Chapter 10: Vanellope's Suspicions

Ralph turned around.

"I'm afraid I don't understand." Ralph said.

Dark Vanellope looked nervous. She didn't expect Ralph to have heard her.

"Err, kidding, Stinkbrain. I'm just kidding." Dark Vanellope said.

Dark Vanellope smiled and turned around. As soon as Ralph left, the smile faded and she made sure that Ralph left before turning to the computer.

"That was close." Dark Vanellope whispered.

Inside the computer, Sticky was speaking to Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead.

"Well, our only hope is if the real Vanellope can get us out of here. Maybe one of the others will tell her." Sticky said.

Rancis sighed.

"I hope so, otherwise we will have no choice but to follow her if she has an evil Ralph. She could kill us." Rancis said. He shivered at the thought and then said "I have to admit, I am afraid for our future if the plan works.".

Candlehead nodded, but Taffyta frowned.

"It will never work. Sticky is right. We have to think positive and wait and see." Taffyta said.

Meanwhile, Vanellope and Sour Bill arrived back at the castle and went inside.

It's chilly out there. I'll get some hot chocolate ready." Sour Bill said.

"Mmm… sounds good, Sour Bill." Vanellope said.

Sour Bill walked into the kitchen so he could make the hot chocolate. As he did, Vanellope went upstairs to her bedroom so she could call Sticky. She didn't get an answer.

"Why don't she pick up her phone?" Vanellope wondered.

Meanwhile, Sour Bill wanted to add some gummy bears to his hot chocolate and he walked into Vanellope's office, where there was a candy dispenser that she kept. After getting a packet of gummy bears, Sour Bill noticed Dark Vanellope fiddling with the computer.

"Vanellope, are you okay? I thought you went to your room. Your hot chocolate will be ready." Sour Bill asked.

Dark Vanellope smiled.

"Yeah, I just came in here to... download some music." Dark Vanellope replied.

Sour Bill nodded.

"Okay then, be downstairs in five minutes." Sour Bill said.

Dark Vanellope sighed as he left.

Sour Bill went into the kitchen, but as he did, he saw Vanellope come down from her room.

"What? How can that be?" Sour Bill asked. He approached her and said "Vanellope, you were in the office. I just left you.".

Vanellope looked confused.

"I've been in my room the whole time." Vanellope said.

It was Sour Bill's turn to look confused. He shook his head and handed Vanellope her hot chocolate.

"Well, here is your hot chocolate. You must've raced up those stairs. Have you downloaded your music yet?" Sour Bill asked.

"What are you talking about, Sour Bill?" Vanellope asked. She then frowned "You know what, I'll be back soon.".

Vanellope put her hot chocolate on the kitchen counter and then went up to the office to investigate. She listened for any noise by pressing her ear up against the office door. Nothing. She opened the door to find nobody in the office and the computer off as normal. She began to search around for clues.

In the computer, Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky noticed Vanellope, and they sighed in relief.

"VANELLOPE!" Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky shouted.

They knew that Vanellope could not hear them, but they couldn't help it. Anything to see their real friend and leader made them shout for joy with a hint of sadness, since they didn't know if the good guys would win this time because Dark Vanellope was smart and cunning.

Vanellope still kept searching, but she found no clues.

"Guys, where are you?" Vanellope asked out loud.

"IN THE COMPUTER!" Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky replied.

However, Vanellope didn't hear them. She looked down and suddenly noticed that some of the wires that were connected to the computer had been tampered with. She held the wires and tried to put them back together. At that moment, Sour Bill came in.

"Vanellope, are you coming? Your hot chocolate is getting cold." Sour Bill asked.

Vanellope sighed and went downstairs. She thought of earlier when she thought she saw herself in the street when she was taking a walk.

"It doesn't make any sense. Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky aren't picking up their phones, but the others are." Vanellope said as she drank.

Sour Bill tried calling Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky one by one, but he also didn't get any answer.

"Strange. Well, how about we pay them a visit at their houses tomorrow? It's too late to do anything now." Sour Bill asked.

Vanellope agreed and told Sour Bill goodnight before going up to her bedroom.

"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, January 27th 2109"

Time went on, and it was now 2:00 AM the next day. The castle was silent, and not a sound was heard. Vanellope stirred in her sleep, thinking about Taffyta, Rancis, Candlehead, and Sticky. Suddenly, she heard laughing coming from her office, and she realized that it sounded like her laughter.

"What's that?" Vanellope wondered.

Vanellope got out of bed and her feet touched the cold floor. She winced but made her way across the room. However, she had a small trip and hurt her foot. She clutched it for a few seconds and then continued to follow the laughter. She made her way to the office and grabbed the doorknob. Just then, P.I.X.A.L. showed up.

"Vanellope? What are you doing up at this hour?" P.I.X.A.L. asked in confusion.

In the silence, P.I.X.A.L. sounded very loud. Vanellope chose to ignore her, and she opened the office door and turned the lights on. Like before, nobody was there, and Vanellope thought that she might have imagined the laughing.

"Vanellope, I sense another being in this room. It's female." P.I.X.A.L. said.

Even though P.I.X.A.L. wasn't a robot anymore, she still kept some of her abilities after Genie, Eden, and Jordan transformed her into a human, such as heightened senses.

Vanellope sighed and turned to P.I.X.A.L.

"There's nobody here, P.I.X.A.L. I thought I heard something too." Vanellope said.

P.I.X.A.L. shook her head and pointed at a table.

"Incorrect. There is another person under the table." P.I.X.A.L. said.

Vanellope looked under the table that P.I.X.A.L. was pointing to, and she came face to face with Dark Vanellope. Dark Vanellope smiled.

"Hey there." Dark Vanellope greeted.