I am back with your next update! XD Enjoy!

PLEASE NO MORE PRANKING SUGGESTIONS.

Everyone in this story is owned by the magical company of (classical) Disney! Except Spook and the other pets.

For a moment, time stood still in Sugar Rush. The racers stared at Spook's lifeless body with their mouths hanging open. The bat was motionless, lying there with his neck twisted in an awkward angle. Beard Papa's pure, pointless evil had everyone frozen in place. Beard Papa looked down at Spook, the smile still plastered on his face. He did it. He finally killed Spook. However, he seemed shocked; as if he acted without thinking it through.

Another moment passed...Then Gloyd went wild. "BASTARD!" He thrashed forward, rage blinding his voice of reason. If Swizzle didn't react as quickly as he did, Gloyd would have walked into a stabbing. Beard Papa had his hand around a candy cane dagger, just in case.

"I can't believe..." Taffyta muttered, frozen. Minty's hands covered her mouth. Even Taffyta or Minty were't prepared for something this gut-wrenching. Candlehead, Adorabeezle, and Jubileena were on their knees, weeping. Nothing could have prepared them for this.

Snowanna, Crumbelina, Rancis, and Vanellope were frozen, their expression identical. Wide-eyed and their jaws slacking. Swizzle pinned Gloyd down, protecting him from his rage. Gloyd was screaming hysterically, rapidly punching Swizzle's face and head. But despite Gloyd's intense blows, Swizzle held him down.

Vanellope was the first to snap out of it. Her features hardened as she started to charge at Beard Papa, but the gatekeeper held his guard up. The candy cane knife in his hand was held up high as Beard Papa attempted to snatch Vanellope's hand. "Don't move one more pixel, kid! Or I'll be sure those are your last steps!"

"Don't you dare touch her!" Rancis roared, running up to the two, but was held back by both Taffyta and Minty. "Rancis, get back here!"

Beard Papa shoved Vanellope back, and she crashed into Swizzle and Gloyd. The three racers were tangled between each other's limbs. He started backing towards his makeshift candy boat. "Now, all of ya stay back!" He watched every racer like a hawk. He smirked when he saw Gloyd being held back by Swizzle. "And I'll make sure that you'll be-"

A quick 8-bit sound and light made the gang freeze. They all turned their attention to Spook's lifeless body. The pixels of the detached code started to move and illuminate. Seconds later, the body was engulfed in pixels and it rotated around multiple times. All eyes were focused on the code, and as soon as it went back onto the ground, everyone was frozen for the second time. Even Beard Papa.

Spook's code wasn't Spook after all. It was actually the popcorn from the King Candy booths. Instantaneously, the Sugar Rush racers gasped in both shock and relief. Especially Gloyd. If the popcorn fans weren't Spook, then that meant only one thing. "Damn it!" Beard Papa cursed as the popcorn fans hopped away from the docks.

"Spook's still alive!" Gloyd cried, his lips turning into a cracked relieved smile. However, when he turned to Beard Papa, his rage flowed through his body. "Where is Spook?! Where is he?!"

"You expect me to tell you that, kid?" Beard Papa chuckled. Despite his laughter, the gatekeeper seemed to be sweating a little. "I came this far, and I don't expect to-"

A loud chirp made Beard Papa freeze. He clenched a fist when the racers saw the golden cage on the bow of the boat. The gold cage, gray fur, long, ears and golden eyes. There was no doubt. Spook was still alive.

Gloyd's heart pounded when he caught sight of his beloved friend. "Spook! You're alive!" Spook chirped back, tears in his eyes. He was relieved that his master, and his friends, came to save him.

Minty realized that Beard Papa hacked the codes of the popcorn fans by transforming the few into a Spook lookalike. If the code is disturbed in any way, the beings return to their normal state. She clenched a fist. "Beard Papa hacked those popcorn fans to set us up! It was to buy some time! He knew we'd be devastated if Spook was killed before our eyes, so he made a decoy in order to stun us while he escaped with the real Spook still in his grasp!"

Every single racer stared at Beard Papa, their glares digging into his beady, manipulative eyes. Even the pets themselves were infuriated by Beard Papa's actions. Playing with their emotions as if they were puppets, and to slaughter an animal, decoy or not, in cold blood reached their last nerves.

Taffyta had her hands curled into fists. "To actually mess with the codes of the assorted fans as well as Spook's..."

"You're evil." Candlehead growled as the flame on her hat began to grow. "There's no other explanation for it."

Beard Papa found himself being surrounded by the racers and their angered pets. Disco growled beside a hissing Lord Nuttingham and Cocoa. Whipcream thumped her foot on the ground, displaying her disdain for the gatekeeper within her own way, and Ty-Dye let out a massive screech that rang in beard Papa's ears. Gloyd was fuming. Swizzle finally let up his grip on his arms and the boy slowly trudged toward Beard Papa. "You steal my pet, you threaten him and my friends..."

"Stay back, damn you!" Beard Papa lashed out at Gloyd as he backed up. Gloyd kept trudging forward. He had a feeling that nobody was going to stop him this time. "You play with my emotions, and you set up my friends as well as myself!"

"Shut up!" Beard Papa roared as he jumped back. He flipped a switch, and the racers heard something unhitch. The nine friends were engulfed in a shadow, and they soon found themselves behind a Twizzler cage.

"What the-?!" Snowanna rattled the bars furiously, trying to break them. Disco started biting the bars as Lord Nuttingham scratched them with his claws. Swizzle rammed against the bars with his shoulder. But the candy absorbed the blow and retaliated back towards onto the racer. Pain seared through his shoulder and the daredevil fell to the floor in pain.

"Swizzle!" Minty kneeled down next to him, worried. It was no use. The Twizzlers were extra powerful for some reason. Jubileena feared the worst. "Don't tell me he hacked the Twizzler cage strength too!" Beard Papa laughed even louder. Rancis turned to Vanellope with his hand on her shoulder. "Vanellope, glitch us out of here!"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Vanellope grinned mischievously as she started glitching towards the bars. But the bars glowed pink the closer Vanellope got. As soon as she reached the edge of the bars, she was thrown back into the cage. She crashed into Crumbelina and Taffyta. Everyone was confused. Vanellope's glitching should have worked.

"You see, kid," Beard Papa took a swing of lemonade from the lake. It was his way of a victory drink. "Not only did I decide to up the durability of the Twizzler cages, but I made it glitch-proof." Beard Papa waved a small gadget in his hand. It was a remote for the loading cranks. "This remote controls the cranks. If I wanted to, I'd hook you all up to the crank and lower you into the bay! Just like what I'll do to Spook!" Beard Papa laughed again.

Gloyd and Vanellope shook the bars while Beard Papa laughed. "Let us outta here, you jerk!" Beard Papa's smirk exceeded natural boundaries. He looked like a white Grinch. "I don't think so. Hacking is a lot of fun. I can see why Turbo did it to you, princess."

Vanellope snarled, insulted. That crossed the line for her. "I'll have you executed for this!" She shook the bar with all her might, but to no avail. Those things were unbreakable. Beard Papa snorted in Vanellope's face, grinning. "It'll be worth it." He turned around and headed towards his boat. "Enjoy the show, kids! First and last showing starting now!"

"Spook!" Gloyd and Spook looked at each other through their own prison bars. Spook's eyes were filled with tears, and Gloyd was close to that same position. They were so close, but Gloyd fell into another trap. Spook's life was still in danger, even when he was fooled by the popcorn codes. But Spook learned how much his master loved him. The pain, anger, and grief Spook saw in Gloyd's eyes when he witnessed the false murder struck a nerve. Gloyd really loved him, and that was more than anything Spook ever wished for.

The sound of the boat's propeller filled the air. Beard Papa's laugh faded out as he drove off into the bay, leaving the racers trapped like mice. Gloyd sank to his knees, his heart filled with a gaping hole. "I can't believe it...He won..."

"Gloyd..." Swizzle approached his friend, putting a hand on his shoulder. "We haven't lost yet."

"Oh yeah?" Gloyd looked up, glaring at Swizzle through his tears. "And how so?"

"Because he forgot about those controls," Jubileena said with a grin. She pointed to control box on the side of the shed. Gloyd's eyes widened. Jubileena was right. The wires, levers, and the box itself weren't tampered with.

They had a chance after all!

"But how do we hit that thing from all the way from over here?" Rancis muttered, scratching his head. He looked at the other racers, who looked at their pets. But all the pets were just as effected by the hacked candy as much as they were. Snowanna sighed. "So much for using our pets..."

"Beard Papa really did cover his bases...I'm both scared and a little impressed at the same time," Adorabeezle muttered, thinking hard. Vanellope squinted at the control box. "We have to throw something at the lever."

"Yeah, but what?" Candlehead said, sighing. "All we have are pieces of candy on us."

"And two Sweet Seekers," Taffyta added in. She tossed her lollipop stick out of the cage. The whole gang of racers suddenly went quiet. They all turned to Taffyta, who seemed visibly nervous with all the eyes on her. She looked from side to side, confused. "What?"

"The Sweet Seekers..." Minty picked one up. A smile spread on her face. "If we throw enough candy to the lever, we'll be able to free us from this crazy prison!"

"But the Sweet Seekers can still target us regardless," Adorabeezle said. "It could blow up right in front of us!"

"Even better!" Swizzle cried out. That earned him a few looks of concern. He rolled his eyes. "I mean, that it's good that it'll weaken the bars!"

"But will it be enough?" Jubileena seemed worried that it wouldn't work. Who could blame her? Beard Papa hacking was out of control. They didn't know what to expect now. Minty kneeled down and positioned the Sweet Seeker between the bars. "We still have to try!"

"I'll throw first!" Vanellope said as she took some sprinkles from her hair. She gave a mighty heave, and the sprinkles scattered around the control box. Vanellope fist pumped. "Made it!"

"Let me try!" Jubileena took off her cherry cap and blew on top of it. The sugar crystals flew towards the controls box, but most of it stuck onto the sprinkles. The cherry racer cheered. "All right!" Adorabeezle and Snowanna gave her victory hugs.

Rancis turned to Taffyta, who was opening another lollipop. She looked at him, noticing his eyes. "...What?"

"Throw one of your lollipops, Taff!" Rancis cried as he struggled to wrestle one out of her pockets. Taffyta's face hardened as she backed away. "What?! No way! I was saving this one for something special!"

"But you have to, Taffyta!" Vanellope cried as she grabbed her friend's shoulders. "We have to save Spook!"

Taffyta was about to protest, but she looked at Vanellope. The look on her face said it all. She glanced at Gloyd, then Swizzle, and then the other racers. They all had the same expression. They pleaded that Taffyta would sacrifice her prized possession in order to help someone else. She sighed, giving in. "Fine." But she grabbed Gloyd's jacket, pulling him close. "But you owe me one, Orangeboar!"

"As long as it saves Spook, I'll buy you a trillion lollipops!" Gloyd said, not even squirming in her grip. All he cared about was Spook. Taffyta's eyes widened slightly, then she backed away. "Okay. I'll hold you to it." She then threw her prized lollipop towards the control box. It skidded for a few seconds, then smashed into pieces when it came into contact with the actual box. Taffyta's mouth dropped open. "Oh my gobs...That thing cost me ten coins..."

Rancis looked at Minty, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You think that's enough?"

"Hopefully." Minty pulled the trigger on the Sweet Seeker as the other's backed away. Minty put her hand on the trigger. "Fire in the hole!" The trigger released the Sweet Seeker, and it flew straight towards the cage instead of the control box.

The racers froze. "Oh fudge...," Swizzle muttered. The Sweet Seeker blew up on impact, rattling the bars with intense velocity. A few racers huddled close to minimize their fear as the shaking subsided. Once the cage became completely still, the racers saw that the Sweet Seeker did damage to the bars. The Twizzlers seemed worse for wear; it just took a small force to break out. But none of the racers were strong enough.

"Now what?" Crumbelina asked. Snowanna pulled up the second Sweet Seeker. "Fire this one?"

"No!" Gloyd cried, snatching the cannon out of her hands. "We need to save this. I want to shoot Beard Papa down with this!" Rancis had a disdained look on his face. "Well that's impossible unless we break outta here. What are we gonna do?"

Taffyta glanced back at him. Rancis suddenly had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. "...What?"

"Use your head!"

...

"But I don't wanna use my head!"

The Sugar Rush racers charged forward. Using Rancis' as a pillar (literally), the gang rushed forward towards the bars. Putting all their strength into getting through the bars, and holding Rancis still, they finally broke through their prison.

Pieces of the red licorice scattered onto the dock and lemonade, and the gang cheered with victory. "Yes!" Candlehead cried. "We're out!"

"Take that, Beard Papa!"

Swizzle and Minty did a victory hug, but froze when they realized what happened. Blushing, the two pulling away as they shyly stared at one another. But Vanellope was the first to recover from the celebration. "Okay, listen up!"

The racers stopped as Gloyd ran to Vanellope's side. "Rancis, Snowanna, Swizzle, and Crumbelina, and the pets, come with Vanellope and me!"

"The rest of you put a net into the far side of the lake!" Vanellope cried as she pointed towards the west side of the shore. "And don't move until I give the signal! One of you will have to control the net!"

"I'll do it!" Minty said as she walked towards the control box. As she began to move the net into the lake, the friends split into groups. Gloyd and Vanellope's team hopped onto a pretzel speedboat with their pets, grabbing a form of weapon. Minty's team ran to the west side of the shore, directing Minty to the exact spot that Vanellope wanted.

As Vanellope and Gloyd boarded the ship, Gloyd looked out into the vast lake expansion. His worry for Spook increased drastically. "Gloyd." Gloyd looked up, seeing Rancis' hand extended out to him. Lord Nuttingham was beside him, purring softly. "We're gonna get Spook back. He's not gonna die on my watch."

Smiling, Gloyd took Rancis' hand and was pulled aboard. "Good to know, Rancis. Spook would love to hear that from you." Rancis smirked and nodded. "He may be a little annoying, but he's still a good pet regardless."

A meow came from Lord Nuttingham, as if he were agreeing with his master. Gloyd smirked and nodded. He walked up to the front of boat beside Vanellope. She pointed to the radar. "Look. This is where we are." She pointed to the pink dot, which was blinking beside the green outline. She then pointed to the blinking yellow light in the farther left corner. "And that's Beard Papa. If we go fast, we'll have a chance."

"With a little glitching involved," Gloyd said, grinning evilly. Vanellope returned the impish grin. They both nodded and the boat was hitched into high gear. The propeller roared loudly as the group headed towards Beard Papa's location.

Between the glitching and the smooth sailing, they came closer and closer to Spook with each passing second. Gloyd kept his eyes on the yellow dot. 'Don't worry, Spook. I'm not letting you die, and neither will anybody else.' He glared at the distance, swearing revenge. 'Not if I have anything to say about it!'

Will you people stick around to see the end, or will you just wave it off because I changed the pranking? Stay tuned.