Chapter One
"PLEASE?"
"No! Leave me alone!"
"PLEASE?"
Sighing, Ralph shook his head absently as he smacked himself in the face. His best buddy, Vanellope Von Schweetz, was clinging desperately onto his leg, despite his attempts to shake her off. She was trying to convince him to take her to the new arcade game the manager had recently installed for their vacation, since the arcade they lived in would be closed for two weeks. Her big, gooey chocolaty eyes pleaded silently. Her mouth quivered, and huge raindrop tears gathered in the corners of those giant, Bambi eyes. "Please?" her voice was barely a whisper, shaky and surprisingly quiet, which was unlike Vanellope. "Alright, fine! You got me! But one week only!" Ralph's enormous hands plucked Vanellope off his thigh the same way a chimpanzee would pick off a tick. "YAY!" she cheered, her fists swinging everywhere in excitement. All signs of depression seemed to have faded. Groaning, Ralph set her down gently. "So…when do we leave?" she was jumping up and down, a grin on her face, her bubbly, squeaky voice bright with glee. "Tomorrow, okay? Geez, give me a break!" the nine feet tall giant rolled his eyes. They were in Sugar Rush, Vanellope's game, a world made completely out of candy made entirely for racing. Vanellope was leaning back on her car, decorated with sprinkles, fudge, cookies, and other sugary sweets, and Ralph couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'd better get back to my game. It's almost daytime. The kids will be here any second." Vanellope pouted, her arms crossed, but she didn't object. Rubbing her tiny head with his huge finger, he stared into the portal behind him. Taking a deep breath, he waved to the tiny, nine year old child, and jumped in. Vanellope chewed on one of her hoodie's strings, tasting the sweet licorice. She plopped into her kart. She sped off, imagining one of her subjects racing beside her.
Ralph felt himself seeming to stretch and warp into the Game Central Station. He walked into the long hallway of games. The marble white walls were spotless. As he walked through the crowds, he chewed noisily on the piece of candy tree he had broken off. He finally stopped in front of his own game; called "Fix It Felix Jr." Ralph stared blankly at his own portal, the one he called home. He jumped inside, feeling his code being transported into his own game. When he opened his eyes, it was night, but streetlamps decorated the game. The Nicelanders, the civilians of the game, were just chilling in their apartments, and he found Felix helping Q*Bert, an orange creature with a long snout like an anteater, two legs, and no arms, with his new home off-screen. Ralph looked at his past home. Instead of a huge pile of bricks, which Ralph threw at Felix in the game, there was nothing but a couple of spare, lonely bricks. They had used most of the rubble to build houses for the homeless characters, and the rest were in Ralph's house. "Ralph! How are you doing?" Felix gestured for him to come over. Ralph reluctantly walked over. "I was just helping Q*Bert here with his house. He needed a little touch up. Oh well, no matter. I can fix it!" he tapped the house with his magic golden hammer, causing the house to stand up straight and not sag under the weight of the heavy roof. "Well, that's that, huh, Q*Bert?" he then made an assortment of odd chirps and squeaks, which was basically Q*Bert's language. After exchanging words, Q*Bert trotted back into his house.
"So…do you need help with anything? 'Cause if you do-" Ralph waved him off. "I know, I know." He made an impression of Felix. "I can fix it!" he barked, and Felix laughed. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow at work! Oh yeah..." his face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Tomorrow's the start of our vacation! What'll you be doing?" Ralph forced his tired muscles up into a smile. "Vanellope made me promise to take her to the new arcade game for a vacation." Felix wasn't listening. He was dreamily staring into space, a soft blush on his cheeks and a smile on his face. "I'm guessing you're going somewhere special with Sergeant Calhoun?" Ralph had made it a habit of calling Felix's wife "Sergeant Calhoun" instead of Tamora, her real name. Ever since he had entered a first person shooter game called Hero's Duty, a game in which Tamora starred in, it had been hard to shake off the image of her yelling at him while terrifying bugs swarmed around him, with full intent on killing him. "Oh, you mean Tammy?" he sighed, a full, blinding smile came into view. "Yeah, we were thinking of visiting the new puzzle game, you know, the one with no people in it? I think it's called Caribbean Puzzle. Well, anyhow, it's perfect for a romantic vacation, collecting seashells, relaxing on the beach. Ah…" he closed his eyes, obviously visualizing the perfect day with Tamora. His eyes snapped open. "Well, I hope you have fun with Vanellope!" and with that, he walked into the apartment, leaving Ralph standing there wondering how he would ever survive a full week with a rambunctious, wild nine year old from a hyperactive racing game.