Vanellope stared after the departing racers, tears filling her green-brown eyes as she watched them disappear in a cloud of dust. Taking a deep breath, the young girl wiped her eyes on her sleeve. Looking at the tattered, threadbare dress that had seen much better days, Vanellope realized she'd need something a lot better than this to wear, if she was going to the castle! Then she noticed something.
When one of the racers had driven away, he'd left a peanut butter cup wrapper lying on the ground. She giggled despite herself. How many of those can he eat? she wondered. Then Vanellope remembered- they were in a game made of candy! Tummyaches were impossible! A bit more cheery than before, she picked up the wrapper, studying it curiously as an idea formed in her mind.
When you turned it upside down, it looked an awful lot. . .like a skirt! Smiling as she realized what she'd discovered, Vanellope ran over to the Junkyard, rummaging through the dumpster filled with crumbling cookies, stale candy and old car parts, as well as an assortment of various objects racers had thrown away. Noticing something green, white and brown sticking out of the dumpster, she pulled it out- it was a pair of candy striped tights! But what would she wear on top? Then a couple of girls walked by. Hiding behind a peppermint tree so they wouldn't see her, Vanellope listened in on their conversation.
"Did you see Crumbelina's new gingerbread house?" the blonde asked the brunette. "She finally got an upgrade?!" the cotton-candy themed racer asked excitedly. Her short brown curls bounced on her shoulders as she practically danced through the forest! "Yep," the other girl nodded. . "I wonder when I'LL get a bigger house," the brunette mused, taking a lick of a nearby lollipop. Vanellope giggled. The two girls' heads whirled around. Luckily, Vanellope was hiding behind a tree, so no one saw her. . . Just then, a sunbeam beat down, making the two girls squint. "Ouch! I can't see!" the blonde exclaimed, adjusting her chocolate chip cookie hat to shade her vision.
"It's so HOT," the girl with the cotton candy hat moaned. "I'm going to MELT!" Taking off her green hooded sweatshirt, she set it down on a nearby bush. "I think I'll leave this here." "Don't you need it?!" the other asked. "Nah, it'll regenerate tomorrow anyway," the lighthearted racer said with a smile, the kawaii cotton candy on her pink tee shirt grinning as widely as she was. "Someone else can have it if they want it." Vanellope jumped at the opportunity. As soon as they were gone, she grabbed the hooded sweatshirt, hugging it to herself.
Going into a hollow tree, Vanellope changed into her new outfit. She was still a bit sad, but looking into the shard of sugar glass inside the tree, she liked the way she looked. Striped tights, two-layered brown skirt, and warm sweatshirt. Vanellope wouldn't be cold in that raggedy old dress anymore! Tossing it aside, she decided to- gulp! make her way toward the castle. She blinked nervously. Blue pixilated flashes were a dead giveaway as she tumbled into the Brambleberry patch. \
Scrambling to get out, the thorns threatened to rip her clothing and scratched her skin as she finally escaped, making a dash away from the main road so no one saw her. Then, with little other choice, Vanellope began to head toward the towering palace, though the growing feeling of tension in her stomach and her intuition warned her not to.
Where else could she go?
Stumping through Game Central Station, Ralph felt the uncomfortable awkwardness of being avoided. Sure, he was just a kid- average size as kids go, just a bit on the big side- but those hands of his seemed, well, pretty scary to a lot of people! Some Bad Guys took the time to be "friendly," but this was usually no more than a hello, a grunt, or at best an awkward, or very painful, pat on the back. Almost everyone was afraid of Ralph, and it made him feel down. He didn't even notice at first when someone tried to get his attention. . .
"Hey, hammer hands!" Finally, he turned. "Me?" he asked, not quite believing. The girl nodded, smiling wryly. "Who else would I be talking to? Donkey Kong?" she said with a laugh. The girl had to be about his age, with titanium-blonde hair not far below the nape of her neck, a black newsboy hat with- was that frosting running around the center? She wore a black tee shirt with a chocolate-colored jacket, worn brown jeans and red sneakers that had seen better days. "I've been waiting all day for someone to test out the Candy Cannon!"
Standing beside her was a gigantic cannon, decked out in bright colors. It looked fun- and a bit dangerous! "See, Sugar Rush's 2nd anniversary is today, and the King wanted me to test the cannon for the fireworks before we shoot them off." "You want ME- to get in THAT thing?!" Ralph asked in bewilderment. "You're not SCARED, are you?" she teased. "Naw! I just. . .don't want to get thrown off into space and not regenerate!" he blurted. "Pshht, it's perfectly safe! Get in, get in!" she urged. "Aw, ok," he moaned, climbing reluctantly inside.
"All right, the kitten whispers and tickle fights end now. It's make your mama proud time!" she proclaimed, lighting a match. "I love my mam-AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Screaming, Ralph flew through the air, bouncing around Game Central Station. . .and straight into Sugar Rush! Tammie C. Hoarhound grimaced as she watched. "Oops," she said with a sheepish grin. "Oops is right," Surge Protector said, appearing beside her. "You're operating a cannon without a license."