Hero's Duty: Code Blue

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Chapter 11: F1Xing Felix

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Felix found himself sitting in Formula One Xtreme, too frustrated and too scared of his wife to try to confront her and right the wrongs. As soon as the last game of the day had finished he'd made a dash for Game Central Station, hoping to hide, hoping to escape everything. The four racer characters were scorching around the track in an after-hours race, which he had learned was the "Germany 1969" stage. He sat in the grandstands, hiding amongst crowds of enthusiastic NPC's cheering in German for the four. An NPC in lederhosen came through the stands selling pretzels and beer, and Felix soon found both in his hands. The roar of the engines and the drone of the tires filled the green landscape beyond. But after a few more laps the race finished, the crowds filtered out of the stands, and soon all was comparatively quiet. He just sat there morosely, nibbling the pretzel and forcing himself to drink the beer, finding it rather sour compared to the fare served at Tapper's.

"Hey! Fix-it!" called someone.

He cowered and looked over to see Traci at the end of his row of seats, the racer girl with lots of dark curly hair.

"We thought we saw you in the stands!" She bounced over happily and plopped down next to him. She gave him a friendly little hug, squishing him sweetly. "I'm so happy you came over to watch us race!"

But letting him go, she immediately noticed his mood of depression. "Felix, what's wrong?"

He heaved a heavy sigh. "I did something mighty awful, Traci."

"Bad day at work?"

"No...remember that note from my wife, the one I showed you all last night?"

"You missed her and she got angry?"

The other three racers came into the grandstand, all dressed in red racing gear like Traci was. "Hey! Fix-It! Nice to see you!" They quickly made their way over to where Felix sat and crowded around him.

"Yeah, how's it going?" asked Larry. "Did you bring your wife with you?"

Traci shushed them. "Something bad happened!"

They all leaned in closely, genuine concern on their faces. "What happened, Felix?"

"Tell us about it," said blonde Sarah, taking Felix's hand.

The handyman sighed again and wiped away the tear forming in his eye. And then he recounted the events of the night from the time he had left the entry of their game, not even sure really why he as opening up to them. Why would they understand?

The four racers sat with him in the stands, listening with rapt attention.

"Oh Felix! That's awful."

"You were so set up!"

"It must be nice to have two beautiful women that want you though," grinned Joey.

"Joey!"

"Hey, it must be tough being married to a woman like Calhoun," said Larry sympathetically. You just stand back and stay out of the way. But Felix, you have to be the man sometimes," he advised.

"I am the man," said Felix.

"No no no," corrected Larry. "You misunderstand me. I know you're a man. But sometimes you need to be the man. You have to stand up to her and step in and tell her you made an honest mistake."

"That's all it will take to fix this?"

"That's all."

Joey nudged him on the arm. "Look, when you're married, it's not all happily ever after. Forgetwhat the fairytales have drummed into your head. You have to keep working on it. Maybe you slew the dragon or won the race or beat the end boss. And that's what won her heart. But that dragon keeps coming back, so you have to keep fighting it for her, to keep reminding her of why she loves you."

"So get out your courage and confidence and go tell her your side of the story and that she just has to deal with the fact that you were tricked and it really wasn't your fault."

"But I don't have any confidence," sobbed Felix, wringing his cap in his hands. "Not after this."

"Then let's go find your confidence," said Traci cheerfully.

"Look, that sounds fine and all, but it's not like something that's just slipped in between the couch cushions."

"But it is," said Sarah. She put her finger against his chest. "It's right here."

Felix pouted. "So good luck getting it out. How are we going to do that?" he said doubtfully.

The four racers looked at each other, their brilliant plan having hit a major snag.

Felix sighed and walked to the front of the grandstand, leaned his arms upon the safety rail, and rested his chin on them. "Well thanks. Maybe I'll figure something out."

"Well, winning a race always gives me confidence," said Joey.

"I can't even drive," laughed Felix awkwardly.

The four suddenly looked at each other, the previous puzzlement on their faces disappeared and was replaced with their own smug confidence.

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Hero's Duty: Code Blue continues in Chapter 12: "All Around the World"

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Wreck-It Ralph and all related concepts, characters, worlds, and events are property of Walt Disney Pictures. Original characters and story elements are property of E. Potter, writing under the pen name of Miratete.