"Kyle!"
Mr. Litwak dodged past a pair of young gamers, approaching the twin Sugar Rush consoles near the arcade entrance. Kyle, phone in hand, was leaned against one of the plastic pink-and-purple driver's seats, oblivious to the discomfort of the child at the wheel. He was too deep in conversation with the person next to him, a heavyset twenty-something man in a hooded sweatshirt and a broad-rimmed baseball cap.
Kyle barely turned to look at Mr. Litwak, as if disdainful of the audacity of his interruption.
"Hop to, huh?" Litwak snapped. "If you got time to lean, you got time to clean!"
Kyle snorted. "You thought that one up yourself?"
Litwak's mustache twitched in frustration. He was a patient man, but Kyle was testing his resolve more than any employee ever had.
"Saturdays are too busy for sass-back, alright?" he reprimanded. "Now, I need you to go out front and fix the marquee under the sign! One of the F's fell off the 'Free WiFi' part and now everyone's asking how they can win a Nintendo Wii."
"Cool, I want a Wii," Kyle mumbled. The man in the hoodie snickered.
Before Litwak could argue, a shout caught his ear. "Mr. Litwak? The change machine ate my dollar!"
He hurried off, glancing over this shoulder at Kyle. "Just take care of it, okay?"
As he dashed for the change machine, he could've sworn he heard Kyle say "Ignore him, that's just my boss. Total loser."
"I'm gonna wreck it!"
Ralph pummeled the building with the force of a piledriver, raining bricks on the plaza below. Felix dipped and dodged, leaping from landing to landing, hammering broken windows back into existence with ease.
The kid on the other side of the screen bobbed and weaved in sync with Felix as he played, tongue out in determined concentration. Around him, his friends watched awestruck. None of them had ever made it to double-digit levels in Fix-It Felix Jr. before.
With the busy buzz of a Saturday at the arcade, Ralph had found it easy to get back in his groove. The constant stream of retro-loving gamers had kept him and Felix occupied all morning. The previous night's anxieties had been all but pushed out of his mind.
"Yoo-hoo!" Mary chirped, appearing at the window with a pie in hand. With the player's impressive dexterity, Felix nabbed it swiftly, gobbling it down and gaining his invincible sheen. Within seconds, the level was complete, and the words flashed triumphant in midair: "YOU FIXED IT!"
The clouds parted, and Felix received his medal. Ralph smiled sweetly as the Nicelanders hoisted him aloft, ready to hurl him off the roof. Turning his head, he snuck a glimpse at Sugar Rush through the screen, hoping to see if Vanellope was racing again.
But what he saw instead made his heart jump.
For the past few levels, Ralph had been aware of the arcade employee standing near the Sugar Rush consoles - a new hire, he assumed, someone he didn't recognize - in conversation with a man in a gray sweatshirt. But now that man was bent over, peering at the wiring behind the console, even as a pair of kids were trying to race. The arcade employee was still chatting lethargically with him, apparently in approval of whatever the man was up to.
Ralph squinted, completely baffled. What the heck are they doin' to Sugar Rush? he thought…
Before he could ruminate on it, the Nicelanders had chucked him over the side of the building, and next thing he knew, he was facedown in the mud.
Game Central Station slowly came to life. With the arcade closed for the night, characters began to emerge, congregating in the cavernous atrium to meet and share tales of the day's epic play sessions.
Ralph lumbered out of the plug to Fix-It Felix Jr., scanning the crowd. It wasn't always easy to spot her - she was so small, most other arcade residents towered above her.
"Over here, Ham-Hands!"
Vanellope leapt over a bench in one bound, skidding to a stop in front of Ralph. "Well, you're lookin' cheerier than you were last night, that's a plus!" she giggled. "How was work?"
"Oh, same old same old," Ralph shrugged. "Punched some holes in stuff, ate a faceful of mud, livin' the dream." He coughed. "Um, how 'bout you, kid? Anything, uh, weird happen today?"
Vanellope bounced on the balls of her feet. "Weird? Try awesome! Man, did you get to see me when we ran Minty's track and I went over that double-striped candy cane bridge? FWOOP! Right out from under me! Almost landed in the caramel pit 'til the player remembered we still had a power-up - PZHEW! Glitched back on the track in midair! Just in time! Whoo! It rocked!"
Ralph scratched his chin as he watched Vanellope rocketing around trying to re-enact the harrowing tale. "So, nothin' screwy's goin' on with Sugar Rush, then?" he asked. "No hiccups, no shorts, no glitches?"
Vanellope stopped, arching an eyebrow. "Glitches?" she repeated? "Aside from yours truly, that's a firm no, buddy. Everything's fine."
Ralph swallowed. The memory of what he'd seen flashed in his mind. Something still didn't feel right.
Still full of energy, Vanellope tugged at Ralph's finger. "C'mon, it's almost Random Roster Race time!" she squeaked. "Let's get you a seat, quick!"
"Ah, listen, Vanellope," Ralph stammered before he could stop himself, "what do you say we skip the ol' Triple-R tonight, just for a wild hare?"
Vanellope's face twisted in utter confusion. "What? Skip it? I can't do that, I'm the President! I gotta race…"
"Well, we can still race if you want!" Ralph rambled, arms waving animatedly. "We could, uh, run up and down the field over in Madden Football! Or hey, Sonic, right? Now that dude knows speed! Tell you what, invite all your friends, I bet they'll all be up for it!"
Vanellope crossed her arms, looking her friend up and down.
"Ralph, what's wrong?" she asked. "Be honest, are you still a little freaked out from last night?"
Ralph knew he didn't have any hope of avoiding this.
"...All right, look," he began, kneeling down to Vanellope's level. "When I was at the top of the building today, I saw one of the arcade people and some really weird-lookin' guy pokin' around your game, okay? And the guy was lookin' in the back where all the wires and stuff are, and I don't know what he was doing but it all looked super-shady…"
"Ralph…"
"...And I'm just startin' to get a little worried about you, y'know…"
"Ralph."
"...Because what if something's really wrong and they end up having to unplug you or -"
"RALPH!" Vanellope yelped. "Take a chill pill, okay?"
Breathing hard, Ralph put a giant hand to his chest. Vanellope held his other hand, looking sympathetically up at him.
"There's nothing to worry about," she said softly. "I mean, why would they unplug my game? We're still runnin' at 100%, and last I checked, we rake in the quarters like it's nobody's business. Mr. Litwak wouldn't have any reason to get rid of us, would he?"
Ralph looked at the floor, embarrassed. "Yeah, that's true," he mumbled. "But then what was that guy doing?"
"He was probably a repair guy or something," Vanellope said. "I mean, Litwak's a big giant nerd when it comes to video games - after what happened to Pac-Man, he probably wants to check all his games 'n make sure it doesn't happen again, right?"
Looking at Vanellope, Ralph let out a relieved sort of chuckle. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense…" He rubbed his nose. "I'm sorry, Vanellope, I - I just worry about you sometimes, is all."
"I know ya do, Stinkbrain, and you know I love ya for it," Vanellope said with a smirk. "But don't let it drive you cuckoo, okay? Litwak's takin' good care of us. And besides, if anything ever did happen to Sugar Rush…"
She leapt into the air, glitching backwards onto the bench. "I can make it to the exit, no problem."
Ralph laughed. Maybe she was right…
"Now c'mon!" she said with a flourish. "You gonna watch me win this race or what?"
"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Ralph boomed, clambering to his feet. Then, after one step, he slapped a hand to his forehead. "Ah, no, I just remembered, it's Saturday, isn't it? I've got Bad-Anon tonight!"
Vanellope plunged her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and pouted dramatically. "That's right!" she wailed. "Aw, dang it, that heaves…"
"No, no, it's okay!" Ralph insisted. "I can miss one week, I'm sure Clyde will understand…"
"Yeah, but Clyde just moved!" Vanellope said. "You should be there to support his first meeting in his new digs, shouldn't ya?"
Ralph ran a hand across the back of his neck. "...Yeah. Yeah, you're right, I really should…"
"And plus, you got a lot of heavy stuff on your mind right now," Vanellope added. "If anyone could use a bit of group therapy, buddy, it's you."
There was no arguing that. Ralph's shoulders slumped as he glanced at the floor again. "I do hate missin' your races, though…"
Vanellope smirked, her eyes twinkling. "Ah, trust me, Ralphie, whether you know it or not, you're with me everywhere I go. C'mon - top shelf?"
She raised her fist in anticipation. Ralph smiled weakly, bumping his own fist against hers. Jumping up briefly to give Ralph a quick hug, Vanellope scurried off back toward the plug to Sugar Rush. "Have a good meeting, 'kay, Stinkbrain?" she called over the murmur of the crowd, waving cheerfully. "I'll see you after the race!"
Ralph waved back as Vanellope skipped through the crowd. His smile bloomed lovingly wider as he watched her scamper away.
"Aw, she's a good soul, isn't she?" said a voice at his hip.
Ralph looked down. Felix stood there, hands behind his back, grinning his hopeful grin as Vanellope disappeared back into the grounding prong.
"Yeah, she is," Ralph sighed. "Can't be there for her all the time, though, I guess…" He stretched his heavy arms above his head. "So what's on the agenda for you 'n Calhoun tonight?"
"Oh, we're goin' out on the town for a little we-time!" Felix gushed. "Fine dining at BurgerTime and a romantic stroll through Paperboy - can't imagine anything nicer, can you?"
Ralph chuckled. "Sure, if you can outrun those dogs."
"Aw, they're not so bad, they'll lick your hand if you let 'em," Felix said merrily. "What about you, brother?"
"I got Bad-Anon in like half an hour," Ralph shrugged. "Gene's lettin' us use the penthouse 'til Clyde finds someplace more permanent. Guess I'll go get ready - tell Calhoun I said hi, okay?"
Felix tipped his hat and flashed a thumbs-up. "Will do, Ralphie! Good luck at your meeting!" And with a spring in his step, he bounded off towards the outlet to Hero's Duty.
Ralph turned to walk back up to the train. Vanellope was right - Bad-Anon would be especially good for him tonight, a good chance to be with people and lighten the weight off his shoulders. Perhaps he really was worrying himself over nothing.
...But what if I'm not?
The thought wriggled up again from the back of his mind, stopping him in his tracks as he reached the foot of the steps. The memory of the man in the hoodie wouldn't leave his brain. He couldn't help it - something just wasn't sitting right with him. A heavy pit seemed to slowly fill his chest, a feeling that something very very bad was about to happen…
And when it came to the people he cared about, Ralph thought, an ounce of prevention was worth a pound of regret.
"Felix! Hey, Felix!"
Felix whirled around, looking concerned, as Ralph darted back out of the plug.
"Listen," Ralph huffed, stumbling up to his friend, "when you get to Calhoun's, do you think you could ask her a favor for me?"
