Walking the Tightrope

A Wreck-It Ralph Fanfiction

by Melissa E.M.

Chapter One:

"Enter The Circus"

The poster looked brown with age, and in big, black letters, it read: "BARNABY BAILEY'S CIRCUS AT THE FLYING RUBBERINIS! THIS SUNDAY, 9 AM TO 11 AM!" The text surrounded an image in the center, an old-fashioned woodcut of a circus tent, bordered on the left and right by a pair of elephants, balancing on balls as they reared up on their hind legs.

Vanellope Von Schweetz held the paper in her tiny hands, a look of awe on her face. "Wow... a real circus! I've never been to one before!"

Taffyta Muttonfudge sucked on her lollipop thoughtfully as she eyed the poster. "Honestly, Madame President, I don't think any of us have been to a circus before. I know I sure haven't."

Vanellope raised an eyebrow and looked at her incredulously. "Seriously?" She turned towards the group standing behind her. "Are you kidding? None of you chumps have been to a circus?"

The racers from Sugar Rush had been catching a breather in Game Central Station after finishing that night's Random Roster Race. Vanellope's question was answered the same way by all her fellow racers: no, they had never been to a circus.

Rancis Fluggerbutter was the one to provide an explanation. "Up until two weeks ago, there hasn't been a circus-themed game here in the arcade since Circus Charlie got unplugged, and that was a little while before we got plugged in. We just barely missed our chance."

Vanellope pursed her lips as she gazed down at the poster again. "Hmm... well, I think it's high time we rectified that, don't you think?" She looked back up at the others with a smile. "Whaddya say, guys? Wanna go check this out?"

"Yeah!" they chorused in response, jumping up and down excitedly and pumping their fists in the air.

Vanellope's smile widened. "Great! Let's see... it starts Sunday morning, so we'll need to get up early for this. Therefore, I expect every last one of you to meet me out here at 8:30 AM, on the dot. Got it?"

"Don't worry, Vanellope," said Taffyta. "Rancis, Candlehead and I will make sure everyone else is on time." Rancis and Candlehead nodded in agreement.

"Since when are you so helpful, Taffyta?" asked Vanellope with a smirk. "Kissing up to your president?"

Taffyta playfully smirked right back. "You wish. I just happen to know you couldn't round us all up fast enough on your own, even with your glitching. Face it, you need us."

Vanellope rolled her eyes. "You just keep telling yourself that, Taffyta."

"It's true, you know."

"Puh-lease."

Candlehead clasped her hands together and held them over her heart. "Aw, you two are so cute when you're flirting!" Rancis cackled with laughter. Vanellope and Taffyta blushed bright red.

"We are not flirting, Candlehead!" huffed Taffyta, balling her hands into fists.

Vanellope returned to a cool demeanor with a deep breath. "I dunno, I always thought there was a tension between us, Taffyta," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

The other racers burst into laughter, save for Candlehead, who was still squealing over how her friends were interacting. Taffyta's face grew even redder, and her cheeks puffed out in anger.

Vanellope giggled. "I was kidding, Taffyta. Yeesh, learn to take a joke, will ya?"

Taffyta glared daggers at her. "If you weren't our president, I swear-!"

Vanellope held up a hand in front of Taffyta's face. "Ah-ah-ah! Shush! We've gotten way off-topic as it is. We have a circus to go to in four days. Make sure you and the others go to sleep at a decent hour Saturday night, okay?"

Taffyta opened her mouth to say something harsh to Vanellope, but then visibly deflated, realizing she'd probably regret her words. She sighed and gently moved Vanellope's hand out of her face. "Yes, Madame President," she said dully.

Vanellope threw an arm across the blonde's shoulders, then reached up with her free hand and mussed Taffyta's hair through her hat, making the blonde squeak in surprise and annoyance."Oh, Taffyta, what would I do without you?" teased Vanellope.

Taffyta pulled away from the raven-haired girl and promptly began preening her hair back into place. Despite herself, the corner of her mouth turned up. "You wouldn't be in a good place, that's for sure."

"Okay," said Vanellope, rolling up the poster and tucking it into her pocket, "I gotta go ask a certain Stinkbrain to join us at the circus. I'll see you guys later!" And before anyone could say anything, Vanellope ran away in the direction of the Fix-It Felix Jr. game. Just as she reached the portal to enter the tram, however, she nearly zipped right past the man she was looking for, who was in the middle of his usual "random security check" with the Surge Protector.

"Come on, you know me by now!" groaned Wreck-It Ralph. "Do you have to ask me my name every time?"

Surge didn't look up from his clipboard. "Just following standard procedure, sir. Name?"

Vanellope, who had been watching with mild interest, rolled her eyes and spoke up. "His name is Wreck-It Ralph! When the heck are you gonna quit stopping my best friend from going about his daily business?"

Surge looked up from his clipboard, startled. "President Vanellope!"

Ralph turned to Vanellope and immediately cheered up with a grin. "Hey, kid! How's it goin'?" He held up a massive fist for her to bump.

Vanellope jumped up high and fist-bumped Ralph. "The goin' is good, Ralph my man!"

"Oh, yeah? How'd you place in the Roster Race tonight?"

"Um, same as always! First! Ga-doy!"

Ralph smiled proudly and winked. "Just makin' sure you haven't lost your touch, kid."

"Me? Pfft, never," said Vanellope carelessly. Just then, she paused. She sniffed the air a little. Then she took a huge whiff, and her eyes grew wide. "I... I don't believe it."

Ralph raised an eyebrow in concern. "What?"

Vanellope held out her arms and hands as though she had witnessed something massive. "You don't stink! For once in all the time I've known you, you actually don't stink!"

Ralph gave her an unbelieving stare. "You're only just noticing that? I've been showering and brushing my teeth like crazy ever since I got indoor plumbing in my new house!"

Vanellope raised an accusing finger. "I bet you didn't brush your tongue, skunk breath!"

Ralph narrowed his eyes. "Brushed, and scraped with a tongue scraper Felix gave me."

Vanellope, genuinely impressed, let her finger drop. "Whoa, you're good."

Surge loudly cleared his throat. "I hate to interrupt your conversation, your presidency, but in case anyone else is exiting Fix-It Felix Jr. anytime soon..."

"Are you giving Ralph permission to move along?" asked Vanellope, hands on her hips.

"... Yes," said Surge, as if it were the hardest thing he ever had to say.

"Thank you," said Vanellope. "Come on, Ralph, let's go!"

Ralph gave Surge a smug look before following the little president to the nearest bench in Game Central Station to talk. Vanellope hopped onto the bench and let her short legs swing back and forth. Ralph sat down beside her, making the bench creak under his massive weight.

"So," said Vanellope, "aside from you finally losing your stink, what else is new with you?"

Ralph shrugged. "Nothin' much. Though I have to admit, these past few months have been the best of my life. I have respect, I've got friends... including an awesome best friend," he added with a smile.

Vanellope blushed and giggled. "Same here, chumbo. Though if you have nothing special going on, I have something that might be fun for the both of us!"

Ralph perked up in interest. "Yeah?"

Vanellope pulled the circus poster out of her pocket and unrolled it, holding it out in front of Ralph. "Check it out!"

Ralph read the poster aloud. "'Barnaby Bailey's Circus at The Flying Rubberinis'... the new game's holding a circus show?"

"Yeah!" said Vanellope excitedly. "Isn't that cool? I've never been to a circus before, and all the other racers are going. I was hoping you'd come along, too!"

Ralph frowned. "I'd like to, kid, but... last time I tried to go a circus, they refused to let me in."

Vanellope lowered the poster. "What do you mean? Are you talking about Circus Charlie?"

"Yup. They refused admission for bad guys. And I wasn't the only one, either."

"Are you saying you, along with every single bad guy in the arcade, have never seen a circus show?"

Ralph nodded. "Yup."

Vanellope furrowed her brow. "Well, that stinks! How about you and me go find out if this new circus will let you in? Maybe if they do, you can tell your buddies at Bad Anon about it."

"Wait, 'go find out'? You mean, actually visit the game itself and ask whoever's in charge?"

"Bingo. The next Bad Anon meeting is tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

"And the night's still young yet. So we should go right now."

A look of hesitance crossed Ralph's face. "I feel a bit awkward about going to a game just to ask one question, kid."

"Well, maybe we can get a sneak peek behind the scenes of the big top! You know, meet the performers, see the animals, stuff like that? That'd be cool, right?"

Ralph rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That does sound pretty cool, actually... aw, heck, why not? Let's go!" he said with a grin.

"That's the spirit!" Vanellope cheered. She hopped down from her seat. "Race you to the new game!"

"Think you can win without glitching, kid?"

Vanellope was wearing her old racing outfit from her princess days, the white one that was depicted on the side of Sugar Rush's game console. It turned out that she couldn't exit her game unless she was wearing one of her original outfits – which completed her broken code, and therefore kept her from glitching – and this outfit was the only one that allowed her to move freely. It was also the only one that didn't have frills.

The young president snorted at Ralph. "I can win with both hands tied behind my back, glitching or no glitching. Get ready to have your butt handed to you!"

Ralph knelt into a racing stance. "We'll see about that, sister. Okay... on your mark..."

Vanellope knelt down as well. "Get set..."

"GO!" the two of them shouted together, and they took off like shots from a gun. However, it didn't take long before it became clear who the winner would be. Vanellope, being small and young, easily slipped through the crowds of Game Central Station with a great deal of energy. Ralph, being a very large and clumsy adult, kept bumping into every person he met, muttering "excuse me" and "pardon me" every other second. Some quickly moved out of his way, not wanting to get trampled by a stampeding Bad Guy. Others glared at him as he accidentally bumped into them, but they didn't dare say anything in fear of angering him.

By the time Ralph caught up with Vanellope at the portal to The Flying Rubberinis, he was panting and out of breath. Vanellope smirked at him. "Looks like you need to lose some weight, pudgy-pixels."

Ralph stopped panting and glared down at her. "I do not!"

"You sure about that?" asked Vanellope. "You sure you haven't been gorging yourself on cake and pie?"

Ralph blushed. "N-no! No, I haven't, thank you very much."

"Yeah, right," giggled Vanellope.

Ralph turned his back to her, annoyed, and crossed his arms.

Vanellope frowned. "Oh, come on, Ralph, I'm kidding!"

The wrecker refused to look at her. "What was that? Sorry, couldn't hear you. My fat must have blocking my eardrums."

"Okay, okay! You're not fat," said Vanellope. "I'm sorry. I won't call you pudgy ever again."

Ralph looked over his shoulder at her. "You promise?"

Vanellope held one hand up in a "scout's honor" sign. "I promise."

Ralph turned back around and nodded. "Thank you. Now how about we not waste anymore time?"

The two strolled past the portal entrance and made their way to the train waiting within. It had the appearance of a steam-powered locomotive painted in bright colors. Images of clowns, performers, and animals were plastered all over the sole boxcar, and the only passenger car was accented with gold paint.

Vanellope grinned as she skipped up to the passenger car. "This is gonna be so cool!"

Ralph trodded slowly behind her, wary of how small the passenger car was compared to him. He ducked his head down as he and Vanellope entered the car, only to bump his head on the ceiling once he was inside. "Ow!" He rubbed the sore spot and grumbled in annoyance.

Vanellope chuckled and sat down on a rather plush seat. "You okay there, Señor Too-Tall?"

Ralph sat down beside her. "I'm fine, Little Miss Fun-Size. Ugh... maybe we should've taken the box car."

Vanellope smiled cheekily. "Ride in a box car? Kind of sounds like something a hobo would do."

"Are we still on that whole hobo thing? Really?"

The train's whistle sounded, startling the pair. Game Central Station's PA system announced, "All aboard the Big Top Express, entering The Flying Rubberinis in three minutes at Outlet 11."

"You think anyone else will be coming on?" asked Vanellope.

Before Ralph could answer, the passenger door cars opened, and Fix-It Felix Jr. stepped inside. He immediately spotted Ralph and Vanellope, and his expression brightened. "Oh, hello, Ralph! Hello, Vanellope!"

Ralph smiled and greeted Felix with a wave. "Hey, Felix! What're you doing here?"

Felix stepped further inside and took a seat across from the pair. "I needed to give something to someone in this game. Maybe you've seen him before, Ralph? It's Artie Rubberini."

Ralph scratched his head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Well, he's a blond man, a little taller than I am, and he wears a red unitard. He's visited our game before... just a few days ago, actually."

Ralph thought hard for a moment, then a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh! You mean that guy carrying sheet music?"

"That's him!" said Felix. "See, he dropped one of his pages while he was visiting, and now I'm giving it back to him. I would have seen him sooner, but I was a mite bit busy... Q*Bert's shower drain was severely clogged."

"Clogged by what?" asked Vanellope.

Felix rubbed the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "It might be better if you didn't ask," he replied nervously.

"Can I ask where the Sarge is, then?" Vanellope inquired further.

Felix shrugged. "I invited Tammy to come with me to see the circus before the big show on Sunday. But for some reason, she doesn't want to come anywhere near this game. She keeps making all sorts of excuses. First she told me she'd have an allergic reaction to the animals. Then she said the loud noises would remind her of her game and would be stressful. Then later she claimed the bright colors were the problem and would annoy her. And just before I came here today, she insisted that Calliope music was annoying and would be too much of an earworm for her." He sighed and shook his head. "I hate speaking ill of my wife behind her back, but... I think she's hiding something from me. And it bothers me like you wouldn't believe."

"Or maybe she just doesn't like circuses in general," said Ralph helpfully.

"Well... maybe," Felix relented. "But if I'm right, and she's hiding something, I'll be so disappointed. I mean, I'm her husband. She should be able to tell me anything! That's what people who love each other do."

"Well, I don't know anything about relationships, Felix," said Ralph, "but I do know you and the Sarge are crazy about each other. If she's keeping anything from you, I'm sure she'll open up about it when she's ready. She opened up to you about Brad, didn't she?"

Felix considered this for a moment or two, thinking hard. Then he perked up and nodded at the wrecker. "You know what, Ralph? You're right. I won't bother Tammy about this any further. She's gotta open up eventually. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but maybe soon." He smiled at him. "You know, Ralph, for someone who doesn't know anything about relationships, you sure give good advice."

Ralph chuckled nervously. "Heh... thanks."

The train's whistle blew again, and the PA system announced, "Attention: the Big Top Express is now leaving Outlet 11."

The train started to move with a loud chugging sound, and instinctively the three sole passengers looked out the windows of the car as it quickly moved into the tunnel. The train was soon moving at a steady pace, coursing through the wire leading to The Flying Rubberinis.

"Ooh, I can't wait to see what the inside of this game looks like!" squealed Vanellope.

"You and me both," said Felix, charmed at Vanellope's delight. "Artie seemed like such a colorful person, so I bet his game is wonderful!"

"I just hope they let me in..." muttered Ralph.

Felix turned to Ralph with a look of confusion. "Why wouldn't they let you in?"

Ralph turned to Felix and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. He liked Felix, he really did, but sometimes he wondered how the handyman was so oblivious to everything outside his own happy life. He decided to answer Felix's question in the most polite way he could muster. "Let's just say when you're a Bad Guy, you tend to get excluded from everything."

Felix flinched and frowned. "Oh... like... like anniversary parties?"

Ralph took a moment to realize what he just said and slapped his forehead. "Aw, geez... I'm sorry, Felix! I didn't mean for it to come out that way."

"No, no, it's fine, Ralph," said Felix. "Forgive my ignorance. I guess I'm still learning how to think outside my own bubble. I'm sorry."

Ralph shook his head. "Nah, it's fine. I've gotta learn how to stop being so passive-aggressive. It just slips out so easily."

Felix smiled. "Tell you what, Ralph: I'll forgive your habits if you can forgive mine. Deal?" He held out a gloved hand to shake.

Ralph smiled back and took the fixer's hand in his, shaking it gently. "Deal."

Suddenly, the car filled up with bright light. Ralph and Felix peered out one of the windows again, and were greeted with the sight of a sunny blue sky, and fields of green grass and brightly-colored flowers.

Vanellope gasped and pointed excitedly out the window. "Guys, look! Look, we're here! There it is! There's the tent!"

Sure enough, not far into the distance, there was an enormous red-and-white-striped circus tent, accented with gold and decorated with flags in all the colors of the rainbow. When the train pulled to a stop, the three passengers could see a large, yellow banner hanging across the tent's front, with light-blue letters printed on it. The banner read, "BARNABY BAILEY'S CIRCUS", with the words "The Greatest Show Ever" printed under it in black.

The train's whistle blew, and the car's doors opened. Vanellope wasted no time in jumping out of her seat and running out the door. "Come on, you slowpokes, let's go!"

"Hey, kid, wait up!" yelled Ralph. "We don't know what this game is like!" He leapt to his feet and rushed after her.

"Wait for me!" cried Felix. He exited the car and hopped after the wrecker as fast as he could.

Vanellope screeched to a halt when she was only a few feet away from the tent. She stared up at its massive height in total awe. "Whoa... how cool is this?"

Ralph finally caught up with her, trying to keep his huffing and puffing to a minimum. He too was amazed at how tall the tent was – the highest point had to be five times his own height. "Well... at least they can't make the excuse that I'm too tall to go in."

Felix caught up shortly after, took one look at the tent, and gave a low whistle. "Jeepers... just what kind of circus is this?"

"The greatest ever!" called out a jovial voice.

The trio, confused, looked around, trying to identify where the voice had come from.

"Um, hello?" called Vanellope. "Who's there?"

Suddenly, a dark-gray top hat descended from the sky, drifting delicately on the wind as though it were as light as tissue paper, and landing perfectly on the ground in front of the tent. Ralph, Felix and Vanellope exchanged looks of curiosity and apprehension before they started to approach the hat. They did not get far, for there was a massive explosion of white smoke from the beneath the hat, sending it flying up in the air again and showering the trio with colorful confetti and streamers. Just as the pillar of smoke cleared, the hat came back down and was deftly caught by a gloved hand. The hand was attached to a tall, dapperly-dressed man in a red topcoat with gold trim and tails. The man dusted the hat off a bit, smoothed back his rather neatly-combed red hair, and put the hat on. He smiled warmly at the three visitors, who were staring at him with their jaws hanging open.

"Welcome, my friends, to the Barnaby Bailey Circus!" greeted the man. "I am Barnaby Bailey, the owner and ringmaster. I apologize if I've startled you, but I prefer my entrances to be grand, not meager."

Vanellope's mouth curved into a huge grin. "Whoa, that was cool! Do that again!"

Barnaby chuckled. "I would, little miss, but I make it my policy not to do the same entrance twice. It keeps things far more interesting. Besides," he said, gesturing towards Ralph and Felix, "I believe I've given your adult companions enough of a heart attack as it is. So, may I ask for your names?"

Vanellope stepped forward and held up a hand for Barnaby to shake. "I'm Vanellope Von Schweetz, president of Sugar Rush!"

Barnaby knelt down and shook Vanellope's hand firmly in his. "Oh, a president! I don't believe I've ever entertained a president before. It is both an honor and a pleasure to meet you, your presidency."

"Please, call me Vanellope," said Vanellope. "Being formal's not exactly my thing."

"Understood," said Barnaby with a nod. "Vanellope it is. So, you're from Sugar Rush? That's the racing game by the Whack-A-Mole, yes?"

"You got it!" chirped Vanellope. "We're the best racing game in the arcade!"

"Um, Vanellope? You're the only racing game in the arcade," said Felix.

"Details, details," said Vanellope carelessly.

Barnaby glanced at Felix. "And you are...?"

Felix politely removed his hat and held it in his hands. "I'm Fix-It Felix Jr., sir, from the game, Fix-It Felix Jr. I'm actually here to return something to one of your performers."

"Oh?" Barnaby stood to his feet. "Might I see what you've got?"

Felix pulled out a sheet of music from his back pocket. "I believe this belongs to Artie Rubberini?"

Barnaby skimmed the paper for a moment before declaring, "Ah, yes! That's Artie's, alright. He must have been working on a new song. That's become his hobby, you see. He likes visiting other games to compose lyrics to their music. From the look of things, he was writing a song about your game."

Felix visibly perked up. "Oh! Is that what he was doing? I didn't even look at the page!" He turned the paper over and began reading it closely. "Oh, yeah! He's written something about Ralph here... let's see... 'I know they took his land, but I don't give'... oh!" Felix blushed and quickly rolled up the paper. "Jiminy jaminy, that's not nice at all!"

Barnaby chuckled. "I probably should have warned you: not all of Artie's lyrics are E-rated." Finally, the ringmaster turned to Ralph, who'd been watching quietly – and a bit quizzically – the whole time. "And you must be...?"

Ralph cautiously held out a hand. "Ralph. Wreck-It Ralph. I'm the Bad Guy from Felix's game."

There was a sudden twinkle in Barnaby's eye as he took Ralph's large hand in both of his and shook it vigorously. "Ah, a Bad Guy! How wonderful! You have no idea how glad I am that my circus has managed to attract one such as you, Ralph!"

Ralph raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"Oh, indeed!" said Barnaby, continuing to shake Ralph's hand. "I was afraid that the colorful, cheerful atmosphere of my show would scare away any Bad Guys who might otherwise be interested in coming! Thank you, sir, for putting my fears to rest."

"Uh, no problem," said Ralph uneasily, pulling his hand away. "So... does this mean Bad Guys are welcome here?"

Barnaby grinned. "Well, of course they are, dear boy! Why wouldn't they be? I'm the Bad Guy of this game!"