Sour Bill didn't come through. 5 minutes prior to the arcade opening, he approached Vanellope cautiously, still seeming uncomfortable with her Felix appearance.
"Miss President," his voice dragged, "my humblest apologies, but I didn't find a solution yet."
Vanellope let out a small sigh before patting him lightly on his green head. "That's quite alright, Sour Bill," she said in one of her faux royalty tones (though it sounded weird when mingled with Felix's southern accent). Then, in a normal voice, she continued, "Besides, it'll be wicked to try out Felix's game! It'll be fun to do something different for once!"
Sour Bill's eyes widened. "But… what about this game?" he croaked.
"Oh, don't you worry! Felix has it handled! I mean, sure, he's a terrible driver, but as long as the player knows what they're doing, he'll be fine."
Sour Bill turned to look at Felix, who was currently sitting atop Ralph's shoulder (probably for nostalgia's sake on Ralph's part), chatting excitedly with his coworker. Calhoun was nowhere in sight, as she likely had left for her own game by now.
"Well… I suppose it could work," Sour Bill grunted, though he seemed displeased with the decision.
"Of course it'll work!" crowed Vanellope, before racing over toward Felix and Ralph. "Hey, Dippin Dot, get off of my coworker's shoulder! We have a game to get to, y'know!"
"Alrighty, little miss." Felix seemed amused. "But first: here, catch." He tossed the belt down to her, the hammer still attached to it. She crouched down before pouncing into the air. She glitched upward, managing to glitch herself into the belt. She landed neatly on the ground, a proud smile on her face. Felix then dropped the cap, which drifted downward before landing square upon Vanellope's Felix head.
Ralph chuckled before carefully setting Felix back onto the ground. "…Be careful," he advised Felix, out of genuine concern. And though one might think he was saying it simply because Felix was in Vanellope's body, and his protective instincts over Vanellope were taking over, he knew that he truly meant to say that to Felix. Because, after all, Felix was like a brother to him, and Ralph couldn't help but care about him as well.
"Thanks, brother," Felix responded, his eyes wide, seeming taken aback by how Ralph's words reinforced how close they were. "I will."
Ralph grinned before scooping Vanellope off the ground and dumping her onto his shoulder. "Seriously, don't hurt yourself. Just let the player take control. It'll be just like dodging bricks and fixing windows… only instead of all that jazz, you're driving."
Felix chuckled nervously. "Y-yeah, I guess so."
"Don't go for first! Just go for whatever place won't kill you!" Ralph continued, his voice getting louder as he headed toward Game Central.
"You got it," Felix shouted after him.
"Seeya, squirt," Vanellope called to Felix before she and Ralph vanished through the archway.
Felix suddenly felt alone and lost, and panic set in. How was he going to do this? Even if he let the player control him, he couldn't use Vanellope's glitching powers. Once the gamers discovered this, would they grow bored of him? And what if he isn't chosen by the players afterward? Then he'd be forced to drive on his own. How would he manage to pull that off? There's no way he'd be able to drive without crashing. And though he had originally thought he could fix the car if it got into an accident, he now fully realized that he was without a hammer, due to Vanellope needing it in his own game. If he crashed, he was probably completely done for.
"Come along, Miss President," Sour Bill addressed Felix, toddling toward the castle. Unable to keep the confusion off of his face, Felix trailed behind the small sour candy.
"Where are we going?" he couldn't help but ask aloud, his gaze surveying his surroundings. Everything was so… pink. And sticky-looking. They had moved off the chocolate dust road, and were now traveling upon the thick frosting that blanketed the ground, likely mimicking grass, although it looked and felt nothing like it. The frosting would squelch beneath Felix's feet if he put too much weight against it.
"To get your kart," Sour Bill answered, seeming much more comfortable talking to the "real" princess. Felix's voice ordering him around had unsettled him somewhat.
"My kart, or Vanellope's kart?"
"The president's."
"Oh… Is it gonna be more difficult to control than my kart?"
"I dunno."
"Do you have a kart?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"I dunno."
Felix was starting to get a little frustrated. He had only wanted to have a conversation to ease his anxiety, but Sour Bill didn't do a good job keeping one going. His short, simple answers left Felix with nothing to go off of. And so, Felix fell silent, falling prey to his thoughts once more.
Luckily for Felix, they didn't have to walk for much longer. When they reached the castle, Sour Bill held the door open for him. "Thank ya kindly, there, fella," chirped Felix as he passed through the threshold.
"Mmhmm," Sour Bill hummed in a flat tone before scuttling after Felix.
As they had just been there a mere few hours beforehand, Felix was able to pinpoint the kart in a matter of seconds. He trotted over to it, quickening his pace upon hearing the blaring of trumpets overhead, announcing the opening of the arcade. He appreciated the warning that the royal castle provided.
He reached the kart and hastily attempted to push it forward. It didn't budge. He let out an exasperated sigh and glanced about helplessly. Two rows of Oreo soldiers had marched in, their spears pointed skyward. They were quietly humming to themselves as they began to shuffle between each other, a spectacle that Felix couldn't help but marvel for a moment.
However, after Sour Bill promptly reminded him of the fact that the arcade was opened, Felix felt a sense of urgency take over once more. "Uh… F-fellas!" he called to the Oreo soldiers, who about-faced, watching Felix in assumed expectance. "C-could you lend a hand over here? I can't seem to get my kart over to the starting line."
"Oreo," chanted the soldiers in unison before storming to the kart. Felix hopped out of the way, watching in awe as the soldiers effortlessly lifted the kart above their heads, their spears clattering to the floor. They marched the kart out of the castle, and Felix hurried after them, once again thanking Sour Bill for holding the door open.
The soldiers moved at a surprising speed, singing loudly as they made haste to the starting line. When they reached the red, rectangular box that lay on the ground, they carefully set the kart directly atop the box, causing the box to flash a few times before making a ding noise.
"Thank ya, fellas," Felix called to the soldiers as they marched back to the castle.
He glanced around at the other racers. They were all staring at him, confusion etched on their faces. A girl with a short white bob and a strawberry hat spoke first, "Vanellope, are you okay?"
Felix hesitated. He'd seen that girl multiple times, and heard her name announced over the speakers before and after races. She often came in second place, and she had an arrogant air about her that put Felix off a tad. "I'm just fine…" he faltered before her name finally surfaced on his tongue, "Taffyta."
Taffyta raised a snowy white eyebrow. She looked incredibly suspicious. "Really? You don't sound like yourself."
Oh. Right. Felix would have to act more… little-girl-esque in order to fit in around here. "D… don't question me, Taffyta. I'm the president, remember?" He forced a bitter edge into his voice, hoping to sound as bratty as Vanellope often did.
Taffyta scoffed. "Excuse me for caring," she huffed, turning to face forward in her kart.
Feeling victorious, Felix climbed into his racer. The seat was soft—much softer than his had been. He was able to settle into the kart quite nicely, although nervousness still tingled at the tip of his fingers. He squeezed the steering wheel, ignoring the sharp prick of pain that a large grain of salt inflicted upon one of his fingers.
"Quarter alert," chimed the announcer, his excited voice booming throughout the track. "Quarter alert!"
Then his voice came again, though this time it sounded like it was coming from a distance. "Chews your racer!"
Felix held his breath. Please pick me, please pick me, he begged inwardly, squeezing his eyes shut.
"Vanellope von Schweets!" The name rang out. A candy holding a camera floated down so that the lens was pointed front-and-center on Felix.
Uncomfortable with the camera pointed at him, Felix could only manage an awkward smile. Though he usually was good at displaying enthusiasm in front of a player, something about looking right at the camera caused panic to course through his body.
The cameraman frowned at Felix before quickly skirting around the kart, pointing the camera at the back of Felix's head.
"3…" The announcer began counting down. Oh no, thought Felix.
"2…" Here it comes…
"1…" Am I sweating?!
"Go!" All at once, Felix felt an invisible force shove his foot against the gas pedal. The kart lurched forward with a roar, taking off down the road, a cloud of chocolate dust kicking up beneath his wheels.
Felix's hands seemed to turn on their own, willed by the player. He was completely being controlled by the player. Relief welled up within him. He didn't have to do anything. As long as the players kept picking him, as Vanellope had sworn they would, he would be fine.
As long as they didn't notice that Vanellope's ability to glitch was absent, that is.
But, of course, to Felix's luck, they did notice. Felix had steadily remained in 5th throughout the race, and he could hear the player cursing him from behind the screen. He was halfway through the 3rd lap when he heard it. "Why isn't she teleporting?!" snapped the player as they forced Felix to shift gears and slam on the gas violently.
The kart inched toward the back of a chocolate cake kart. The racer in the kart glanced back at Felix. "C'mon, Vanellope, glitch. The player's getting mad," she whispered, slowing her kart down a bit so that her kart and Felix's kart were side-by-side.
"I… I can't," hissed Felix in response.
Surprise lit the girl's face, and she opened her mouth to question him. Out of nowhere, a large glob of vanilla ice cream bowled into the top of the girl's kart, enveloping the racer. The kart violently spun sideways from the impact before screeching to a halt. "A la mode," commented the excited announcer.
Thank goodness that wasn't me, Felix thought. However, immediately after the thought hit him, he felt ashamed for how selfish he was being. Then again, that girl would regenerate, whereas Felix wouldn't, so technically he wasn't in the wrong for his semi-selfish thought process.
In any case, he was in 4th place now, his foot pressing as hard as it could against the gas pedal. He was closing in on the child who currently held 3rd, a little boy in a peanut butter cup kart.
I have to at least get 3rd, Felix thought to himself. Or else the players may find me useless and stop using me… and then I'll be left to fair for myself, and that wouldn't end well…
"H-hey," he called out to the little boy. The boy swiveled his head slightly to the side, so that he could still watch the road and at the same time could better hear what Felix had to say. "Would you please let me pass you?"
The boy scoffed. "Are you kidding? It wouldn't be a fair race if I did that!"
"I… I need to pass you though! So… so please?" Felix felt a whiny edge enter his voice, which, he figured, only made him sound more like Vanellope anyway.
"If you need to pass me so bad, why don't you just glitch past me like you always do?"
"Y-you don't understand! I—" At that moment, the player jerked the steering wheel to the side aggressively. Felix's kart tore away from the little boy's. The player seemed to be attempting to get around the peanut butter cup kart, but Felix simply couldn't go any faster than he already was. Felix shot the boy a pleading look, hoping that he would get the hint and slow down. If Felix just managed to get in 3rd, then he would have a better chance of still being picked. But if he got 4th, then, well, who knew what would happen?
But peanut butter cup kart boy didn't slow down. He shrugged, mouthed an apology, and zipped through the finish line. Felix's kart passed over the line only a moment afterwards. A large number 4 appeared over his head, dancing in a seemingly taunting way.
"I can't believe she didn't teleport," snorted the player. He must have been walking away as he muttered this, for when his voice came again, it was much quieter and from a distance. "What a rip-off."
Felix's kart squealed to a halt at the starting line, and the cameras all turned to face the mountainous letters in the distance that read "Sugar Rush".
"What was all that about, Vanellope?" asked peanut butter cup kart boy as he hopped out of his kart, trotting over to confront Felix.
"Yeah," added chocolate cake kart girl, joining the boy's side. "Why can't you glitch all of a sudden?"
"I…" stammered Felix, unsure of how to explain what was going on. He most certainly didn't want to tell them that he was actually Fix-it Felix Jr. from the game Fix-it Felix Jr., and the real Vanellope von Schweetz was currently residing within his own body. No siree, there was no way he was telling them all of that. "I'm just… I have a cold, is all, and it's… it's hard to glitch when you're sick, y'know?" he lied, fidgeting uncomfortably as all the racers gazed at him. Their confusion immediately shifted to concern.
"You're sick?" gasped chocolate cake girl. "Well, why didn't you just tell us? If you had let us know sooner, we probably could've altered the Roster and you would've been able to sit out of the race today."
Think like Vanellope, Felix ordered himself inwardly. "I… wanted to race. I'm… not just going to sit out due to some… silly little illness." Each time he paused for thought, he faked a sniffle, hoping he would sound sick rather than hesitant.
Chocolate cake girl rolled her eyes, though she gave a little giggle as she did so. "Classic Vanellope," she muttered jokingly, and a murmur of agreeing amusement rose up from the other racers.
"Well, how about this?" Taffyta piped up, leaping out of her kart to join the other 2 racers. "Whenever you're not chosen by a player, you can sit out. That way you don't humiliate yourself when you lose to me." There was a glint in her eye, but Felix could tell that she was genuinely concerned; she just had her own snotty way of showing it.
"Yeah, that's a great idea," agreed chocolate cake girl. "You'll be able to get plenty of rest that way! And I'm sure no one will notice if there's only one racer missing."
Felix couldn't deny that this was a great idea. In fact, it was a very good excuse for him to not drive. An excuse that he'd been hoping for in the first place. "…Oh, alright," he said, trying to sound as reluctant as he assumed Vanellope would, despite the delight that sparked through his chest.
The rest of the day was dragged on rather slowly, though. The first player must have advised the other players of Felix's inability to "teleport", because Felix was only picked 3 or 4 more times during the course of the day. Considering about 50 games were played that day, this made for a rather boring afternoon, and most of the time he either watched the other racers or wandered off to investigate the area.
Each time he strayed away from the race track, though, he wouldn't get much time to explore. One of the two police pastries would always sniff him out and proceed to usher him back to the track, insisting that he get his rest, seeing as he was "sick". It was quite bothersome, and only made the day feel even longer.
Often he found himself wondering how Vanellope was holding up within his own body. A few times, he would glance out at the camera as it floated by, hoping to sneak a peek into the arcade and catch a glimpse of his own game. He never did manage to look into the camera for long enough though.
When the day finally came to an end, and the arcade came to a close, relief flooded Felix. He hopped off of the gumdrop he had been perched on, and didn't hesitate to scurry off to the tunnel that led to Game Central Station.
Vanellope's day, on the other hand, had passed by rather quickly. As Ralph and Vanellope left Sugar Rush and entered the Fix-it Felix, Jr. game, they went over their plan of how they would get Vanellope through the game unscathed.
"The game starts out pretty easy," Ralph said, "All you have to do is climb and fix stuff. Just try not to fall off the building."
Vanellope rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't fall off; I'm great at that stuff. It'd be just like climbing a candy cane tree," she said with a confident nod.
"Yeah, except you have to avoid the bricks. I'll throw as few as I can without making it too easy for the player, but you still really gotta keep an eye out, kid." He gave her a serious look. "You can't space out."
"I won't," Vanellope insisted, "Quit worryin'."
"And you can't glitch too much, alright?" Ralph went on. "Just enough to get away from any bricks you can't avoid. And I'll ask Mary to put out more pies than usual—"
"Ralph, take it easy! What are ya, my dad?"
Ralph glared at her for a moment before his glare weakened at the goofy face she was making, and he had to laugh. "No thanks."
"Aw, whatever, Ralphie," Vanellope said with a laugh, hopping up on Ralph's shoulder out of habit. "You're too gross to be anyone's dad anyw—"
Ralph immediately set Vanellope back down on the ground, a serious expression returning to his face. He quickly glanced around, hoping nobody had been looking their way. Luckily there were only a few people milling about in Game Central Station, and none of them had seemed to notice.
Ralph turned back to Vanellope with a scowl, lowering his voice to avoid being overheard. "I just told you not to space out, kid. You look like Felix, remember?"
"Sorry, it's a habit," she said, looking up at him apologetically. She glanced around as well. "I don't think anybody'd really care, anyways."
Ralph sighed. She was right, they probably wouldn't— but it wasn't something Felix ever really did, and it might look out of place. And he didn't really want to draw attention to Vanellope and Felix's situation until they'd at least figured out what they were going to do.
They were nearing the entrance to Fix-it Felix, Jr. now. Vanellope bounded on ahead of him to avoid any further griping from the wrecker. Soon they were both seated in the little tram-train that took them into the game, and it was only a short distance from there.
Arriving at the Fix-it Felix, Jr. station, Ralph struggled to get himself out of the tram-train seat while Vanellope hopped out with ease. Vanellope tried not to laugh at the wrecker.
"Ho-kay," Ralph said, a little out of breath as he finally hefted himself free from the seat, "Arcade's gonna be opening soon." He gave Vanellope a quick once-over. "You certainly look Felix-y enough." He clapped his hands together. "Alright, let's do this."
Ralph started walking towards the Niceland building. Vanellope followed him, but was beginning to get pre-game jitters. She fiddled her fingers nervously as they walked. "You really think I can do it? What do I do if the players notice me glitching?" She asked. Her mind was suddenly filled with doubts.
Ralph turned around to face her. "What? Don't tell me you're gonna go and get nervous now, kid."
"I think you gave your nervousness to me," Vanellope mumbled. Thanks a lot, Stinkbrain.
"Look, you're gonna do fine. Just keep your guard up and glitch if you need to—if the player notices, we'll worry about that then. Okay?"
Vanellope looked up at him and nodded, still not looking entirely convinced.
They entered the Niceland building to explain the situation to the Nicelanders before the arcade opened. It was a bit awkward to explain, but when Vanellope gave a demonstrational glitch, even Gene was forced to believe it was true.
Mary agreed to put out more pies for Vanellope to use, as they would make her invincible in the game for short periods of time. And Ralph quickly briefed Vanellope of what to say when the game started up.
"Just grab the hammer out of the air and say Felix's catch-phrase," Ralph was saying as they exited the Niceland building. "Easy stuff. And don't put too much trust in the player," he continued. "Some of them kind of suck at this. Glitch out of the way if you have to."
"Gotcha," Vanellope said, trying to sound confident.
Not too long afterwards, the Quarter Alert warning started going off. Ralph flashed Vanellope a thumbs up and a reassuring smile, at which she weakly smiled back.
Everyone went to start positions as the game began.
Vanellope stood off-screen, watching Ralph as she waited for her cue. She'd only been in the "Fix-it Felix, Jr." game after Arcade hours, and had never seen the actual gameplay before. She stifled a laugh as Ralph went through his scripted tantrum, shouting out his signature "I'm gonna wreck it!" catchphrase. It was amusing to see, and it cheered her up a little.
She watched as Ralph climbed the building and had it wrecked in a matter of seconds. Then he stood at the top, shaking his fists and shouting angrily. He gave the building an extra stomp for good measure, causing the whole building to shake and a few more windows to shatter.
The Nicelanders popped out of the apartment windows.
"Fix it, Felix!" They called in distress.
Vanellope dashed out into the game, grabbing the golden hammer that had been floating in the air a moment before.
"I can fix it...!" Vanellope said, her voice shaking just a little. Thankfully, the player didn't seem to notice. This set her nerves at ease a little. Maybe the player wasn't the observant type—
Before Vanellope could even finish the thought, she felt herself being pulled in the direction the player was moving the joystick. She automatically jumped and fixed based on the player's commands. The bricks Ralph threw fell slowly, and he made sure to wait a bit before throwing them, so both Vanellope and the player would anticipate it. So far so good.
Level one passed without any problems. Vanellope could feel her confidence rising.
It got a little harder when they got to the levels with the ducks. It was a little tricky to balance, dodge bricks, and avoid flying ducks. But with the help of Mary's pies and Ralph's easy throws, Vanellope managed.
This player was good, though. It must have been her favorite game or something. Soon they were in the higher levels, much to Ralph's unease. Vanellope, however, was unfazed by this point. She was getting used to the swing of this game, and that made her a little reckless.
At one point, she underestimated the amount of time it would take for a falling brick to reach her, and she might've gotten hit if she hadn't glitched out of the way. And another time she got too focused on fixing a window and almost didn't see a duck flying at her in time. She glitched out of its path.
Ralph had a mini heart attack each time something like that happened. He was a ball of anxious worry, though he couldn't show it. That kid needed to be more careful…he knew the game wouldn't end until either the player gave up or won. If the player lost…he shook his head. He didn't want to think about it.
The player herself, though, had noticed Vanellope's glitch by now. When at last she beat the game, and the final medal was awarded, some other kids who had gathered around to watch her play commended her on the win.
The blonde-haired girl just shrugged. "I usually don't make it that far," the player explained. "It's like Felix has a teleporting power like the girl in Sugar Rush, now."
"What?" one kid asked.
"Whoa, how'd you get him to do that?" asked another.
"I didn't," the girl said. "I don't know why it happened."
"Maybe it only affects certain games at certain times," another kid piped up. "'Cause when I was playing Sugar Rush, the princess character wouldn't teleport at all."
The girl pondered this for a moment, but in the end just shrugged again before going off to play another game.
The Fix-it Felix jr. characters tensed as another Quarter Alert immediately followed. Now the other players were curious about Felix's teleporting.
This time, Vanellope tried to focus more and glitch less. Luckily the following players were not as good at the game as the first girl, and most grew bored after a level or two.
To Vanellope, the game was growing pretty tedious, as well. Just fix, jump, dodge. She wished she could be racing instead.
Vanellope couldn't have been more relieved when the day was finally over. Her nerves were on-edge from being in such a dangerous situation, and she was exhausted. She liked jumping and climbing, but not that much. She was used to just sitting in a kart and having it do most of the work for her.
Legs aching, she shuffled over to Ralph's mud puddle where he'd landed multiple times that day. The wrecker brushed himself off, looking over at Vanellope in concern.
"You alright, kid? You didn't get hurt, did you?"
"No, but my legs are killin' me," Vanellope complained as they walked back over to the tram-train.
"I'd bet. The players usually don't make it to the higher levels, but your glitching made it easier. For them, anyway."
"Yeah, I bet even Mr. Jimminy-Jumper doesn't have to hop around this much," Vanellope continued to complain.
"Not usually," Ralph admitted as they got in the tram-train and headed for Game Central Station. They were planning on meeting Felix and Calhoun there before heading back to Sugar Rush, and finding out if Sour Bill had discovered anything else useful.
