; the trio plus Vanellope, and all subjects and racers alike. If they were going out together, they were really going out together. They huddled closely like humans waiting for a bomb to strike while Litwak made his way to the power strip, that of which connected the cabinet to it's only life source. Some characters cried, while some only stared on. Some were treating it as if they'd all gathered for a goodbye party, and no one could say they were cross with those who did; a positive outlook in these times were admired.
"Do you think it'll hurt, Ralph?" The tiny raven-haired girl asked the gargantuan of a man, upon whose shoulder she was currently sat, with a seemingly blank glaze over her features. While she may have looked apathetic, and very well passive towards the event that was about to transpire (getting unplugged was accepted to be the end to a game characters life, and sooner or later, everyone's time rolled around, after all) her voice betrayed her stoic posturing. Ralph turned his head to look up into hazel eyes, which looked back down on him from their elevated height, and he suddenly found his voice caught in his throat at her ever so innocent, but evenly heart-shattering inquiry.
"I don't know, kid." He answered bluntly, turning back to stare off into the distance. He obviously hadn't ever gone through a permanent game over so he couldn't say. He considered for a second telling Vanellope that everything would be fine, that it would really be painless, and whatever waited for them on the other side of life – it couldn't possibly be anything negative… but the truth was, and would always be for those who carry on among the living, they could never know. They could never know what awaited them, but some weren't as lucky to know when their time came; some never got the chance to say their goodbyes to one another, or leave in their loved-ones embrace but this… this they got to do. They counted themselves among the lucky, for this fact. "Whatever happens though, we'll be together through it." He concluded, though his eyes never left their spot, glued to the pink walls that adorned the candied castle… and then, that was that. Shortly after, Litwak had pulled the plug from it's place on the power strip, and while this was sad for the arcade owner, it was fairly uneventful.
The story could not have been any more different within the cabinet itself.
Code erupted around them as structures were ripped apart, their very make-up being evaporated and sucked into a vortex of unknown origin. This was the end. Screams could be heard from all around as their world was encased in a rapidly approaching darkness that was left when the sky and earth were torn from existence. Everything was quickly becoming nothing, and the characters themselves only now felt something pulling at them; it was the same vortex that had stolen the sugary lands away from them, and now it was hell bent on devouring them as well in an unappeasable hunger… though there was no point in stopping it. Their decision was final at this point, and struggling was futile. They allowed themselves to be swept up into the riptide. The very cores of their codes were pulled apart in a single agonizing moment before all went black. No more pain, no more suffering. No more worrying about where they were to go should their game be unplugged, but no more life as well. It was very peaceful in a strange sort of way, however; like dreamless sleep. You couldn't have a care in the world if you tried. Time became irrelevant.
This was true, until in a moment as quick as their demise, the sweetened landscape began to repair itself again, wherein the characters suddenly found themselves conscious once more. It began with a soft glow of varying colors surrounding them everywhere they looked, and then grew into pixilated blocks reminiscent of what had been present before the localized Armageddon. These structures seemed to melt, edges turned into rolling features more akin to that of an HD game rather than their 8-bit counterparts. Strings of binary leaked out to flood the spaces between, and upon being linked back together, as destined to be, they flickered back into true earth, upon which the character's newly reforming-in-time-with-the-game feet could stand. Random bits of blocky code bulged and skittered across the walls occasionally as they continued to form, and when looking down, characters could see their hands waving in front of themselves. They were truly coming back to life; they hadn't been plunged into an eternal game over! They castle walls were immediately recognizable in their girlish glory when they'd finished rebuilding themselves, and the now completely reborn characters stood in full completion. They looked around surprisedly at the instantly familiar setting, more baffled by the fact that they were alive then where they physically were, so they'd at least retained their memories… unless this was a version of video game character heaven?
"Quarter alert. Please make your way to the starting line." A phantom woman's voice was heard all throughout the lands, instantly shattering the theory. The trio cast a quick glance at one another, before looking to Vanellope who, like a good portion of the other racers looked utterly disoriented at the fact they had to race shortly after just being resurrected. They looked to one another, as if mentally sizing up whether or not they really should go, or rather to see if anyone else was. They'd however, quickly snap back into the game mentality, and began off in a hurry towards the track, even as confused as they may be; they wouldn't want to be shut back down once they finally got turned back on, after all. "I guess I should go," Vanellope piped before scurrying off as well, waving a quick arm on her way out of the castle, candied citizens filing out shortly after. "I'll… see you later, I guess!" Then, that was it. They were left to themselves to consider what had just happened.
"…Jimminy Jamminy, I thought we were gonners!" Felix eventually spoke after a brief moment of silence, voicing everyone's (albeit, probably in more polite terms than the others may saw fit to use) thoughts on their own behalf. Ralph ran an oversized hand through his wild, chestnut hair, before breathing out a relieved huff of air in response to his brother's exclamation. "Well, we're not, thank user." He had been rather impartial towards his own death, but what he hadn't been able to stand was that Vanellope was to have either her life or her home stolen from her. Fortunately, it seemed now that the unplugging hadn't been the end to either, and the giant of a man couldn't have been more alleviated to know this. Though, he certainly wasn't the only one that felt so; Tamora, in a rare moment of letting emotion through (that wasn't anger or anything so adverse,) had deemed to sweep up her smaller husband into her arms, bringing him into a tight embrace. She'd lost a love once,… and as much as she tried to hide the fact, she was heart-broken to have to go through it again – even if she were to be joining him. The fact that such a sweet person would be left to such a fate, if it'd been as permanent as they'd believed, tore her heart out. She would prefer to fail herself to oblivion a hundred times over than for Felix to be gone from her life.
He wrapped his arms back around her, speaking a few soft reassurances. He'd been made aware of her fears for staying during the unplugging shortly before it'd actually happened, and he couldn't say he didn't share her concerns for her own well-being. He could definitely understand her feelings here. Ralph stayed silent for a moment or two, allowing the couple to have their moment before offering they go to the track since they really didn't have much else to do until the day was over for Sugar Rush. They'd go to Game Central Station later to figure out what happened – maybe Litwak had gotten a better financial plan, and had been able to plug some games back in? Maybe Fix-it Felix Jr. and Hero's duty were back too. They'd have to wait though; leaving games during arcade hours is severely frowned upon ever since Turbo sprung his scheme to take out Roadblasters. If you did, and the surge protector saw you meandering around the place,… well, you'd better have a pretty damn good excuse to be there.
The three made their way down to the race just in time to see Vanellope rocketing down the track, following shortly behind the tiny white-haired and hot-pink adorned chibi that was Taffyta Muttonfudge – the two girls had been at a constant rivalry during the days of the false king, but in recent years had come to grow close to one another. This didn't, however, completely delude the sense of competition between the two, as each were as eager to cross that finish line first; each saw the winner's cup whenever they closed their eyes. Vanellope glared ahead with a fierce determination as the finish line came rapidly into view. Her tongue protruded from her mouth as she concentrated on both propelling her car forward faster and faster, yet also focused on unleashing a signature move to her persona; blue rippled across her skin only a moment before the raven-haired girl disappeared from her spot in a flash of azure binary. She quickly, however, reimaged herself back onto the track a few short paces before Taffyta Muttonfudge; just enough to get in first.
This process repeated a few times. Occasionally another child would take first, but it wasn't without note that Vanellope would always be following shortly behind. The trio looked on at the race, trying to distract themselves from the fact they'd been sat way too close to the nutty candy citizens for their liking; the pounding and whistling in their ears from all the shouting told the few they'd probably need Felix to repair them by the end of it. "The players are really on a roll today." Ralph commented with a raised voice – with both the excited screaming around them and the revving of engines, it was unavoidable. It was true too; nearly no wrecks, and almost no running off the road. Even in the rainbow bridge part of the track, where it was notorious for it's narrow path and harrowing depths below to be a prevalent cause of doom for the racers (or more their competition, per se,) it was only very periodically that they did fall off. "You said it, brother." Felix acknowledged to Ralph. He didn't very often get to come over to Sugar Rush before the unplugging, but of what he had seen, this was very good. Characters did worse controlling themselves on the track then the players did today… that or one skilled kid was hogging the cabinet.
After a while, the activity would eventually die, (from what they guessed to be closing hours for the arcade), and almost immediately after, Vanellope took to scampering back up to the three, her tiny little legs carrying her as fast as she could possibly force them to go. She'd just waken up from a sleep that lasted who knows how long, and she would have honestly preferred to spend time with them rather than go off and immediately race. It didn't matter how much she loved the sport, there was a time and place for it, and then wasn't it. Meanwhile, Ralph, plus Calhoun and the handyman had already been in the process of leaving their seats to go collect the mentioned girl; they needed to go to Game Central Station after all, and they didn't plan on leaving her out of the loop, being the princess —president. They needed to find out what was going on, why they'd been plugged back in (not that they were complaining, but rather they were curious) and also to explain to the other games, those who may have remained, that they were okay. What a discovery, too! Getting unplugged isn't a game over, you just get stored into the memory; you regenerate when you get plugged back in. This would change the way people looked at unplugging.
"We're going to Game Central Station, you wanna go?" Ralph inquired when he saw the raven-haired girl bounding up towards them, and eventually up onto his shoulder, using a thick arm as a springboard on her way. She often liked to make the joke that she was his parrot, and then took to mimicking the gargantuan in the same exact fashion she'd done the day they'd met. Ralph couldn't say he cared for it much more than he did that day, but now she was more than just any brat sitting around tormenting him. She was his brat sitting around tormenting him, and so it was rather endearing anymore than she was actually making fun of him. She tapped her icing-soled shoes lightly against his chest, and thrust an index forward towards the other rainbow bridge; the one that led out of their game. "Andale, Vamanos! MUSH!" she commanded, to which Ralph responded by starting their trek up towards the exit, meanwhile he was only slightly miffed at being her personal packhorse. He could handle her rather insignificant weight, but he was uncertain of carrying her everywhere for the fact she might just forget how to walk.
The trio plus their self-appointed president stepped off of the coach leading from the sweet game that was Sugar Rush, and into the game Central Station… or perhaps, this was incorrect to say. The group looked around in bafflement, stepping through past the game's official confinements, where usually Ralph would be halted for a "random" security check – even after the events with Sugar Rush, this unfortunate factor of his life hadn't lighten up any, sad to say for Ralph's limited after-hour time to spend with Vanellope… though they didn't particularly didn't last long, they were simply inconvenient. Not this time however, when Ralph would have been glad to see a familiar face. When they would have all preferred to have seen any face, really; the station was completely desolate, not a living soul seemed to be present. The place was identical to the station though, save for the lack of other games to be found, so what exactly was going on? Maybe the other games hadn't gotten a chance to get plugged back in yet? That couldn't be though; why would the arcade reopen if there weren't any games besides Sugar Rush? It wasn't that popular.
"There's another game," Tamora said, setting her gaze upon what seemed to be the only other plug within the station. "We'll ask them what's going on." She concluded, in the voice that commanded her authority not be questioned, setting forward towards the game with the men tagging shortly behind, Vanellope in-tow. No one dared to argue with the sergeant when she was in the kind of mood she was, and if they did, they were either very brave or very foolish – Felix had only done so once before. This had been the day they'd gone to go retrieve a rebellious Ralph from Sugar Rush after his little more than alarming game jump to Hero's Duty… ending,… humiliatingly with a hatchling cybug clung to his face and sending him rocketing out of the game. Calhoun had insisted she were to go face the threat alone, but the polite handyman wasn't going to have any of it – not when it was his duty to fix things that Ralph wrecked… albeit unintentionally in that case. This was not one of those times, however, it was noted as they stood staring into the cavernous length that was this unlabeled cord. Whereas Sugar Rush was printed quite clearly in the red and darker-red ticker quite prominently above the entrance, this particular game read nothing over it.
What could possibly wait for them on the other side?
