There's an area in Game Central Station that no one pays much attention to. It's way up front, where the three arched, pronged, windows hang; atop the staircases, on either side, are rather spacious corners. The corners were empty, lonely, quiet, forgotten. It was rare to see anyone residing there because of its gloomy traits, but that didn't stop a certain empress. The arcade was closed, and now Game Central Station was bustling with life, but the Queen managed to disregard the clamor that roared throughout the station.
She ran away from her game as soon as the arcade closed; no one noticed her disappearance from it happening so suddenly. Her game was plugged in this morning, she understood her programming, but she couldn't help but feel so disgusted with herself. Elsa hugged her knees and pulled them closer to her chest. She was so confused, was she really a Bad Guy? An antagonist—the villain? No one had beaten the game yet, so she figured she'd never know. The Queen could feel herself growing upset, this was dangerous, she'd freeze the entire station at this rate. The thought of the blame being pinned on her, almost sent her into a panic.
"Don't feel, don't feel…" She whispered to herself, as she felt a tear roll down her cheek. Elsa tried with all her might to hold in whatever distress she felt, but failed miserably. She buried her face into her hands and let the tears flow; little did she know her emotionally-controlled powers caused the temperature to faintly drop as unnoticeable flakes began to fall from the ceiling. A few residents noticed the slight change in temperature, but didn't think much of it. Elsa was slowly losing control. She had to pull herself together; she had to feel something other than what she felt. She had to—
"Hey lady, you ok?" Elsa gasped, was someone referring to her? This voice was unfamiliar. The surprised Queen raised, more like tilted, her head all the way back against the wall. Goodness, this man was giant! The shock showed in Elsa's, tear-filled, wide eyed expression.
"W-Wow! You sure are tall!" Her fingers wiped away her tears to see if her vision was correct. The tall man didn't shrink an inch.
The stranger's large hand rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, well…it sure would be awkward if I were 4 feet tall, trying to smash a building, y'know?" He let out a nervous chuckle, but it was drowned out by a genuine laugh from Elsa. The formal Queen used the tip of her fingers to cover her mouth and compose herself. She honestly didn't know what was so funny, but it felt so good to laugh like that.
"Where are my manners, I am Queen Elsa. My game was plugged in this morning." She introduced, with a content smile on her face.
"Names Ralph, uh...Wreck-It Ralph. Been here for about 28 years or so; our 29th anniversary is about a week from now."
Elsa was impressed, his game must have been legendary. "28 years…!" Elsa mused in amazement, "Wow, you must be a great hero."
Ralph's default expression, faded into a small frown. He sat directly across from her, his back against the small wall that viewed all of Game Central Station.
"Well, you see, the game I'm from is Fix-It Felix Jr., Felix is the real hero; I...I just wreck the building."
Elsa was taken aback; he was the Bad Guy of his game? He seemed nothing more than a gentle giant, and if that's true, they were no different from each other. A small smile crept onto her features, now she understood what he meant earlier by '4 foot building smasher'. She assumed that he wrecked buildings that were old and run down.
"You're a Bad Guy, as well?" The Queen asked, not expecting the response Ralph gave; she expected a simple answer, such as yes or no but his answer came out rather...messy.
Ralph quickly denied being a bad guy, without soon realizing she was referring to his role, "No! I mean, kinda...uh...in my game I'm the Bad Guy. But that's not who I am. Get it?" He really didn't want to be the Bad Guy anymore, one day he'd change that and prove to everyone that he, too, could be a hero.
Ralph's brief explanation flew over the Queen's head. "I-I'm sorry…" She simply smiled, which made Ralph's expression sink. The giant man let out a disappointed groan. He figured no one would understand the way he felt.
…as well?
Ralph's expression perked up as her words ran through his head, "Wait a minute, in your game, you're a Bad Guy?" What could she possibly do that was so bad? Looks can be deceiving, he supposed.
Elsa nodded and gave a weak chuckle "Y-Yes, it would appear so." She croaked. He found it a bit odd that she didn't understand how he felt. Maybe she was still loved by the characters in her game, despite being a Bad Guy. But why was she here crying and…alone? He figured it was best not to ask, he didn't want to upset her and he really wasn't the best at comforting others.
Ralph shifted a bit, "Well, you're new an all, what's your game about?"
Elsa felt a bit nervous, but since they both shared similar roles, she figured telling him would be alright. "In my game, you must reach the top of the North Mountain, to stop me, and bring back Summer."
"Bring back Summer?" Ralph questioned with uncertainty and a skeptical smirk on his face.
Elsa nodded and shifted around until she was on her knees. "Here, let me show you." Ralph scooted closer to the Queen, noticing her rubbing her fingers together and soon revealing a soft, blue, light. When she flexed her fingers out, a small flurry of snow was released from her palm.
"Snow powers? You have snow powers!?" He was rather excited, he'd never seen snow before.
"Sshhh! Please, keep your voice down…You see, I don't exactly have it under control." Elsa quickly explained as she began to nervously rub her hand.
"So you froze everything? Well I can understand why the game's called Frozen." Ralph sheepishly joked.
Elsa nodded, "And the only way to bring back Summer is…is too..." Elsa slightly gasped and shuddered at the thoughts that ran through her mind, "I-Is to end the game!" She blurted out.
Look at her, she was becoming a nervous wreck. Stuttering and blurting things. She had to keep calm or she'd bring devastation to everyone in Game Central.
"Easy, Elsa!" Ralph said firmly, "Let's not worry about it. Let's not lose our heads. No one's beaten your game yet, so as long as you make it as difficult as you can for anyone to do so." The words of encouragement seemed to have calmed Elsa down. He was right, but sooner or later, one of those 'game masters' will come through. And then…
"C'mon, I'll show you around." Ralph insisted, to take the burden off her mind. The idea of being guided around seemed to have made Elsa forget about everything. The plan was perfect.
"Thank you, Wreck-it Ralph. I'd like that very much." The Queen rose to her feet and brushed off her dress, which seemed to be made of ice, while Ralph protested a bit from being called by his full title.
"Just call me Ralph."
"Ok, Ralph. Please, lead the way!"
As the pair descended down the flight of stairs to roam Game Central, they began to get awkward stares, something Ralph was fairly used to, but Elsa felt uncomfortable. She saw a few lean over and whisper to their friends while eyes darted from the pair and back to the other players. "Isn't she the Bad Guy in that new game?" An NPC, poorly, whispered to another.
"But she's so pretty!" The other whispered back, "And why would she hang with Wreck-it Ralph, of all players."
The first NPC shook his head before finalizing it, "Pretty or not, looks are deceiving. It's best to stay away; you never know what tricks they have up their sleeves."
Without Ralph noticing, Elsa stopped in her tracks. This wasn't right. Who were they to judge just because of their job, a role—a life they were programmed with?
Ralph was puzzled, "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked, while taking a few giant steps towards her.
"The whispers and stares, is this what all Bad Guys go through?" She noticed many of the players making desperate attempts to dash out of their path. As far as Elsa knew, Ralph wouldn't hurt anyone. Not inside or outside of his game.
"Yeah," The huge man admitted, "comes with the job. You eventually get used to it, or just stop caring."
With that in mind, Elsa continued to follow Ralph again. The two wandered around Game Central for a while, as Ralph introduced her to a few games that sparked Elsa's interest. She grew curious about the world of Pac-Man, no matter how vague and boring her companion made it sound. The more Ralph tried to convince her how boring the game was, the more the persistent Queen wanted to visit. That must have rubbed off from her sister.
Anna…
The thought of her dear sister trying to reach her, was heart breaking. Sure they could see each other after the arcade closed and outside of the game as well, but Elsa didn't want to risk losing her forever.
"Wanna head to Burger Time?" Ralph asked, causing Elsa to snap out of her brief daze, "I doubt you get to chow down when everything's ice."
Elsa placed her fingers over her lips and giggled, "Sure! What does Burger Time serve?" She was clueless as to what a burger was, due to being programmed in a different time period.
As the pair made their way to the Burger Time trolley, Ralph explained the finger food to Elsa. Telling her about different toppings and various combinations people slap on there.
"Wow is sure does sound messy. When you explain it of course." Elsa teased earning a small smirk from ham hands.
"Alright l'il lady, we'll just start you off with a classic!" Ralph suggested, there wasn't a reason to overwhelm her with various choices, and she hadn't even had an original.
Elsa nodded in agreement, "Sounds great!"
The two entered the restaurant oriented game, only to be greeted by more uncomfortable stares. The two really didn't have to look to know they were being stared at, they could just feel everyone's gazes beaming at them. Elsa began to wring her hands and nervously fidget behind Ralph.
"Uh, evening!" Ralph announced while slightly waving his hand. The looks shifted from uncomfortable stares to nasty looks.
Elsa was rapidly losing her appetite as the uneasiness grew inside of her, but she didn't want to ruin the good time they were having because they were receiving dirty looks.
"Ralph! Good to see you!" Greeted a friendly voice, "Please, please come in, have a seat!" Once Ralph stepped out of the way, the Queen was revealed to the friendly greeter, his inviting tone made Elsa's negative feelings dissipate. "Oh, I see you've made a friend," The greeter acknowledged as he admired Elsa, "and a gorgeous one at that!" He added before zipping over and gently grabbing Elsa's hand, it was a simple gesture, but Elsa quickly pulled her hand away. It was almost like instinct; she didn't want to cause a scene or any accidents.
Elsa placed her hands on top of each other and gave a nervous smile, "U-um, I'm Queen Elsa." She introduced, "My game was plugged in this morning."
"Ah! So you're the stunning antagonist everyone's talking about." His words meant no harm, that much Elsa could detect, but she was already this popular? She didn't want to think of what everyone thought of her.
Elsa's face mildly twisted into curiosity, "I'm sorry, 'everyone's talking about'?" She repeated, she had only been plugged in for 10 hours, and didn't get much of a chance to meet anyone, or explore anything outside her game, until 45 minutes ago. Honestly, she didn't want to meet anyone.
Apparently Ralph would be the only acceptation.
"It's not every day you get to meet a good looking Bad Guy, take a look at Ralph!" He joked, before noticing Elsa's unchanged expression. She seemed to be stuck on her previous thought. "I'm sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to upset you."
Elsa snapped back into reality, her expression now shifted into a calm smile, "No, it's alright. I'm not upset, I can tell you meant no harm."
"Hey, Elsa!" Ralph called over as he waved a giant hand in the air. He had found a great booth spot for the two, despite being how huge Ralph was, he managed to make himself comfortable.
The friendly greeter, apparently, was the only one who ever greeted and served Ralph or any other Bad Guy who came into Burger Time. Everyone else was too stuck up or intimidated to even acknowledge them. Nonetheless, Elsa was very grateful to see that not everyone was so ignorant. Though she did feel slightly bad, he even had to be the chef for every villain, since no one would cook for them either. It wasn't long before the cheerful greeter waltzed out of the kitchen with Ralph and Elsa's order of classic burgers.
"Two classic orders of the best burgers around!" He announced while setting the plates. "And two root beers! Don't worry, it's on the house!"
"Thanks!" Ralph waved.
Elsa quirked a brow as she stared at the burger on her plate, it was hot so she decided to let it cool off. "It's great to see that everyone isn't the same around here." Elsa said low enough so only Ralph could hear.
He agreed by nodding his head, "Pepper hired him when his game was unplugged some years ago. He's the first and only one to serve Bad Guys that comes in here."
The only one. Elsa could hardly believe it. "What a hero…" she subconsciously whispered, her gaze still fixated on her burger.
"Well, Queeny, if you don't mind I'd like to make a toast!" Ralph admitted as he held up his glass of root beer.
Elsa followed suit into picking up her glass of root beer, and soon questioning, "A toast?"
"To the coolest Bad Guy!" He emphasized
"Please tell me that's not your best pun." Elsa giggled
"Eeeh...as of now. Look, just give me some more time."
She nodded, "Then I'd like to make a toast too." She held her drink up, "To the reckless one of them all!"
Ralph's giant hand palmed his face. "Alright, you can have that one." He approved.
"To the coolest!"
"To the reckless!"
Their drinks clank together and were soon followed by a gulp.
"Wow! Burgers sure do taste great!" Elsa admitted after the third bite.
"See, I told ya'!" Ralph had already finished his and was now sipping his root beer.
"But it isn't better than chocolate." She simply added.
"Chocolate, huh. Never was a fan of chocolate." Ralph sheepishly responded.
Elsa was shocked, "Not a fan of chocolate?!" She thought everyone loved the sweet dessert. "My sister and I used to sneak into the kitchen and grab as much chocolate as we could, before running back to our room." The memory gave her a peaceful smile.
"Your sister?" The whole time they were together, not once had Elsa mentioned a sibling.
Her dear sister Anna. Elsa knew Anna would travel through Hell and back just to see her.
"Princess Anna is the protagonist," Elsa explained, "she's the one that tries to reach to me so I can bring back summer." Due to Elsa's back story, she feared being near her sister. The only way she could protect her was to stay far, far away from her. Inside and outside of their game.
Elsa explained the important bits of her story, like how she accidentally struck Anna, the death of her parents, and how she tried with all he might to conceal her secret. But once her secret was out, she ran away from Arendelle and into the mountains, and she'd keep running too if it meant keeping Anna away from her.
"Well I'm no expert on giving advice," Ralph started after Elsa ended her back story, "but you can't keep running forever. You'll have to face your sister eventually."
The Queen nodded. It was true, but as of now, she just couldn't risk hurting Anna again. "But if she does reach me, what power does she have to stop me and my undoing?" Anna was completely normal, while the Queen saw herself as a monster. Elsa was the only one with powers; she knew deep down that the only way to stop the winter was to kill her. But would that really put an end to Arendelle's frozen nightmare?
"Easy, easy." Ralph chided, it wasn't much, but it did calm Elsa down. He could tell she had a lot on her mind already, but to have such a back story to boot. Sheesh.
Elsa composed herself and apologized, it'd be dangerous to lose control outside of her game. It was best if they changed the subject.
"Earlier, you seemed intrigued by my powers. Have you never seen snow before?"
Ralph shook his head no, "Not until you came along, Missy."
Elsa grinned. Before they knew it, the two were in Elsa's home game having a blast! The Queen used her powers to make Ralph a pair of ice skates, that were sturdy enough to support him, and began skating across her icy floor. Ralph had wobbled and slipped multiple times in poor attempts to move.
"Little help here!" He shouted while trying to stand back onto his feet. Elsa could only giggle at his struggles as she effortlessly skated around him.
The giggles transcended into soft laughter as she used both her hands to grab one of Ralph's giant hands; with momentum on her side, it was easier gliding him across the ice.
It didn't even occur to her that she had touched another person without fear or worry.
"C'mon, it's not that difficult, is it?" She spoke as the two began to glide around the palace together.
Ralph rolled his eyes and grumbled, "As difficult as trying to watch you smash a building…with your bare hands, not your powers!" He quickly added once he saw Elsa inhaling air to retort.
The Queen's cheeks puffed from holding in the breath she was going to use to sass him, but it quickly turned into another genuine laugh. She couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun and with another person. Elsa began to let go of Ralph's hand while encouraging him to continue on by himself. "You can do it!" She cheered while watching him wobble on his skates.
Ralph managed to stand upright, but when he tried to slide a foot forward, he began to wobble again, flailing his arms about as he did so. The giant man was leaning forward but jerked himself back hard enough to fall on his rear. Ralph had to throw in the towel.
Elsa let out a content sigh as she took a seat on a step of her staircase of ice. "I haven't had this much fun in years…!" She breathed.
The giant chuckled, "I've never had this much fun in my life." He confessed, not expecting Elsa to hear him, since he was barely audible. His expression was pleased, this, Elsa could tell by his tone. It felt great to talk to someone with the same role, it was easy for them to understand each other, but at the same time she found herself empathizing with him. Ralph didn't have anyone, not like Elsa had Anna. Someone who would follow him to the end of the world.
Elsa's slim and elegant hand made a reach for Ralph's broad shoulder. She realized that she held on to his hand earlier. It was huge, obviously, but much bigger than she had anticipated. His hand was firm, with a bit of a soft texture despite smashing a building all his life.
She wanted to touch him and comfort him, but fear was closing in on her mind. She knew that just a single touch could cause chaos and since Ralph wasn't in his game, he would disappear forever if the wrong moves were made.
Her anxious hand slid into her lap. For now, she'd just have to rely on words.
And then she whispered the sweet words she always wanted to hear,
"I'll be right here..."
