Chapter 4-Level Two: Castle Of Illusions
Ralph, Vanellope, and Felix descended to the second level of the dream world which appeared as a colourful kingdom. They landed in the middle of a garden which was surprisingly in the shape of Ralph's head. Soon, they saw a bunch of tiny gnomes who were a strong resemblance to the Nicelanders. As soon as the three were in the gnomes' presence, the gnomes began looking at them smiling which was gleeful, yet creepy. The gnomes had then circled around them.
"Hello, there, young travellers." The gnomes said together monotonously "We always welcome new guests to this castle, even ones we have been waiting for."
"What's going on here?" Vanellope asked in a scared tone.
"Welcome, Ralph." One of the gnomes introduced "We have been waiting for your arrival."
"How do they know my name?" Ralph whispered to Felix.
"Ralph, everyone in your dream knows your name." Felix whispered in a tone that sounded sarcastic but was actually consistent.
"What can we do for you, Master?" Another gnome asked Ralph.
"Do you think you can show us where to go from here?" Ralph asked.
"Go into the castle, Ralph. It's where your outcome awaits." Another gnome answered.
"Ralph, I don't think we can trust these people." Felix commented "They're creepy."
"Look, we don't have any idea what to do from here." Ralph replied.
While Ralph and Felix were talking, Vanellope had looked behind some of the gnomes to see that one of them was turning around. She noticed that there was a chip implanted in the back of the neck of one of the gnomes. However, as she continued to walk around while the gnomes where staying still due to having their eyes fixated on Ralph, Vanellope found out that all of the gnomes had chips planted in the back of their necks. As soon as she gasped in response, she ran towards Ralph to try and warn him. However, he was still too busy talking to Felix and didn't notice she was on his left shoulder.
"Ralph, I need to talk to you." Vanellope demanded.
"Now is not the time." Ralph replied.
"But it's really, really, really important." Vanellope continued demanding "There's something wrong with these gnomes."
"Look, kid, I let you come with me here and the least you could do is lay off the whole conspiracy thing." Ralph replied "Now, will you please just say silent for a moment."
"Fine, don't take my help, Stinkbrain!" Vanellope reacted in an upset tone "But don't blame me once we get into trouble."
"Okay, Ralph, you win, we'll go with the gnomes." Felix agreed reluctantly.
"We have made our choice, little guys." Ralph said to the gnomes "Go ahead and take us to the castle."
Ralph, Vanellope, and Felix were then led to the castle which was made entirely out of glass. They then went inside the castle where they found that it looked a bit dark on the inside and only lit by multiple torches.
"Remember, Tamora told us that we need to find the center, which is supposed to be another safe that's supposed to be able to be unlocked." Felix recalled.
"Alright, come on, you two, let's go!" Vanellope shouted.
As the three had continued walking through the castle, they noticed that there was also a maze inside the castle where the walls were made entirely out of glass. They continued walking through the path, but soon they reached a dead end which they noticed by seeing their reflections.
"Why did this castle have to be filled with mazes?" Vanellope asked.
"I think I can figure out how we can navigate through the maze." Felix suggested "We can retrace our steps and leave a trail notifying where we have been, and then-"
Felix was soon interrupted by a loud sound which was made by Ralph who ended up shattering the glass with his own hands.
"Or we could do that." Felix suggested.
They were then able to walk through the maze due to Ralph breaking the glass. However, once they had reached the safe, they noticed that there was an invisible wall around it. Ralph had tried to smash it, but it was somewhat unbreakable, even though he gave all his strength. All he did was leave a crack, but was unable to continue hitting it.
"How are we going to get inside now?" Ralph asked in a worried tone.
Vanellope had then looked behind her and noticed that there was a switch on the higher point of the wall.
"I think I see a switch." Vanellope shouted as she pointed towards it "Maybe that will open the door."
"But how are we going to reach up there?" Felix asked in a concerned tone.
Felix had then walked around the room without looking in front of him. As he continued, he bumped into an invisible object which ended up glowing taking the form of stepping blocks. Vanellope then grabbed onto the stepping blocks and began to walk on them. She soon noticed that they were a structure to get to the switch.
"Ralph, I can walk on these things." Vanellope confirmed "I can get to that switch!"
Vanellope continued walking, and eventually almost made it to the top. However, she was unable to know where to go because she climbing an invisible structure. When she was at her most unaware moment, Vanellope ended up reaching the edge. She ended up tripping and falling, but able to grab onto the structure to keep up.
"Ralph, can you-?" Felix asked, but interrupted himself after noticing Ralph's structure "Don't worry, I'll handle this."
Felix had then climbed up the structure and reached Vanellope to pull her back up. Together, Vanellope and Felix made it to the top and flipped the switch. However, when they pulled the switch, the invisible structure disappeared and caused them to fall. Luckily, Ralph was there to catch them. Once they reached the safe, they tried to open it, but once again, it was unable to be opened, no matter how hard they tried.
"Come on! Not again!" Ralph shouted "What are we going to do now?"
"Wait a minute, everyone. We can go down into the third level of the dream world." Vanellope suggested.
"What are you suggesting?" Felix asked.
"Calhoun said that the reason these safes are locked is because they are locked by the lower dream world." Vanellope assumed "Maybe if we go down again, we can finally put the totem in the safe."
"But who's going to stay behind and watch over us?" Ralph asked.
"I'll watch over you two." Felix agreed "Don't worry, brother, I've got your back."
Felix then set up the equipment on Ralph and Vanellope as they were going to descend to the third level of the dream world.
"Vanellope, I hope that our next trip will be the last one here. Felix, good luck!" Ralph commented before he went to sleep.
"Felix, do you really think you can guard us?" Vanellope asked.
"I don't know, but it's worth a try." Felix replied nervously "Don't worry, as soon as the time is up, I'll give you the kick."
Vanellope then closed her eyes to follow Ralph into the third level of the dream world.
