"Twas the night before Monday, and all through the arcade, not a creature was stirring, not even a… what rhymes with arcade?"
"Why are you narrating this? We're trying to be subtle."
"Is that why you're wearing a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup hat?"
"At least I picked a dude character."
"Shut up."
"Fine. I need to reprogram this anyway."
"Jerk… Not a creature was stirring, not even a Cy-Bug Egg. Two hackers with skills that were totally leet snuck in through the window to make a prank sweet. By opening tomorrow, Sugar Rush will be glitchy. Princess Vanellope will seem much less"
"Okay, I did it."
"Sweet, you got Vanellope to teleport and everything?"
"Right down to the hoodie and the candy in her hair."
"Alright, let's get out of here. This cherry helmet is starting to get irritating."
"Sure, but we have to get here early so we can actually play as the new and improved Vanellope von Schweetz."
This video surveillance recording was one of the first proven instances of the code for Sugar Rush being changed. After reports came in of a certain version of this game that featured a teleporting, grungy looking Princess von Schweetz, fans began altering games across the country. Some, like the two hooligans recorded above, did so without clearance. However, most of the games changed by unknown hackers were later celebrated by the arcade owners who intended to hire someone to do the same thing. No matter how the game was changed, almost every Sugar Rush that could be accessed was revised to have this new Vanellope. After several months, the company that had made Sugar Rush fifteen short years ago took notice of the phenomenon.
In early 2013, a new game was announced. This one, Sugar Rush 2, would feature powers for all of the characters. It would have updated graphics, a console version, and have online co-op capabilities. Fans didn't care about any of that. They were too busy rejoicing about the replacement of Princess von Schweetz with Vanellope. In essence, they were the same. In spirit however, players felt they were polar opposites.
Princess von Schweetz was the mascot for the game. This was unfortunate, because most of the people who played the game were convinced that she was on a level of hatred usually reserved for Jar Jar Binks and Michael Bay. Her cart was overpowered, her lines were grating, her theme was a mockery of a character that only existed so that little girls could play as her. As far as the fans were concerned, the princess was scum. Vanellope though, she was a pillar of light. She had power, she had charisma, she had a bubbly personality, her cart was balanced with a focus on speed and a lack of control. Even better, they had thought of all of this. Granted, the design and powers for the character had come from that one arcade, but everything else was fanon.
In the space of the first weeks, there were dozens of stories about Vanellope online. In the first month, there was fan-made merchandise. By the time the game was announced, Vanellope had become memetic. Her followers were dubbed Sugar Vans, and had become bigger than almost any fanbase online. These fans had dreamt up families, relationships, histories, and even the mechanics of her cart. With the growth of the fandom reaching exponential levels, there was only one thing left to do. That thing was Sugar Rush 2. On the day that fans referred to as the Rush Revolution, the sequel to the classic racing game went on the market. It was sold out in the first two minutes.
There would be thousands of games sold, but this tale is of one in particular. The owner is unimportant, as is the time it took to sell. In fact, very little of the tale itself "matters." Still, it is a story worth being heard, and one worth telling.