This is a reposting of chapter 4 with expansion on the previous themes. Sincere apologies for the previous attempt; it was rushed and not developed properly. I am thankful for crankyman7's review that pointed this out.
Chapter 4
Taffyta zigzagged through the gummies around Diet Cola Mountain. She was sure that it was just a matter of time; there was nowhere to hide. No known caves or tunnels existed in this area. The gummies would only be a minor delay in her victory.
Fifteen minutes later, the first sliver of doubt entered Taffyta's mind. How could the Glitch stay hidden? Dodging in and out of the gummies could only work for so long. Taffyta continued her search.
~o~
After half an hour of fruitless searching, a mixture of emotions welled up in Taffyta. Confusion about Vanellope's whereabouts, frustration and annoyance that she had passed up the chance to catch Vanellope, and rage at being outsmarted. She had crisscrossed the area around Diet Cola Mountain numerous times to no avail; it almost seemed like Vanellope had vanished off the grid.
"There is nowhere to hide! How is she doing this?" Taffyta muttered through gritted teeth. A blinking light on Pink Lightning's dashboard indicated low fuel. Taffyta swore. Pink Lightning slunk away from Diet Cola Mountain; its driver beaten.
"What?" King Candy goggled. "How?" He had watched Taffyta boast of running Vanellope down in Pink Lightning and her eventual failure. He had delayed his show because he was so sure that Taffyta would manage to hunt down Vanellope. Now, King Candy was left with no winner of the hunt and massive embarrassment that Vanellope had somehow outsmarted him and the racers. He stood up and paced the room.
"I can't let Sugar Rush know that it was a failure," he muttered. "Sour Bill!"
"Yes, your Majesty?"
"The Glitch has somehow eluded Taffyta. Now what do I do? I must remain perfect and victorious. The Glitch cannot be allowed to win this!"
"Sir, why don't you announce that Taffyta has successfully located the Glitch, and that you called her off so that you can personally capture the Glitch? You will still have a winner, and you can chase Vanellope on your own time."
"Sour Bill, I have just had another brilliant idea!" King Candy exulted proudly. "I will announce that I, as the monarch, will end the hunt by capturing the Glitch personally!" He rushed off to the TV studio.
"Of course, I did nothing," complained Sour Bill, as he turned on his heel.
~o~
Vanellope stayed safely ensconced in the bowels of Diet Cola Mountain as Pink Lightning combed the surrounding area. Later, the Kandy Kart, accompanied by the donut cops and graham bear guards, also failed to discover her hiding place. Vanellope slipped into restful slumber, completely exhausted, as the roar of engines faded away.
Vanellope awoke the next morning and remembered all that had occurred the previous day. She realized she had finally found a hiding place that no one even knew existed, and she would make sure no one would ever find out about it.
"I've actually found a place I can call…home."
Neither King Candy and his guards nor Taffyta and the racers would be able to locate her if she carefully regulated her movements.
~o~
King Candy, of course, was unable to locate Vanellope. His cops and guards continued scouring the area until nightfall, upon which they had to call off the search. King Candy stewed silently at the Glitch's 'triumph' over the hunters. Had she actually disappeared from the game?
A quick examination of the game's code proved that Vanellope was still lurking somewhere in Sugar Rush; King Candy just had no idea where. Seeing Vanellope's isolated code box reminded of the day he took over control of Sugar Rush.
Floating in darkness, he relived sneaking past castle security and breaking into the code vault, locking up the racers' memories and savaging Vanellope's code box, and reprogramming the game with him as monarch.
He opened his eyes, bringing him back to reality. Once again, Turbo swore that he would not allow the former princess to regain the throne that he had wrested from her grasp. If only she could be deleted from the game; his worries would be over. But as long as Vanellope roamed free, he always worried that she would somehow enter and finish a race.
"No, I don't need to be afraid of that," he reasoned. "That little she-devil will make sure of that. Ahh, the irony of Taffyta turning on her best friend. It's almost too easy; they believe whatever I tell them."
~o~
Taffyta sulked on the track the next day. Gloyd and Swizzle approached her, intending to tease her about letting Vanellope slip between her fingers. But before they could open their mouths, she shot them a steely look that declared, "I don't wanna talk. Leave me alone." They immediately wilted under her death glare and meekly turned away.
Even Rancis, her occasional boyfriend and ally, failed to make any headway with her. She didn't harbor any hatred toward him, but she refused to respond with any action other than a nod or shake of the head. He too gave up after placing an understanding hand on her shoulder and telling her, "If you need someone to talk to, I'll always be there to listen." She nodded, her frown fading ever so slightly.
That day, none of the racers wanted to tangle with her on the track. She raced with a fury and single-mindedness that extended to strategic bumping and even deliberately wrecking others. Even King Candy shied away from engaging her head-on. She racked up nineteen wins, with twelve consecutive wins, out thirty-one races that arcade day. Her blazing determination carried over into the Random Roster Race, when she pipped King Candy to top spot and center slot in the 'Chews Your Racer' menu; something which rarely occurred.
Immediately after the race ended, she kept on driving, ignoring her fans and fellow racers' congratulations. She screeched to a halt in front of her home, dumped her helmet in her kart, and slammed the front door on her way in. She sat down at her dining table and put her head in her hands.
She reviewed all the events of the hunt in her head, getting angrier with every memory of the Glitch outrunning and outsmarting her. The arrow that barely missed, the chase on foot, the Glitch stealing Pink Lightning, the Glitch crashing the karts and fleeing on foot, and Taffyta's boastful threat. Why had she waited instead of finishing off the Glitch at once? She kept being plagued with the thought of, "What if?"
"I shouldn't have let her get away! Why did I do that? I was so confident I could find her again!" she berated herself.
Her mind started wandering to the question of where Vanellope could have hidden. Diet Cola Mountain was near impossible to climb, and could be ruled out. The gummies provided only limited cover; Taffyta had played hide-and-seek there before. There was nowhere else conceivable that could have served as a hiding place.
Had the Glitch actually vanished off the grid? Taffyta allowed herself to savour the thought of the Glitch being permanently deleted. But King Candy would have immediately announced it if the Glitch had been deleted; that would unfortunately have to be ruled out.
Next time, you won't get off easy, Glitch. Taffyta curled her hand into a fist and slammed it down onto the wooden dining table. She swore she would never let the Glitch enter a race. If the Glitch ever got her hands on a kart, Taffyta would destroy it.