Monty looked at the root beer glass with a sigh; it was empty. After the little feud, even though it wasn't much, he had come here to decide. Cheri was nice, sweet, charming, and an all around good racer. Babel, despite being isolated from all the others, was still a good racer. Plus, she seemed to have a nice crush on him. It was so hard to decide, and drowning his sorrows in root beer wouldn't help his case. Still, he told the bartender, "Tapper, refill my glass."
"You sure, kid?" Tapper, the owner and bartender, eyed him nervously. "You've already had three…."
"I'll tell you when I've had enough!" He slammed the mug down in fury, alerting the other patrons of his anger. He looked around and groaned, putting his head in his hands. "I can't believe it. Two days in, and already two girls are fighting for me. What's worse…" he sighed, looking at the refilled glass placed in front of him, "is that I always came in last at the roster races. I can't even win such a silly race as that one!"
"Ya think you have it bad, kid?" a new voice called to him. Monty heard it, and ignoring the glass of root beer, he turned to see who called out to him. His eyes fell on the shady back of the bar, where a figure stood at a lone table. He was short, probably even shorter than Monty himself. His skin was grey and his eyes were cat-like, meaning they had a sorta glow to them. He had a white and red helmet, which his racing jumpsuit. Once the stranger saw the racer had noticed him, he explained, "I was once the most popular racing game. Then, they plugged in a new one. Thought they could take away my competition. I got into the system, but their shoddy game caused me to glitch out. Then…I winded up here. Good thing I got out…alive…."
"How does that help me?" Monty asked, obiously seeing no point in his story. The figure smiled, and the cheesecake racer gave a cringe; his teeth were yellow, like his eyes.
"Like I said, I got into the system. I've seen the backrooms, what makes these games tick. And boy, I guarantee I can make your problems disappear. I'll meet you outside the game after today's races, 'kay?"
"How about while their happening?" The cheesecake racer gave a smirk of his own to the stranger. "Like I said, I'm not on the roster for today, so you can go wherever you need to."
"Sweet." The white racer shook the hand of the cheesecake racer. "What's your name, son?"
"I'm Monty, Monty Ray Jack. And you?"
"I'm Turbo, the greatest racer you'll ever meet!" Though Monty didn't believe his claim, as he walked out of the door of Tapper's with his new friend, he thought the name sounded familiar...
Princess Vanellope, though she was only here for two days, had heard things about Game Central Station from her subjects. She decided it would be good to walk around and see the sights. It wasn't much as far as she could tell, as she walked around in her green dress. The strangest part was when she glanced around, people seemed to say "hi" and wave, as if they knew her. But…she was brand new…. Suddenly, she bumped into someone. She and the other girl got up, and she said, "Sorry! I didn't look where I was—say, you look familiar."
Indeed, the two did look alike. Both girls had black hair tied up, with various candies stuck in them. Both had hazel eyes with just a tint of green surrounding the pupil. But Princess Vanellope noticed the girl in front of her was wearing a tomboyish hoodie, a cute little buttercup skirt and mismatched tights complimented by black boots. The mirror image, once she saw herself, gasped, "No way…"
"Oh, wow," the one in the dress chuckled. "Do something with your hair and you're the spitting image of me!" The princess extended a gloved hand. "I'm Princess Vanellope Von Shweetz, ruler of the game Sugar Rush Unlimited. Charmed." The one in the hoodie slapped the other's hand to make an off-angled high-five.
"Yeah? Well, I'm President Vanellope Von Shweetz. Why are there two of me?"
"I'm from the new game that just got plugged in. Surely you've heard of me?"
"Oh, right..." She had actually heard of the new game's plug-in just yesterday from Ralph. She noticed how elegant her duplicate looked; she didn't like it, but she didn't want to say anything to offend herself.
"So..." The princess really wanted to talk to the original of herself, but didn't know where to start. There was an awkward silence for a minute, but then she thought of a question. "So...what's you're game like? Any...differences I should know about?"
"I dunno; you tell me. I guess I could go visit, but...what fun would that be?"
"It would be fun, considering you're me." The princess let out a chuckle. "Some others actually thought I was you, but I can't imagine you wearing something like this! Er, no offense."
"No offense taken! I don't wanna look like a poofy-pants pretty-priss anyway."
"Well! Maybe if you dressed that way, you'd have better manners!"
"Who needs manners? I'm a racer, and all I need is speed! The wind through my hair, my goggles, maybe even a missing tooth; manners has got nothin' on that."
"Right, right," the princess agreed that manners and racing didn't exactly add up, "but I have my own racing outfit." The Unlimited princess pulled out a picture of herself and handed it to the original Vanellope. It showed her in a white jumpsuit and helmet that were decorated with blue and orange stripes, standing next to the Royal Racer. "I don't want to get my dress dirty on the track." The president looked at the picture, then at her other self's outfit, confused.
"Why wear that stupid thing in the first place, then? I don't see the point; you don't have anyone to impress."
"I'm a princess! I must be set to impress at all times! Plus, these outfits the programmers made for me are to die for!"
"Yeah, I'd die too if I were wearing that." The orginal then got a sly idea. She hocked and spit onto the princesses boot. "Whoops, you're dirty now." The princess frowned, but then gave a smirk.
"It'll come out later. Say, what's that over there?" She pointed and while the president was turned around, she pulled out a candy from her hair, hard. She squealed, "OW! Hey, what was that for?" She quickly turned back around and yanked on the princess's tiara, throwing it to the ground. The Unlimited Vanellope placed it back on her head and glared. She explained, poking a finger at her other self's chest, "You started this when you smudged my boo-!" She stopped when she noticed what her poke did; a ripple of blue pixels spread across them both. They both jumped back and gasped, but Princess Vanellope exclaimed, "But...how...my other self's a glitch?! Glitches can't leave thier games, and to my recollection, you're not the glitch of Sugar Rush..." The original Vanellope slapped the other's hand away, and shouted, "Watch it! I'm not a glitch, but I can glitch."
"That's...strange, but intriguing. You sound like you have control over it; what can you do with it?"
"Well, I win races, sometimes. The player can use my glitch to, y'know, get ahead by a few feet. It's helpful to win races."
"I could use something like that." She grinned. "Anything to help the players."
"I don't think you could handle my game, princess," Vanellope scoffed.
"I'm from a sequel." The princess gave a confident smirk. "Ruling the original would be a walk in the park."
"If you think so, fine, try it, Miss Prissy. Once you find out how hard it is, though, don't come crying to me."
"Wait, you want us...to switch places?" The princess gave a cat-like grin at the very idea. "Fine...but that means you'll have to wear one of those dresses you 'wouldn't be caught dead in.' And the jumpsuit, since you'll be racing."
"Gumdrops..." Vanellope groaned. "F-fine, but I'll last longer."
"It's a deal, then." She held out her hand. "Come on, shake on it; it's not fair unless you shake." The president spit into her hand and shook the princess's. "Fine, deal." The Unlimited racer withdrew her hand quickly and took off her gloves. She explained, "We'll change clothes at eachother's games. You have more of this" she gestured to the other's signature hoodie and skirt, "outfit, right?"
"Well, duh," the counterpart smirked. The princess took off her tiara and handed both her gloves and tiara to the original. She stated, "The only physical difference between me and you; a crown. My Sour Bill would only allow you in the castle if you're wearing these..."
"O-okay..." She put the set of accessories on and groaned, "This feels wierd."
"You'll get used to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an original game to get to!" She ran off to the Sugar Rush terminal, almost tripping she was so anxious. Vanellope looked at her and shrugged, and she went to the Sugar Rush Unlimited terminal. If only she had gotten there sooner. Monty had already sneaked Turbo inside, and the old 80's racer looked over the land with glee.
"Like it?" Monty asked, observing the racer's yellow grin.
"Like it? Like it?!" Turbo let out a cackle that was borderline insane. "Kid, from the moment I walked in here, this place was TURBO-TASTIC! C'mon Monty," He grabbed the cheesecake racer's hand, and pulled him down the bridge. "I wanna know all the sights around here. Show me at least every acsessible area around this place. Leave nothin' out, and-Oh, wait." The gray racer stopped and looked back to Monty. "I can't get spotted by anybody. They'd kill me if they knew I was still around."
"Why?" Monty was still new to the arcade; he had no idea about Turbo or the dangers of game-jumping. This was time for the 80's racer to do what he did best: lie.
"Because, no one wants unplugged game characters waltzing around like this. I was unplugged a while back because I...lost my popularity..." He growled out the words; Turbo LOVED being the center of attention. He cleared his throat and continued. "I've heard stories about unplugged characters being taken into other games; sometimes they even take 'jobs' there. But...because of past crimes, other characters hate me. Would you be willing to give me a second chance and show me 'round?"
"Well, sure." Monty patted the old racer on the back. "Everyone deserves a second chance right?" In this arcade, not someone like Turbo. The cheesecake racer started to walk into the candy cane forest with his new "friend" when the original Vanellope, in tiara and gloves, got off the train. Once she got off, she ran right away to the castle. On the way, she noticed while there weren't many differences, one main difference was that her home-away-from-home, DietColaMountain, was replaced with a Rock Candy Mountain. She figured she'd check it out later, but first she had to explore the castle.
The castle was the same as it was in Sugar Rush; the iron gates and the pure sugar walkway let her straight to the pink castle. She passed the Oreo guards and went into the throneroom, where the Royal Racer served as this princess's ride. Not used to it, she looked it over and sighed, "Well, at least it's better than no kart at all..."
"Indeed, princess..." She'd know that monotone voice anywhere. She turned around to see a small little green ball with floating hands and feet. Sour Bill greeted, "Good morning your Magesty. What's with the new clothes and hair?"
"Well, uh..." She had to think of an alibi quick. Otherwise, he'd see right through her. "It's the latest fashion. Pity you didn't see me change into this."
"I've been around the castle, and I would've surely spotted you. Where did you get such a tacky outfit?" Ugh, she hated when people considered her outfit tacky. But she answered politely in order to keep this disguise up.
"The other Vanellope from the other Sugar Rush gave it to me. She seems to be more casual, but she still has an adorable fashion sense!"
"If you say so," Sour Bill scoffed. Yep, he's still a little grump, Vanellope thought. "Are you going to change into your racing outfit? The races will be starting up soon." Sure enough, he was right.
"Oh, thank you for reminding me, Sour Bill!" she exclaimed, trying to keep up the act of princess. She started to run out of the throne room and to her bedroom. "What would I ever do without you?"
"A lot, really…" The sour little assistant didn't follow her upstairs, and instead, headed to the racetrack. The president went to "her" bedroom and spotted the closet immediately. It wasn't until she walked in did he realize how many clothing items she had when she was princess. Most were dresses, but there were a few skirts and shirts here and there. Luckily, the white jumpsuit was easy to spot amongst shades of pink and light green. She hastily put it on and headed back to the throne room, hopping into the Royal Racer. She had to admit, being in this kart was a lot different than her Candy Kart back home. Luckily, the controls didn't seem any different, and she was able to make her way out of the castle and down to the raceway with ease.
For the first few races of the day, Vanellope acted as an NPC. She did this for most of the day, and for someone who liked being controlled by the other racers, it got boring. Unfortunately, she could hear through the screen that her sequel version in her original game wasn't faring any better. Players had heard of the glitch she had and played as her often, but the princess was unable to do so. The president hoped her counterpart would be okay…
The princess could not believe the day she was having. First, she had to wear this tacky tomboy-ish outfit. Second, the players tried to get her to glitch; she felt pretty bad that she couldn't do it. She thought of it as a great advantage to the players, and she loved to see the joy when players won. The players still won, sometimes; other times, they lost and got frustrated when they couldn't get her to glitch. The other racers of Sugar Rush were concerned about this, but Vanellope paid little heed to them trying to comfort their "president." She wanted to give up…
But she wouldn't give this silly little bet up after less than one day. After the arcade had closed, she decided it would be best to explore this new place if she'd be "ruling" over it. Besides, she didn't know for how long she'd have to keep this bet up. She decided to start her little tour of Sugar Rush by looking around DietColaMountain. She only knew of the layout of the older versions because she was a sequel, naturally.
Finding the hidden door that led to the unfinished level was not difficult, really. Two sugar-free lollipops crossed to make an archway. The princess placed her hand inside the arch just to make sure this was the doorway; sure enough, it went through. She stepped into the hollowed-out mountain, hoping to see the cola hot springs she had been dying to see. Unfortunately, the entire cavern was dark. Vanellope headed to the main chamber, only to find the spring was empty and sapped of soda. The Mentos that hung on the ceiling were chewed off, only leaving a thin layer to act as a cork. Though it was dark, the only light in the caverns was the unearthly glow of something that she knew was out of this game.
"C….Cy-bugs…." she gasped, able to make out their figures. She only knew of these horrid insects from the posters that were up around Game Central Station, warning others to watch out for them lurking in other games besides their own, Hero's Duty. Lucky for her, they seemed to be in some sort of hibernation. Taking advantage of that state, she headed straight out of DietColaMountain. She had to tell someone about this; she figured to tell the other Vanellope, but she needed somebody who could help her with this, someone who knew cy-bugs.
Of course, her mind recalled the name "Calhoun." It was on the posters that were up warning of the cy-bugs, and that any character that spots them outside of their games should contact her immediately. Princess Vanellope ran to the entryway of Sugar Rush and from there, Hero's Duty. Even if this wasn't her own game, she would keep it safe from this unstoppable threat.
"Man, that was a long tour," Turbo stated after Monty showed him around the place. It made the 80's racer wonder how big this sequel was compared to the original. The two were now in front of the castle. The cheesecake racer smiled.
"Well, it's not over yet. Weren't you gonna solve all my problems if I showed you every accessible area?" Monty swung one of the iron gates open and walked up to the castle; Turbo eagerly followed. The guards noticed them both, but seeing neither as a threat, they let them inside. Sour Bill, who had come back to the castle after the races, looked at them both. He knew of Monty, but didn't know of the old racer, and came up to him and asked, "Who are you?"
"None of yer business, Billy," the racer replied bitterly, kicking the sour ball away. While Monty showed him around the accessible parts of the castle, Sour Bill grew suspicious. How did this stranger know of his name? Why was Monty showing him around the castle? He could very well deal with the situation himself, but he knew he must tell the princess of this game-jumper immediately. With no time to lose, the little green candy hurried down to the track.
Meanwhile, Vanellope was bored out of her mind from this game. No one had chosen her all day, and she hated wearing this outfit. As soon as the arcade opened tomorrow morning, she'd give up this silly bet to her princess counterpart. Just as she was about to go back to the castle and change out of this stupid jumpsuit, she saw Sour Bill coming this way. The sour candy stopped at her feet and panted, "P-princess…..a g-game-jumper…is at….the castle…with Monty Ray Jack…"
"Who?" Vanellope looked confused. But two other racers exclaimed, "Monty?!" It was Cheri and Babel, who were both friends with the cheesecake racer. The president tugged on the little sour ball's hand and told him, "Sour Bill, we must all go to the castle immediately." She didn't want these other racers to feel left out of what was going on. Sour Bill nodded, and all fourteen racers followed him back to the castle.
Monty had just about finished the tour up by showing Turbo the throne room. He explained, "This is where Princess Vanellope goes when she's done racing. It's a pretty nice castle, don't you think?" He grabbed the gray racer's hand. "Well, that's all I can show you that's accessible anyway. Maybe we should head back to my hou-!"
The 80's racer slapped the Sugar Rush racer's hand away. "Hold it right there, son. You haven't shown me it all yet…." Turbo headed behind the throne and ducked behind the curtain. Monty, nervously following him, stammered, "Y-you really shouldn't do that! W-we could get cau—Whoa."
He did not know what to expect when he looked behind the curtain, but whatever he did, it wasn't this. It was a white bridge with thick blue wires on the walls leading to what looked like a game controller. The grey racer remembered this place well. He stated to Monty, "My friend, this is a code room. And this is how I'm gonna make all your problems disappear." As he walked up to the controller, he muttered to himself, "And my own…"
Sour Bill, Vanellope, and the racers went straight to the throneroom once they arrived at the castle. Vanellope asked, "Where are they?" but one of the racers, Sue Tauzo, pointed to the curtain behind the throne that was slightly open.
"The game-jumper must be back there!"
"And Monty too!" Cheri added. Everyone ran back, but Vanellope stopped them all, and said, "Hold on! We can't all go back there!" The president made her way back first, and Babel, Cheri, and Sue made their way to the back as well. All four of them gasped when they saw Monty with Turbo and the code vault open.
"Turbo?!" Vanellope yelped, memories still fresh from their encounter at her first race, not to mention his death.
"That's Turbo?!" Sue asked. The racers who were not currently in the room let out murmurs of worry and fear, having all heard the story of Turbo from Sue by now.
"Monty!" Cheri exclaimed. "What are you doing back here with this criminal!?" The cheesecake racer, confused by what was going on, looked back to the gray racer with a worried look. "Turbo, what are they talking about?" All the old character did was laugh.
"Heh, they're a lot smarter than you are, cake-for-brains." Turbo made a jump into the tangled mess of code. Vanellope, furious and fearful, pushed her way through the others, stopping at the end of the bridge; she never wanted to hurt or damage another game's code. She shouted to the rouge racer, "Wait! How did you survive?! I thought you died outside of your game!" Turbo turned back before he laid one finger on the other Vanellope's code.
"You don't get it, do you? I died while I was still part of the code, quite a big part, if you ask me. While that other Vanellope did reset Sugar Rush, I had respawned by then. And…still had some cy-bug code here and there. You know, cy-bugs quickly evolve, meaning….I'll get back to my final form, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" The president remembered his final form well, how the massive cy-bug King Candy hybrid tossed Ralph around like he was nothing.
"Somebody do something!" she screamed, thinking Turbo would hurt her code if she did something herself. Monty, finally getting some clarity one this situation, pushed his way to the front. He told Vanellope, "Stand back, Princess; I got us into this mess…now I'm going to get us out." He leapt into the code vault and grabbed both of Turbo's hands and held them behind his back.
The old racer grunted and growled, furiously trying to get out of the Sugar Rush racer's grip. Then, he felt something, and Monty saw it too; a red glitch spreading up Turbo's body. When the glitch passed over him, the racer did not look like himself. His skin was not grey, now a regular peach color, with blush on his cheeks and round nose. The only grey was in his balding hair and eyebrows. His clothes were different as well. He now wore a red bowtie, a white turned-up collar, a purple jacket, candy corn-colored pants, and purple shoes with red gumballs. His helmet was replaced with a small crown on the top of his head. The only thing that detained from his now more human-like features were his red cy-bug claws.
"Well, I guess I'm evolving faster than I thought!" King Candy cackled, getting out of the boy's grip. The now stronger cybrid maneuvered over to Monty's code box and latched onto it. "Say, Monty, you know how I said I would make all your problems disappear? Well….THIS IS HOW I DO IT!" The former king grunted as he started to break the box of code in half. Monty's body started to glitch furiously; all other racers watched in horror as the code box finally snapped in two. The box lost all its color and Monty disappeared.
"Sorry, Princess, I'd love to do more damage to this game, and I will," King Candy let out a hiss, "but I have things to do, like get revenge on this entire arcade. Arreviderchi!" To everyone's surprise, the former king glitched out of the code vault and out of sight. Tears started to form in everyone's eyes, some of shock, some of pure sadness. Vanellope closed up the door of the code vault and all four racers walked back to the throne room, dejected. The racers who were not in the code room started asking questions like, "What happened back there?" and "Where's Monty?" The president decided, for the best, to answer the latter question.
"Citizens of Sugar Rush Unlimited, I'm afraid Monty Ray Jack is dead."