Chapter 10: The Orb Chamber
"Location: Negaverse, May 21st 2109"
The tank was a slow and bulky monstrosity, but it handled well on the dirt track into the canyon where they would find the Orb Chamber. Adorabeezle stood out of the commander's cupola and surveyed the way ahead, directing Vanellope, Rancis, and Floyd in the use of the armored vehicle.
At last, with a late afternoon sun descending above them, the tank reached it's destination and grounded to a halt. The group climbed out, and Floyd looked through his binoculars at the entrance.
"Jackboots! They beat us to the Chamber!" Floyd snarled.
"I knew this would happen." Vanellope muttered.
"It looks like their not going to be alone for long." Rancis said.
Rancis pointed back down the road, where a great cloud of dust was being kicked up far away.
"It looks like the Red Guards." Adorabeezle said.
Floyd looked at Vanellope.
"So, what's the plan? We can't just fight our way in there." Floyd asked.
"Maybe we don't have to. I have an idea." Vanellope replied.
"This is the worst idea ever!" Rancis said angrily.
Vanellope, Rancis, Adorabeezle, and Floyd were being frogmarched by a soldier into Turbo's camp, their hands tied.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing. I saw this in a movie once." Vanellope hissed.
"Well, that just fills me with confidence." Rancis said sarcastically.
Vanellope glared at Rancis. The soldier arrived in front of Turbo's tent. The racer himself was standing outside, barking orders to his men.
"Sir, we have Dr. Schweetz." the soldier announced.
"Excellent work. Your dismissed, Private. I'll handle them from here." Turbo said.
The soldier saluted Turbo and marched away. Once he was gone, Turbo towered over his captives, grinning nastily.
"I trust that you'll want to leave this place alive. If you hand me the map, we'll be sure to leave what's left of you alive for the scorpions." Turbo sneered.
"I'm afraid I can't give you the map, Turbo." Vanellope said coolly.
"And why not, punk?" Turbo asked.
"Because I burned it." Vanellope replied.
There was a very long silence.
"You did... what, Schweetz?" Turbo asked, his pale face reddening in fury.
"I burned it. Because without it, you need us to get you through the traps in the chamber and therefore can't kill us." Vanellope replied.
"We can improvise." Turbo snapped.
"With the Red Guards about an hour out? I don't think so." Vanellope said.
Turbo thought about what Vanellope said for a moment. He then took out a strange-looking pistol and fired a bullet. Rancis lurched and clutched his stomach, and he fell to the ground as Turbo gave a cruel guffaw.
"Poison. Fatal to people after one hour of exposure. You give me the Orb when you find it, and I'll heal him." Turbo said.
"You sick creep!" Vanellope sneered.
Turbo shrugged.
"Insurance. Now, lead me to the chamber, Doctor." Turbo said calmly.
Vanellope glowered as she was untied.
"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, May 21st 2109"
Medieval revenge strategies were, at the core of it all, very simple. If a rival lord offended you in any way, no matter how minor, you burned something of his. If your lady was offended, burn crops. If your king was insulted, burn houses. Forcing you into imprisonment was the worst offense of all, and the obvious and fairest response would be to burn the rival lord's land and everything in it.
In Prince Aragon's case, the rival lord was Vanellope von Schweetz, and her land was the game of Sugar Rush.
Aragon strode down Sugar Town's main street, watching in satisfaction as his brainwashed dragons smashed the city before him. This was suitable revenge, and the minute Vanellope appeared before him, she would lose her head.
"Enough, Aragon!" a voice shouted.
Aragon turned around. Jubileena stood at the end of the road, clenching something in her hand that the Prince couldn't make out.
"You! I thought I had you under my control!" Aragon said in shock.
"I escaped. And I got some questions. Why the heck are you working with Plankton?" Jubileena asked.
"Plankton?" Aragon asked, tilting his head.
Jubileena nodded.
"Yes, Sheldon Plankton! The guy who made your helmets!" Jubileena replied.
"The control helmets? I got them from a fellow in a black suit and a hat, not that 'Plankton' knave." Aragon explained.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Jubileena sneered.
"I sincerely do not know why you are talking of Plankton." Aragon said.
Suddenly, Aragon's eyes glassed over and his expression became distant.
"Aragon?" Jubileena asked.
Aragon shook his head and pointed at her.
"Enough! You'll pay for demanding questions of me like that!" Aragon replied angrily.
Aragon grabbed his amulet and activated it. With a bright purple glow, he transformed into his dragon form, poised for the kill.
"Two can play at that game." Jubileena said, attaching her own amulet to her neck.
There was another glow as Jubileena changed. In seconds, there stood another dragon, this one red with white areas along the scales. The dragon that had once been Jubileena looked down at herself.
"This is pretty awesome!" Jubileena exclaimed in a slightly deeper voice then her usual voice.
"Insolent wench! How did you manage to steal..." Aragon started to ask.
"Enough talk. Let's do this." Jubileena replied angrily.
"Location: Negaverse, May 21st 2109"
Vanellope walked ahead, Adorabeezle behind her. Floyd carried Rancis on his back behind them, and Turbo and a soldier walked behind them with guns. They made their way into the vast, cave-like entry to the chamber and into a small passageway, at the entrance of which laid a pile of headless skeletons.
"Nice." Rancis said sarcastically, slightly deliriously.
Turbo turned to Vanellope and Adorabeezle.
"You first." Turbo snapped.
Vanellope gulped, and she and Adorabeezle crept forward.
"What did the map say here?" Vanellope asked.
"Duck." Adorabeezle replied.
"That's helpful." Vanellope said sarcastically.
"No, look." Adorabeezle said.
A small engraving of a duck was etched on the right hand wall, while the left was a simple brick wall. If one looked closely, they could see the edges of a door behind the duck. Adorabeezle knelt down and crept over to the duck. With a thunderous roar, the top of the left hand wall slammed into the right, missing Adorabeezle's head by a millimeter above her hair. She gulped.
"Well, that's the first trap." Adorabeezle said.
Adorabeezle pushed on the duck and it moved aside, revealing a small passage that they could crawl through.
"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, May 21st 2109"
Jubileena and Aragon soared high above Sugar Rush, their claws locked against each other as they struggled to gain the upper hand in the fight. Roaring terribly, Aragon let go of the violent embrace and doubled back in the air, preparing a burst of dark flame in his jaws. Foreseeing that move, Jubileena ducked under the jet of flame and responded with her own, striking the Prince in the stomach. Aragon rebounded with a pounce, forcing himself into Jubileena's abdomen and sending them spiraling towards the earth. Jubileena struggled to get free of her grip as the evil dragon roared closer and closer to the ground.
At last, just a few hundred meters above the ground, Jubileena escaped Aragon's grasp. Flying above him, she launched into a swoop against the medieval ghost and smashed her talons into his face, sending him hurtling into a factory. Jubileena flew over him and crossed her arms as Aragon crawled out of the wreckage.
"Had enough?" Jubileena asked.
"I have not yet begun to fight!" Aragon replied.
Aragon leaped into the air and tackled his foe.
"Location: Negaverse, May 21st 2109"
Vanellope and Adorabeezle walked into a second chamber. Before them was a sentence, written in Latin, with a word missing in the middle.
"What now?" Vanellope asked.
"We have to identify the missing word." Adorabeezle replied.
"And what's the sentence?" Vanellope asked.
Adorabeezle read the sentence.
"I before something except after C." Adorabeezle replied.
Vanellope facepalmed.
"I before E, except after C? Was this made for a preschooler or something?" Vanellope asked.
The room rumbled and the wall lifted up, revealing another passageway. Adorabeezle grinned, and she and Vanellope walked into the passageway.
"That was too easy. At this rate, we'll be there in..." Adorabeezle started to say.
Adorabeezle stopped. She and Vanellope stood before a great chasm, with only small rocks to grab to get down.
"Adorabeezle, never speak again." Vanellope said.
"Location: Litwak's Arcade, The World Of Disney, May 21st 2109"
With a thunderous crash, Aragon forced Jubileena into a large tower, causing a large part of it's wall to collapse. Jubileena shook her head and blinked dust from her eyes, just before Aragon sent a tail whipping in her direction. Ducking quickly, Jubileena responded with a kick that burrowed into Aragon's abdomen and sent him flying backwards. With a tremendous crash and a cloud of smoke, the evil dragon slammed into the street, creating a crater as he tumbled down the tarmac. He came to a rest just outside of the castle. Jubileena flew over him again, scowling.
"You done now?" Jubileena asked.
Aragon glared at her.
"This is ridiculous!" Aragon replied. He then shouted "Dragons, come forth!".
Jubileena looked up and gulped. Four specks appeared in the sky, turning into bucket-headed dragons as they got nearer and nearer to the ground. Within seconds, the brainwashed dragon forms of Gloyd, Snowanna, Cinndon, and Crepe appeared before her, prepared to fight.
"This is going to hurt." Jubileena muttered.
"Location: Negaverse, May 21st 2109"
Vanellope carefully lowered herself down the last gap between the rocks that she was supporting herself on to solid ground. She mopped her brow and gave a sigh of relief.
"Finally. That's the last one, isn't it, Adorabeezle?" Vanellope asked.
There was a brief silence.
"Adorabeezle?" Vanellope asked.
Adorabeezle stood neaby, holding a flaming torch and staring at something ahead of her in awe. Before the duo was a small altar, made of silver and etched in symbology that not even Adorabeezle could decipher. On top of the altar was a small, fist-sized golden ball that glowed as if it was it's own source of light.
They had found the Orb of Power.
"We did it! Now we just have to get back to Rancis and..." Vanellope started to say.
Suddenly, there was a tremendous bang and an explosion in the roof above them. Down the rubble that had once been the roof came a large collection of soldiers dressed in both grey and green, led by three very familiar figures. Turbo and Taffyta strode confidently towards them as Ralph held onto Rancis and Gloyd.
"Nice work, but I'm afraid that things have changed." Turbo said.
Taffyta nodded.
"We made an alliance, and it doesn't include you." Taffyta added.
Vanellope buried her head in her hands.
"I knew this would happen." Vanellope muttered.