Author's Note: This is the secondary sequel of my first story, 'A Sudden Surge'. It's much more 'slice of life' compared to its predecessor, though that's not to say it doesn't have its fair share of action on occasion. The main sequel is 'The Honeyglow Surge'. It shares the same timeline, but is in the perspective of Ralph, Vannie, Jet, Crumbelina, Taffyta, and Rancis. I'm not done revising these stories, but I've decided to finish splitting them up to make this easier on myself later. Until everything is revised, there will unfortunately be inconsistencies between the two.
Pairings: Felix/Calhoun, Markowski/Candlehead (later on otherwise known as Leon/Minty (not Minty Zaki)), and Spears (later on aka Garret)/Jubileena. Being from Sugar Rush 2, the racers are 10 years older than their canon counterparts, which means they are 19 years old.
"Did you see Litwak's face when he saw the highscores were still up?!" Ralph said with an excited laugh. His face was priceless. They were in their game, Fix-It Felix Jr.
"Jiminy jaminy, it was priceless!" Felix said before joining in on the laughter, "The poor man almost had a heart attack!" I'm glad he didn't though! That would have been bad..
"Ah man.." Ralph said before taking a deep breath, "It's nice to see the old man still cares. It's been a long time since he played our game.."
"Yeah.. It happens to the best of us.." Felix said with a sigh, "So.. You and Vannie, huh?" He made that same cheesy grin he loved so much. You're gonna have to tell me all about her eventually, brother.
"Yeah.." Ralph said as he leaned against the front wall of the apartment building, "It's almost like a dream.. I was such an idiot for a while there, not seeing what's important."
"Sounds like you've got a story there, brother," Felix said with a curious grin as he too leaned against the wall, "Care to tell me about it?" This is the part I've been wanting to hear!
"Ahh, it's not really worth telling.." Ralph said dismissively, "I was just having a hard time seeing the two of them as separate people at first.."
"Well that's somewhat understandable, Ralph," Felix said, "I mean, they are really similar. Vannie was based off of the original, after all." I can't say that I would have had that problem. They may look alike, but they're not the same person.
"I still have to apologize to her about that," Ralph said as he looked out past the game screen in the sky, not really seeing much from that angle, "I owe her lunch as well." He chuckled warmly. "On that note, I gotta go.." He made his way toward the railway leading out of Fix-It Felix Jr.
"What about the party, Ralph?" Felix asked hopefully, "It starts in about an hour, you know?"
"Sorry Felix," Ralph said, "You understand, right? Just save me a slice, will ya?"
"Sure thing, brother," Felix said under his breath disappointedly as he watched his best friend leave to see his girlfriend. He perked up quickly however. "Oh! I wonder what Tammy is up to about now.." He grinned and held onto his hat as he skipped off behind Ralph, headed towards Hero's Duty. There's plenty time for the party later. Here I come, Tammy!
All was going well in Hero's Duty. Well, about as well as you can expect from a game about climbing a building and destroying nearly endless hordes of mechanical bugs. The regular players who went to the arcade specifically to play Hero's Duty definitely noticed a difference. It was a welcome change for them, that Markowski was no longer as much of a screaming idiot. They could finally make it to the top of the building with him. They had wondered if maybe the game had an upgrade.
"Nice going out there Markowski," Spears said as he punched Markowski's shoulder in jest. As a soldier, Spears was naturally physically fit, and he had a blond crew cut. I hope he's not still mad about how we treated him.. Technically it was Set controlling him at the time, but he understood all too well that he would have done the same exact thing anyway without knowing the circumstances. Something else that bothered him was how Set was able to wear his armor after being split off like a code tumor, since he was rather lanky and especially short in comparison.
"It's nice to be back in top form after all that time.." Markowski said in a satisfied tone, "So uh.. You want to head over to Sugar Rush 2 by any chance? Tapper's is great and all, but uh.. You know what I mean.." He scratched the back of his shaven head and let out a bit of a chuckle. I'd really like to see her again.. I'm pretty he's got the same thing in mind.
"Now that sounds like a plan," Spears said with an especially wry grin, "I don't think Jubileena likes you too much though." He chuckled slightly and shook his head. Well he's probably not interested in Jubileena anyway.
Markowski shrugged. It's my fault for not asking their names when we first met.. I'm sure he knows I'm more interested in 'Candlehead' regardless. I wish they would use her name more often.. Minty is such a beautiful name.
"Heya fellas!" Felix said cheerfully as he hopped in. The hopping sounds gave him away instantly. The soldiers were completely used to Felix coming in by now.
"Felix," Markowski nodded.
"Hey Felix!" Spears said, "Sarge is just over there at the tower, can't miss her." Every day, without fail. How Felix kept up with Calhoun was beyond him.
"Why, thank you," Felix said cheerfully, "So I take it everything is going well on your end?"
"Affirmative," Markowski said, "Couldn't be better." Well, maybe it could be a bit better..
"Well, I hate to run," Felix said cheerfully as he ever so slightly inched away from the two, "but I don't want to keep Tammy waiting." He sheepishly pointed behind him with his thumb towards his destination.
"No worries, Felix," Spears said with a dismissive hand wave, "Markowski and I here were just about to head out." I wonder how I should ask her out. I guess our intention of dating them will be sort of obvious, so.. Hm.. I'll think about it on the way there, I guess.
Markowski and Spears left Hero's Duty and took the train to Sugar Rush 2. Before, it was a short kart ride to get inside, but due to a complaint from Marco, another soldier from Hero's Duty, it was remodeled into a train made of various types of candy, predominantly jawbreakers. How Marco flipped over his kart to begin with was beyond them.
They got there as the Random Roster Race was halfway over. It was too late to find seats in the stands, it would seem, not that they had a great deal of interest in the race itself. They simply stood far enough out of the way while still getting a good view of the jumbotron, and before long the race had ended.
"That Jet guy got third place," Spears said in an oddly indifferent tone, "Well, I'll give it to him, he knows how to race.." Why am I not still mad at this guy? He shook his head, at the thought. It's not like it really mattered to him in the end, he supposed. After all, it was Calhoun's decision to let him live a normal life, and she had to know what she was doing. At least he's keeping his neck out of trouble, by the looks of it. Not to mention Jet was no longer able to hijack games even if he wanted to.
"Had to be luck though," Markowski said as he shook his head, "Those power-up things are a real game changer." He was a little more interested in the race than Spears was, but he was mostly focused on Candlehead. Minty almost won. She would have, if not for that power-up in the last few seconds. Fourth place is still good though.
As the last of the racers finished, Markowski and Spears headed over to talk to Candlehead and Jubileena. They walked, as they didn't want to seem desperately eager to do so.
Back in Hero's Duty.
"Hey short stack," Calhoun said wryly as she holstered her Multi-Mode Rifle on her back, "Glad you could make it. Figured you would be getting ready for a party about now." Just behind her was the 99 level tower which housed the all-powerful beacon, as well as the much-desired Medal of Heroes.
"Shucks, I lost track of how many parties we've had," Felix said dismissively and smiled, "It's always the same thing, really. Pac-Man eats all the food, Ralph comes grab a slice of cake that was saved for him and chats for a while, and Mario comes along fashionably late just as it's time for everybody to leave.."
"Sounds like fun to me," Calhoun teased, "So what would you prefer instead?"
"Well golly, I don't know!" Felix said cheerfully as he placed his hand on his chin in thought, with his other hand gently resting on his tool belt, "That's why I'm here, I guess. When I'm with you everything's a blast. Sometimes literally!" He laughed sheepishly, which in turn made Calhoun laugh.
"Well I'm happy you feel that way," Calhoun said as she bent down to kiss him. I feel the same way. It was that adorable charm of his that really charged her batteries.
"Heh heh.. Oh! That reminds me I was going to tell you about that weird dream I had when we were back in the code room!" It's weird how I seem to remember it as if it really happened.
"Yes, you did say something about that, didn't you.." Calhoun said as she leaned against part of the bridge leading to the tower.
"Right! It was when you did that thing with my memory files and I passed out," Felix recalled, waving his hands around as he spoke, "It was like I had woken up back on the night of Fix-It Felix Jr.'s 30th anniversary.. Ralph and I were standing outside the penthouse, in the hallway, when he came to get in on the party that the others hadn't invited him to. I think I still owe Ralph an apology for that and other things.." I'm glad Ralph forgave us all the same..
"Oh yeah?" Calhoun said, mostly to acknowledge she was listening.
Felix nodded guiltily. "But instead of going down the way it really had, he got so cross," Felix said with a hint of sadness in his voice as he continued, "Well he did get rather cross that day, but it was later, when Gene was antagonizing him.. It was around that time when I knew I was dreaming. It was crazy, it was like I was trapped, being pushed around with events moving in fast forward. I don't quite remember what Ralph said, but he indicated that him lashing out about not being invited to the party was what should have happened. Not that I would have especially blamed him now that I think about it."
"So where exactly do I fit in with all that?" Calhoun teased.
"Right, well he picked me up by the back of my shirt and dropped me right back down and we were all suddenly here in Hero's Duty.." Felix said as he gestured around and scratched his head under his hat, "He said I'm all yours and walked off holding a baby Cy-bug in his hands and disappeared out the exit. You complimented my 'tiddlywinking' and we followed him to Sugar Rush on your cruiser.." he chuckled, "You pushed me off into Nesquik Sand and jumped down yourself, and I thought for sure you'd give me a few good wallops. But you kissed me instead saying it was good enough that I remembered what really happened." That was the best part.
"Aww, that's sweet," Calhoun said as she broke out into a laugh, which made Felix laugh a bit well. I still feel bad about hitting him back then..
"And then I fell through the Nesquik Sand into the Fungeon where Ralph came along and I fixed Vanellope's kart," Felix said, "I don't quite remember what happened after that, but it wasn't long before I woke up. It was the most vivid dream I ever had if I say so myself." Thinking of Sugar Rush sure is getting me hungry..
"It sounds like quite the ride," Calhoun laughed.
"Now that I think about it.." Felix said, "Would you like to go eat out somewhere? It wouldn't be the end of the world if I missed one party."
"Well I think I can work that in," Calhoun said in a tone that would imply she had other things planned, which she obviously didn't, judging from her smile, "Let me guess, Sugar Rush 2?" It's the only option he's considering. Has to be..
"Sometimes I think you know me too well," Felix beamed. Ever since he went to Sugar Rush for the first time, he had been addicted to sweets. Mary's pies and cakes were good, but after eating them daily for 30 and a half years, he was more or less sick of them. Rather than being sick though, it was more like boredom, despite the programmed rush he received after eating them. Sugar Rush, on the other hand, was an entire world full of all sorts of candy he had never even heard of before.. and Sugar Rush 2 had even more variety than the original.
"Alright, we may as well," Calhoun teased as she stole his hat for a while.. just until they got to the gateway in Game Central Station. It's not like I don't like sweets.. Not that she would admit that out loud. But there'd better be at least some normal food there as well..
Back in Sugar Rush 2.
"So what brings you two here again?" Jubileena asked with a smirk, her arms lightly crossed, "Not another bad guy I hope.." They were still at the finish line of the race, while the others had quickly taken off to do their own things. I knew this was going to happen.. Or hoped.
"We came to talk to our friends, that's all," Spears beamed. We all know why we're here, right?
"Yeah, nothing going on at all. So we figured we could hang out or something," Markowski beamed.
"Well, what do you say, Candlehead?" Jubileena asked. Alright, I may as well see where this takes us.. It should be fine. I would really rather not go out with Markowski though. Maybe I am a little too mean to him.. He's probably just an airhead. Candlehead would get along well with him.
"That sounds great!" Candlehead said cheerfully, "I take it you were watching the race?" I was hoping I'd get to see Leon again.
"Yeah, you would've won if Vanellope hadn't used that Sweet Seeker power-up thing," Markowski said confidently. He wasn't 'in the know' about her nickname being Vannie, he was just going by the name on the roster.
"I know, right!" Candlehead said excitedly before clenching her fist in front of her chest, "I'll get her eventually though. She's a tough one.. I'm surprised King Candy did so badly today." Him and Vannie are pretty much the two best racers in the game besides Jujube, Taffyta and I..
"So did you have anything in particular in mind?" Jubileena asked.
"Well we've been pretty much everywhere by now," Spears said, "We were thinking of showing you around, wherever you wanna go." We usually just end up in Tapper's. Can't really bring her there though, right?
"Oh, can we go check out the other Sugar Rush?!" Candlehead asked excitedly. I want to see little Jujube and I. Oh, and the others too! They must be so adorable. Her face burned red after everyone suddenly stared at her. "No?" I thought it was a good idea..
"Sounds interesting," Jubileena said as she patted Candlehead on the shoulder, "What do you two think?" Of course they're going to agree. Just look at the glint in their eyes.
"You won't get any complaints out of me," Markowski said with a smile as he shrugged his shoulders, trying to act nonchalant. That's one of the best options, isn't it?
"Sounds to me like it's settled then," Spears said. It could be pretty interesting to see how they interact with their kid selves.. It'll be cute, right? It'd have to be cute..
While talking about the race they went on their way to Sugar Rush.
Author's Note: This takes place during chapters 1 and 2 of 'The Honeyglow Surge'.
