Disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-It Ralph!
Arcade Armageddon
Chapter 4
"Tammy?" Felix knocked on the door of his wife's hut in Hero's Duty, lucky to have made it past the entrance of the first-person shooter game. Even though he married its lead character, the Good Guy still had a hard time adjusting to the dark atmosphere. Felix still found it a bit intimidating, seeing as Tamora had to deal with Cy-Bugs on a daily basis in-game as well as outside gameplay (provided of the deadly viruses were to break loose into Game Central Station like last time).
Getting past the entrance hadn't been difficult at all, as Kohut, one of the more serious soldiers in the crew, had been the one on guard, to Felix's relief.
"Tamora?" When the Good Guy still didn't get an answer, he peered through the window to see that the hut was empty.
"Fix-It! I didn't think we'd run into you. How're you doing?"
The handyman recognized the husky voice immediately. Oh, boom. He turned to see Markowski and three other soldiers approaching, grins on each of their faces, from which Felix knew trouble was right around the corner. He remembered last time's ordeal with the bachelor party-gone-wrong, and refused to repeat that experience.
"So? What are you up to?" Markowski asked all too cheerfully, the men behind him snickering.
"W-Why...?" Felix stammered, dreading what they were going to ask next.
"We were just wondering."
"Yeah," one of the other men agreed, "Just wondering."
"Wondering what?" The handyman inquired, "Another 'men's night?'"
At this, the soldiers burst into laughter, as if Felix had made a joke.
"No, of course not," Markowski said. "It's just a little...outing. Just us men."
"You should come with us, Fix-It," another of the three soldiers pressured.
"I was just looking for Tamora, and..."
"Don't be a wimp, Fix-It!" Markowski cut the handyman off. "Last time was just a fluke. We're not gonna let you get drunk again. Right, Green?"
"Oh no. We've learned our lesson last time," agreed Green, the shortest soldier in the group. "Besides, it was all Johnson's and Silverman's idea." He pointed to the other two on either side of himself.
"I sure don't want to get 'wrecked,'" Johnson, the soldier on Green's right, added. "But you sure looked like you enjoyed yourself at the party we threw for you before you and Sarge jumped the broom."
"I did not!" Felix blurted out, remembering every minute of that event, and couldn't help but imagine if Calhoun had found out, which would have meant game over for her men (and probably himself). Besides, the Good Guy doubted his wife had ever found out about that night, not that he wanted her to. It was too embarrassing for the handyman to even think about let alone mention to Tamora, causing his face to go as red as a Fire Flower every time.
"Aw, little guy's modest," Green taunted in a baby voice.
"Come on! If you're a real man to marry Sarge, then you're one to hang with us." With that, Markowski grabbed Felix by the arm, dragging him off.
"Yeah, especially when we have this place in mind," Green added, "And we're hitting it at the right night too."
From everything Felix just heard, he felt a knot forming in the pit of his code, knowing for sure that wherever the soldiers were planning to take him, it was going to be anything but kosher.
...
The second the Sugar Rush racers and Ralph disembarked the train and set foot into Dance Dance Revolution, the music was pumping louder than the cannonfire in Skies of Arcadia, blasting their ears and welcoming them into the clublike atmosphere.
"I'd forgotten how rowdy this place could get after closing time," said Ralph, wincing whenever the speakers produced a little static.
"No kidding!" Taffyta shouted over the loud techno music. "But you get used to it quickly once you're in here long enough."
"I'm gonna go on ahead and get down for a while. Dance floor's calling me!" Snowanna headed off to the dance floor to join the other dancers. "Pres? You coming?"
"Only if Stinkbrain is." The princess darted a mischievous glance at Ralph, who was slowly backing away.
"Bad idea, kid. I told you, I'm not a good dancer. And besides, I gotta..." The Bad Guy started for the exit, only to be blocked by Taffyta and Candlehead, both waggling their fingers in objection.
"Not so fast, Wreck-It. You belong to us," Taffyta said, Candlehead snickering.
"But..."
"C'mon, Ralph!" Vanellope pulled the wrecker onto the dance floor, the latter growing more and more nervous by the second, accidentally shoving other dancers as they moved past.
"I still think this is a bad idea. I'm not good at dancing," said Ralph sheepishly.
"Hey, neither am I, but I just want to catch up on things with you, Ralph. You know, since I missed you this morning." Vanellope started to shuffle her left foot, followed by her right, moving along with the fast-paced techno beat.
"Yeah, about that..." Ralph followed along, albeit a little off. "What happened this morning?"
"Just some presidential stuff like you guessed earlier. Plus, Sour Bill didn't wake me up like he was supposed to."
The wrecker couldn't help but chuckle at this. What did he expect? The sour piece of candy was all work and little play, hardly caring about anything but his job description.
However, Ralph couldn't help but wonder what kind of things happened today. It must have been too important for Vanellope to ignore. Ralph wasn't going to pry too much into her royal life, though.
"Yeah, but what can you expect from a little sour 'cough drop' as you usually put it?" The princess/president laughed at this, along with Ralph, who stumbled and felt butt first, nearly causing someone behind him to trip. The Bad Guy glanced up to see Ryu from Street Fighter II glaring down at him. The martial artist was dancing with his fellow fighter Chun Li.
"Watch it!" he snapped.
"Sorry, guys." Ralph picked himself up, brushing himself off. "Just tripped."
"You really have two left feet, don't cha." Vanellope giggled.
"I do not!" The wrecker blushed red at the joke, annoyed but also feeling relaxed at the same time. Ralph enjoyed laughing and joking with his "little sister," who had been the first one to look past his Bad Guy occupation, with Felix not being far behind. And that was what he liked about her. Then there was her smile, which fit her wicked sense of humor. It was charming, and it could probably find love for her someday. Someone who loved her for who she was. But Ralph knew she had a while for that. A long while.
"But you know? I enjoy it. Being with the coolest friend in the world too? If I hadn't crash landed into Sugar Rush, we wouldn't have met."
"And King Turbutt would've still been in charge," Vanellope finished.
"Not to mention that I wouldn't have earned any respect from the Nicelanders. Felix, maybe, but not from anyone else in my game. Even after everything that's happened, Gene can still be a jerk sometimes."
"Yeah, but that never changes. I don't think there's even one day when Mayor Stick-In-The-Mud is ever nice to you. Or is there going to be?"
"Who knows? Anyway, you gonna tell me what presidential stuff you had today? Anything new?"
"New?" Vanellope repeated, then glanced in all directions throughout DDR, as if looking for someone or something to distract her from the question. As much as she wanted to tell the wrecker now, she couldn't, at least not around the other patrons in the game.
"Hey, you know you don't have to..."
"No, I don't mind telling you about it, Ralph. We're friends and there's no secrets between us. It's just that..." But then, sudden anxiety started to course through Vanellope's code, causing her to glance around at the exit port, which was empty save for a few Bob-ombs hanging out. I could've sworn there was something there a second ago. Or someone.
"What's wrong?" Ralph asked, concerned.
Vanellope faced Ralph again, flashing him a smile. "Nothing." The princess's eyes fell back on the port. Maybe it was just someone leaving. Or me. Well, what can you expect from not being used to leaving your game? Besides, it's only been two months since the whole thing with King Turbutt, so I'm still sorta new to being outside Sugar Rush.
"Hey, having fun, you two?" Yuni Verse, DDR's main character, approached the wrecker and racer, moving to the beat. She noticed Ralph, "I see you got the big guy up and groovin' too."
"And he says he can't dance." Vanellope patted the "villain" on the leg.
"Vanellope." Ralph gritted his teeth, face beet red with embarrassment.
"Oh, admit it, Stinkbrain. You're a dancer. A bit clumsy, but you can dance."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." The wrecker was still a little flustered at the compliment, but he loved how Vanellope was showing him a good time. And was doing it well.