Chapter Twelve – EXPERT MODE

Husband?

HUSBAND?!

That was one way to make an introduction.

Now the count was down to two, two viruses who stood before the four heroes, standing between them and possible deletion. The true power of the duo had yet to be unleashed, though given how powerful MAL was in order to knock down Candybug and for Tor strip him away of all the corrupted coding….

"W-What are ya two?"

They were the viruses that nightmare were made of.

Mal walked around the four, eyeing them cruelly "I still can't believe Turbutt…Turbug, whatever his name was….made me think ya guys were somethin'. All that guff an' this is what we're left with?"

The little woman rolled her eyes, clearly not at all impressed by the 'leftovers'.

"Pah, I've seen better lookin' pieces when we got stuck in that Tennis-4-Two console for a day!" she hissed painfully, reaching back to her shoulder "Still got a kink from that!"

"Never the less, they should please the hive given then condition that they are in." Tor said, his mannerisms very much calm and collected, the polar opposite of what his so-called wife was hyperactively displaying "With the exception of the smaller two of course. The one that apparently 'glitches'? The former hammer-man? Perhaps they would make better snacks for the road."

Vanellope scooted back from Tor; his looks may have been less jarring than Candybug but the way his words slithered from his mouth? It was enough to make even the hardest of candies melt in fear from the inside out.

"Eat? Is that why you're a PIG?" the girl said in a mocking tone as she stuck her hands in her pocket "Makes sense I guess."

Tor didn't respond, though a small smile began to appear on his face, tickling Vanellope under her chin.

"Hmm, such pluck for someone who has very little time left. I guess that means your meat shall be EXTRA tender."

In a burst of light Vanellope glitched atop Ralph's shoulders, the Ralph letting out a threatening growl.

"Don't touch me. EVER."

"You're talkin' a lotta game, pal…." Ralph growled, taking a threatening step towards the big virus "But if ya touch so much as one more hair on ANYONE in this arcade-!"

"Oh, temper, TEMPER." Tor sniffed, crossing his arms against his thick chest "And from what I learned, you were trying to get people to stop seeing big bad guys are BRUTES? Thanks for destroying THAT illusion, sir. If anything, you're taking it a few steps back with YOUR behavior."

Without thinking twice, Ralph dove in for the two much to the shock of the others.

"Ralph!" cried Felix but he was too late to catch his friend.

The man's fists directly at Tor's face, the Wrecker feeling the edge of his nose brushing against his skin but….

"Amateur. …"

He may have been BIG, but Tor was about to show Ralph just how many moves HE could do.

The big virus moved dodged quick, moving right out of the way just as Ralph swung his massive fist but then Tor made his move, grabbing upon the Wrecker's arm and pulling him forward. There was a cry, Ralph feeling himself stumble forward as Tor drove his elbow upon the back of his spine, Ralph screaming loudly as he felt himself pounded into the ground. The crowd gasped in shock, not used to seeing Ralph taken down so easily but there he was lying face down upon the floor with the other man standing over him, not a bead of sweat upon Tor's skin.

"Holy Hohos!" cried Gloyd, he and the other racers peeking from behind one of the station benches "Was that a finisher or what?!"

Well, now Ralph had brick on his face.

He moaned, slowly stirring as he managed to turn and sit up, his body still feeling the aftermath of the hit "Nice moves…for a virus, I mean."

Tor smiled warmly, his demeanor still so calm and still "Thank you…."

And then…the turn.

"ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU WHAT ELSE I HAVE FOR YOU!"

This time, Tor was the one to move the faster, the man charging down at Ralph. The Big Wrecker moved back, missing the charge as he attempted to regain his footing but it was just what the virus wanted. IN the split second that his attention was focused elsewhere Tor made his move, the virus throwing back his arms and then thrusting them forward.

"Ralph, look out!"

All Ralph could see was GREEN, green vines an tendrils erupting from the male virus' arms and fingers as they jutted out and wrapped themselves tightly against his legs, squeezing them like a vice!

"OOH! What in Litwak's-?!"

"Spin."

Tor planted his feet, LITERALLY, into the ground and began to spin Ralph about the space with ease.

"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH!"

Faster and faster Ralph was swung, the entire station whirling around him in a maddened kaleidoscope of color and screams. Of the faces he could make out, he could see them looking towards him in FEAR, true fear of what would happen if their Hero could not beat this enemy, could not take him down as he had done with many others.

"H-H-HEY! I want off this crazy ride!"

Off?

"Well, why didn't ya SAY so, RED?" Mal smile happily, springing to her feet as she flew upwards into the air "Toss 'em this way, bay-beh!"

A sharp jolt was enough to signal Ralph that Tor had loosened his grip, his body flying off towards the awaiting Mal.

UP towards the awaiting Mal.

UP!

"Aw man, aw COCONUTS!" Ralph flailed as he noticed the station was getting mighty far away the higher he flew but what was worse was seeing MAL waiting for him, the woman showing forth a maddened grin as he inched closer to her.

"An' here comes tha pitch…."

The little woman clenched her fist together and SLAMMED Ralph right in the middle of his face, the man going down to the ground like a stone. Tor kept a watchful eye but as soon as the Wrecker was just an inch from him.

"Step…."

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

Right through the floor Ralph did go.

The entire station shook, the entire CORD shook….it was a hit for the ages, Ralph feeling that he had nearly gone through the FLOOR after such a hit.

"Augh, RALPH!" Vanellope cried out in agony as she glitched over to her friend, Tor not even caring that she glitched away with him a second later "Ah, c'mon stink breath! Talk ta me, talk!"

Pixel birds of pain swirled around the man's head, "Girl's got some fire-power. I'll give her that…"

Mal was still floating above the others, her legs kicking in the air.

"Heheheh, yup. Tells ya somethin' when ya don't have ta be TOWERIN' like Blond-Britches down there when ya got GUNS like this!"

"Yeah, forget it. Just gonna shoot her now." Calhoun growled, her gun charging but once more Tor moved in with his vine-like arms, the tendrils wrapping themselves around the barrels.

"I particularly never saw the hype in characters such as these…."

"Urgh, let go!" Calhoun fought back against the virus but the sound of a slow hiss and the torrid smell of melting metal hit her nose. She looked down, noticing that her guns were slowly being corroded away by Tor's virus code, the woman crying out as she let go, her guns falling to the floor and pooling into a pile of liquefied, rotted code.

"Take your guns away, and what are you miss?"

"Mad, for one thing." The woman said, not taking a step back "Those were two of my favorites, BUD!"

Tor was unmoved, his hands and arms returning to normal as he rejoined with his wife "Love?"

"M'yeeeeees?"

"They clearly want to keep going. Perhaps we should give them the honors…."

"Oooh, ya mean we should introduce 'em ta some MORE of our friends?" the smaller of the two asked, clapping her hands together happily.

"M-More?" gulped Felix "moving closer to his wife "Y-Ya mean there are even MORE around?!"

Mal didn't even so much as grace the Repairman with a reply, twirling into the air giddily before stopping cold, hands out and eyes beaming as she looked upon the trapped citizens of Litwak's.

"Ladies eeeeeeeeeeeeeen GENTLE-PIXELS! Boy, are ya in for a big show TODAY! The woman sang out "Both Tor an' I are so PRIV-AGE-LEEEDGED ta be here since this is tha FIRST TIME we've had such an audience for a take down!"

"Take down, my ass!" barked Calhoun, shaking her fist up at the virus "Bring your cowardly lil behind down here an' FIGHT, Mal!"

"All in due time, Blondie. All in due time…" the woman replied as if she were speaking to a child, taking a pack off the side of her belt "Right now however, we must get ALL of you ready for the master an' with so many? Ho! That'll take some time with only TWO of us!"

Vanellope kept her eyes upon Mal, a terrible feeling forming in her stomach as she watched her fish around the bag, something glowing and moving inside. She rejoined her friends, her skin covered in goose bumps.

"Guuuuys?"

"We have so many mouths ta feed back at home…." The woman continued, pulling out what looked to be some sort of glowing orb, the contents within it looking as if it were ALIVE. She raised the object above her head, her fingers just ITCHING to drop it down "Lemme show ya SOME of em!"

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" shouted Calhoun, stepping back just in time as Mal HURLED the object down towards the floor. Upon making contact with the ground, the item seemed to SMASH to bits like a rotten pumpkin, gelatinous bits splattering about on the ground.

"Aw. YUCK!" cried Sakura, wrinkling her nose "It…it looks like a giant rotten EGG!"

"M-Maybe, but what IS it?"

Not too far away some familiar racers observed the mass, the little gelatinous blobs quivering about before them. They were moving, they were squeaking, tiny beady eyes forming and rising from the middle of their cores as they took a gander upon the people before them, drippy smiles stretching upon the surface of their faces. The oozed towards the characters, slow at first, but as the scent of fresh code hit them they moved faster…

*Scree!*

And faster!

*SCREEE!*

AND FASTER!

"Din-Din time." Mal waved.

The blobs shot out towards the trapped characters, their eyes so big their smiles so wide as the quickly LATCHED themselves onto any who were near! If the panic beforehand was massive, once a new set of VIRUSES had been unleashed the fear was IMMEASURABLE.

It didn't matter where they ran, how much they screamed, Litwak's was not escaping from this.

"HAHAHAHAH!" Mal laughed, rolling on her back "Look at 'em GO!"

The virus blobs spread and multiplied throughout, taking each hit, taking each blow, taking each attack that was given to them and what was worse?

"Urgh! There's MORE of 'em!" Calhoun said, finding out the hard way after she landed a good blow right through the middle of a blob, the thing breaking into four more creatures. They gave a cry as they leapt towards her.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"

"Sarge, DUCK!"

The Marine moved just in time to see a blast of ice shooting past her, the blobs that were one her freezing instantly. She turned back, Mouse standing weakly on her feet and clutching her Cybug Frost Gun in her hands.

"Man, this is one hella' party!" the Cadet panted, her sides still aching from the previous attack.

SCREE SCREE SCREEEEE!

Freezing might have been a temporary fix…but it wasn't enough. Calhoun leapt back, throwing her hands in the air as the things began crawling near her.

"Aw, c'mon! What's so 'attractive' about me? Go eat some leftover cake, that's REAL nice!"

It seemed the virus coding within the blobs were too strong even for the power of the ice, the blobs ABSORBING the bits before breaking through and taking on a new texture.

*SCREEEEEE!*

An ICE texture.

The two space-marines said nothing at they witnessed the transformation, the now ice-blobs attacking even more people, the screams getting louder as they were carried into the crowd.

"Viruses?" Said Mouse.

"Power absorption?" Followed Calhoun.

"Worse than Cybugs?"

"Most definitely."

Mouse moaned, burying her hands into her face "We need ta get back into our game…."

Not too far away, a powerful space-man and his girlfriend tried their best to hold of the deluge of blobs, Quasar firing away with everything he had. Of course, it still had not gotten through to him just yet that firing his gun was only going to create more and more of the creatures, his screams loud and his anger high as he kept blasting away but the jellies kept multiplying, giving him their little grin and cry.

"Damn it, why won't these things get back?!" the man cried out, Hailey right behind though she held her guns back, clued in sooner than her companion.

"Quasar, stop!" the woman cried out, trying to pull the man's gun away but he fought her off "Shooting them only increases their numbers!"

"Don't shoot?!" the man blustered, managing to pull his gun away and shoot again "If ya don't want me ta shoot, what else do ya expect me ta do then?!"

"I-I don't know right now but there has to be something else we can do to get them back!"

"Somethin' ele-?! Hailey! We can't get back into our game or have ya forgotten!" the man roared in anger, his face turning red.

"Quasar, we don't have time for this!"

The man roared out in anger as he blew out another large shot "GYAAAUGH! If it hadn't been for those stupid NPCs from Fix-It's game, we wouldn't be in this mess!"

Hailey managed to punch a particularly large blob away moment before digging her heels right into Quasar's foot "Don't you dare! Don't you DARE bring that up, we don't have time for it!"

"AAAAUGH! Stupid NPCs!" the man cursed, thanking his programmers that his gun would remain charged on its basic setting, even out-of-game "Didn't I tell ya stuff like this would happen if ya didn't keep 'em in line!"

Hailey double-jumped out of the way from another blob, clearly not in the state of mind to argue about status "QUASAR!"

The man ignored his partner's cries, shooting at every blob that neared him "This is why ya leave tha heavy shootin' ta tha big boys! Because at least we can't get taken down that easil-!"

QuuuuuAAAAAAsssAAAAAR!

While everyone else continued the melee around them, the two space fighters stopped, looking about for the source of the grim sound.

"W-What was-?"

QUUUUUUAAAAASAAAAAAR!

Someone was looking for the man.

But who.

"Who…who's there?!" Quasar growled, his fingers wrapped around the trigger of his gun. He turned forward, his eyes meeting with something that made his skin go blue, his blood run cold.

Hailey stumbled back, her body shaking upon what she saw "N-No way…."

Little figures staggered near them, little FAMILIAR figures and why were the lot so recognized by the two?

Because they were the NPCs from THEIR game.

The little space creatures were COVERED in virus blobs, their eyes white and their entire bodies warped and misshapen as the corrupted programming took over.

"Oh naw. AW NAW!" the man cried out, pushing Hailey behind him to protect her "Get back, GET BLAAAAAAAAAAAAAARUGH!"

Hailey screamed but upon opening her eyes she found that SHE had not been attacked as instead the infected NPCs went after their LEADER instead!

"Babe!"

In such a cruel turn, the man found himself BURIED under his own legion of NPCs, the little creatures going at the man with everything they had, teeth, nail and claws! He screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to fight the lot off but they were two strong for him, the virus-programming adding strength to their madness.

"G-Get off you weaklings, OFF!"

"U-U-USE-1010-1010-1000-LEEEESS LITTLE TH-TH-TH-THINGS!" glitched one of the NPCs, grabbing Quasar around his neck, chocking him.

"SSSSTAAAA-AY-AY-AY-Y IN YOooooOOUR PLACE!" shouted another, trying to bend the man's arms back.

Hailey tried her best to fight off the NPCs, pulling them back but they too came after her. Her shriek was loud and piercing as she fell back but unlike her comrade, she did not want to hurt them. They were her GAME-MATES, her PARTNERS. Even if they were infected she could not get the drive up to shoot them.

As in her programming, she wanted to SAVE them.

"G-Guys, stop!" she cried out, her voice wavering in her throat "Fight it off!"

"KA-KA-KA-KA-101010-0001-KILL!"

"CONSUME!"

From the floor, the space-man could see his girlfriend getting attack, the anger rising in him.

"ARRRRK! Let go, LET GO!" he gasped, reaching for his gun and shooting his own NPCs in the face "Nasty things! Don't you dare touch her like that!"

"Quasar, DON'T!" Hailey cried out in horror "You're going to DELETE them if-!"

The man did not listen, shooting everywhere he could to get the onslaught of monsters off him but as he was quick to find out, the virus programming had already done its work on his NPCs. They were completely consumed and because of that even if they were destroyed, the virus programming kept them alive. Hailey screamed loudly as she watched one by one, the NPCs getting blown to pieces but rather than evaporating into pixels, the mishappen, corrupted chunks lay on the floor, strewn among the still slithering jelly viruses

PIECES of them were not attacking Quasar and Hailey

"Th-th-the 10100-10010 ORDER of th-th-1010-THIIIIIINGS!" cackled one of the NPCs, its voice sounding distorted but through the distortion, Quasar could have SWORN…

That he heard his own voice?

Was it possible?

Could it have been?

It was almost as if the virus were replaying the memories of the NPCs, presenting them to the space-man in his own voice to add to his punishment. He was frozen in fear, eyes locked upon the figures as they approached him and his partner, bullets unable to stop it, fights unable to-

*BOOM!*

"BLURGHT!"

The two gasped as they were snapped from their stupor, looking up to see a gaggle of brightly colored RACERS beating the living TAR out of the thing.

"What the-!"

"CALHOUN!" shouted Taffyta "ITS AN INFECTION!"

Quasar was still confused, still stuck on the ground "I-infect-?"

"Move, move!" ordered Minty, going from behind and SHOVING the two off the ground "Ya wanna get eaten? Then get your cans up an' run!"

"C'mon!" Hailey said in anger as she took hold of Quasar's hand and dragged him off "The sooner get away from this-!"

Mal and Tor had both perched themselves upon the rafters of the station, looking down in loving glee as they watched everyone stumble over themselves.

"Isn't it just beautiful?" cooed Mal, leaning on her husband. The big virus patted his wife upon the head, a small inkling of a smile creasing on his face.

"Breathtaking, it is…."

There were a few characters below making haste to help others but it was becoming clearer by the second that the lot were woefully outnumbered, the amount of viruses as well as infected people increasing.

"We need anti-virals!" said Calhoun, punching a blob in the face "If we don't administrate them soon, we'll have MORE viruses ta deal with!"

"Well, it would be NICE but remember that lil detail of us not gettin' into our games?!" Mouse roared, clearly frustrated at this point.

A large explosion rocked the two off their feet, knocking them back towards the snack table were the Sugar Rush racers were carrying a few smaller characters to safety.

"Gah!" Swizz cried, nearly ending up under Mouse as she landed on the ground.

"Aw, for cryin' out loud! I'm gonna end up snapped in half at this point!"

"HAHAHAH! Keep it up, Litwak's!" Mal cackled from above "This just keeps gettin' better n' better!"

Mouse slammed her hand on the ground "Parasite! I just need somethin' ta override tha command she put on tha our games ta get in! Anythin'!"

Swizz looked over "Ya think….ya think its on a universal lock or somethin'?"

"From tha way it work when she first implemented it, that's what I'm hopin' it is." The cadet answered, watching Mal as she swooped down "If I had my equipment on me, I could POSSIBLY hack through but right now, she's tha only key ta us gettin' back in!"

"An' as we've seen…." Calhoun hissed through her teeth "That honey ain't easy ta take down."

"There's gotta be a way though! I mean, viruses aren't immune ta all attacks, we know that!" said Swizz.

"Right…" Mouse nodded, her mind still turning and spinning "Punch aren't gonna do it though. We need somethin'-! Somethin'….."

Both racer and cadet looked at each other, almost as if their minds hit the same wavelength.

"Candlehead!"

The little candle-headed racer meeped in shock as she looked over towards her friend "Y-Yeah?"

"Do ya have ANY power-ups on ya? ANY?"

The little racer was shivering badly but she reached for her purse digging through it "W-Well, I do have a Choco-Storm an' a Sour-Ra-!"

"That one!" Swizz said "Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie!"

"B-But why?!"

Before any answers were given, Swizz took the power-up while Mouse took something from her own cache, the two of them hooking the items together into one large awkward looking bomb.

"I need ta get this over ta Vanellope, STAT!" said Swizz, taking a quick jump from under the table.

"A-An' what about tha rest of us?!"

"Sarge!" Swizz said, rushing into the crowd "Tell everyone ta head up!"

"Up?"

"UP!" the boy pointed, finally vanishing in the thick of the mess.

It was crazy…

But it was the only thing that could be done at the moment.

"Okay, everyone heard the kid. Let's go!"

"W-wait, what?" a little Monkey Girl gasped "You're just gonna listen ta tha ki-?"

"Move, MOVE!" Calhoun ordered, shoving a few people up the banners that lay around them "Find a strong tether an' hang on!"

With no other choice people began moving upwards to higher ground, many of them kicking off any blobs that still remained on their clothing. Ralph looked over and saw Calhoun wave a signal towards him, the big man quickly figuring out the plan. He rushed over towards the Nicelanders, taking a few in his hands.

"C'mon, guys!"

"Ooof, not so TIGHT there big guy!" coughed Lucy, the air squeezed out of her.

"All of ya, al of ya!" the Wrecker said, stooping down "Some of ya get on my shoulders!"

Felix quickly got to the beat and rushed over to Gene and Mary, the Mayor still too weak to even move.

"Dear?" asked Mary, letting out a little squeak as Felix picked her up and put her on his back.

"Just hang tight ma'am!" the Hero said as he reached down for Gene "We're-HOORF!"

Mary just looked, seeing that Felix's knees were quaking under him as Gene lay half-conscious on his back "…Young man?"

Darn it Gene! Why was he so much heavier than he looked?

Ralph eyed his friend, noticing him struggling under the weight of the game's Mayor "Um….Felix?"

The Repairman was going red in the face "Y-Yeah?"

"….Ya know, I could handle a few extra po-"

Felix wasn't going to be taken down so easily, reaching for a banner and jumping up, managing to get a little higher than Ralph despite the extra weight on him "Just climb Ralph, CLIMB!"

"Freeze, Fix-It!

"YAURGH!"

Felix felt himself being pulled down, Gene slipping from his grip but he moved in quick, grabbing the Nicelander's hand.

"Gotcha!"

"F-Felix!"

"Ms. Mary!"

In his attempt to save Gene, Felix had moved too quickly and caused Mary to slip from his shoulders, the little woman tumbling down to the ground and landing with a bounce right at the feet of…

"TURBO?!"

The one and only.

"Don't think 'bout goin' ANYWHERE, Sweets!" the former racer growled, taking a hold of Mary in his arm and returning his grip upon Felix's leg, shaking him roughly "S'bad enough that those FREAKS double-crossed me back there but ya wanna know ONE thing that would make up for all'a this?! Seein' all'a ya Fix-It ffat-heads get eaten alive!"

"Turbo, let go!" Felix protested, the man's hands digging into his skin "TH-this-! This is CRAZY! Instead of fightin' me, lemme help ya!"

"Are ya NUTS?!" Ralph gasped, astonished that even after so much, Felix was still willing to HELP Turbo escape the wrath of the diabolical duo. Though Felix's sentiments were valiant enough, the former racer was in no mood to consider anything else but getting the revenge he so thought had been long withheld from him.

"Is that so?" the grey-skinned racer growled, tugging Felix off the banner, both he and Gene CRASHING to the floor. Felix wasn't given a second to recover, Turbo giving him a hard wallop in his face "Punk-ass goody-two shoes. I should'a used that stupid code ta take out your game FIRST all those years ago!"

"Urgh! Stop you nasty brute, don't put a hand on him!" Mary shouted, kicking her little legs but the man shook her, making her cry out once more.

"Sit tight pinkie, you'll be taken care of soon enough."

"Let 'em go!" Ralph shouted out, trying to KICK Turbo from where he hung all the while still juggling the other Nicelanders in his hands. Turbo took full advantage of the situation, ducking under Ralph's kick as he threw Mary down on the ground.

"So what's it gonna be, Big Guy? Gonna toss tha lot of tha butter-bunch back ta tha sharks ta fight ME or would it be worth it watchin' us down here get eaten?"

"Urrrg, TURBO!"

"Hah, betcha had your lil glitch friend now don'tcha but sorry! Ya can't cheat your way outta EVERYTHIN', RAAALPH!"

"Turbo, stop!" Felix begged, wiping his bloodied nose "For once, think about what's gonna happen when ya get caught! It's gonna be a GAME OVER for good this time if we don't climb up!"

"Do ya think I care?!" the former racer roared, some red leeching onto his face the more furious he became "DO YOU THINK I CARE WHAT HAPPENS TO ME THIS TIME!?"

"Turbo, just-!"

The former racer struck Felix again, his smile growing as he watched the Repairman cower before him, writing in such pain "You an' this arcade! Ya turn-coats, ya worms! As soon as somethin' flashy turns up you're all so quick ta lap that up!"

"Turbo, STOP!"

"DO YA THINK I'M JUST GONNA END THIS?! THAT I'M JUST GONNA LET YA WALK AWAY AS IF NONE OF YA HAD ANYTHIN' TA DO WITH THIS?! I AM NOT GONNA LOSE ANOTHER CHANCE TA FINALLY SMASH YA TO-!"

"Oh for cryin' out LOUD!" shouted a voice from behind "SHUT UP!"

*KA-CRACK!*

"AUUURGH!"

With a heavy thud, Turbo fell before Felix. The man let out a yelp, looking up to gaze upon the face of he who had brought Turbo down.

He?

Try SHE.

"M-MARY!?"

The Fix-it-Felix gang looked down, all eyes on a FUMING figure in a torn pink dress glaring down at the now unconscious Turbo, a sharp heel held in her hands.

"Don't you DARE put your hands on anyone else, you hear?!"

Ralph blinked, feeling his hands suddenly take him up a WEE bit higher up the banner.

If anyone was going to force the anger out of Mary, it was going to be Turbo and from what everyone had witnessed…

"U-Unruly hooligan…."

It was something to behold.

The man let out a moan but Mary had clocked him good as he was not getting up any time soon.

"S-Stupid lil fat ass…."

"Nel?"

"Y-yes, Mary" the little Nicelander meeped. Mary raised a hand, waggling her fingers.

"Your bow. We need it."

Nel didn't miss a beat, undoing the massive bow holding down her curls and tossed it down at Mary. With its length, the little Nicelander was able to tie Turbo up, handing the end of the lasso to Ralph as she climb upon his arm but as she did so, the Wrecker was able to see some of the fear returning to the woman's eyes, her bod shaking just slightly.

"M-Miss Mary?" the Wrecker asked "Y-You okay?"

Mary clutched onto Ralph's arm, burying her face and shaking her head. She have gotten Turbo but she wasn't feeling as jubilant as the others would have thought she would have. In fact, Ralph could have sworn he heard her crying, her body shaking.

"J-Just get us up, please Ralph. P-Please…."

Yeah, it was best to get to safety at this point.

Soon everyone was up on higher ground, but the question remained….WHY?

"Oh, what tha-?" Mal blinked once she noticed the floor had been cleared with the exception of the sea of blobs "Tha hell do they think they're doin'?!"

"Mal, wait!" Tor warned "Our jellies can still get them!"

"Yeah, but they take FOREVER ta climb up, ya know that!" the woman retorted angrily as she jumped from her seat "They think they can get away from this?! Well, they just made themselves EASIER ta reach!"

"Dear don't-!"

Too late.

Mal jumped from the rafters and dove down, her fury set upon slashing every character who appeared in her view.

"Oh, haha! So funny!" she spat, getting closer and closer "Lookit how SMART Litwak's is! They're gonna climb up like chickens on roost! Well honeys, lemme get into your coop an' rip ya-!"

"VANELLOPE, NOW!"

*GLITCH!*

All Mal could see was LIGHT….a light and a FROWN.

"Hope ya like somethin' a little ZESTY!"

Before Mal could move, Vanellope SLAMMED the device both Swizz and Mouse had made right upon the virus' chest. She brayed out as she lost balance, falling on the ground with a hard crash only to watch as Vanellope glitched off several times towards the others, finally reappearing atop Ralph's shoulders.

"UUURGH! Annoyin' BRAT!" Mal hissed, a few of the jellies crawling over to her, almost as if they were worried for their master "Just wait till-!"

SOUR PATCH BATCH!

Cybug Shocker activation. Three, two, ONE.

Mal looked down, noticing that the device was glowing….

And CHARGING.

"What tha-"

SHOCK.

There was a beep, a ping and then Malicious was ENGULFED in a powerful wave of electricity!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURGH!

Tor watched in horror as his wife was electrocuted before him, springing up on his feet as he looked down "MAL!"

"What's happening?!" Candlehead cried out, clutching onto Taffyta.

Despite how the odds were stacked against them, both Swizz and Mouse knew that it would only take the work of TWO power-ups to tip things in their favor. Mal was being shocked to her very core by the Hero's Duty device while at the same time, the Sugar Rush item was also working its way through, the combination of BOTH resulting in so much of Mal's programming being FRIED while the sour power of the candy power-up rendered her unable to concentrate on what little power she had left, the rancid taste filling her mouth and locking up her joints and thoughts.

"A-A-ARRRTH!" she managed to cry out, her mind going one way and then another thanks in part to both power ups.

And the jellies?

They two were shocked, Mal acting as the main reactor to all of them as she held the power onto the ground. It suddenly made sense as to WHY Swizz wanted everyone to head up, the jellies proving to be the perfect conductors to carry on the shock through all on the floor.

"AAAURGH! S-S-STOOOP!" Mal shrilled, trying to force her limbs out but they buckled under the lock "R-R-R-R-R-RUUGHR! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO FRY!"

"Us? Ha!" laughed Vanellope "If anyone is cookin' right now, it's YOU!"

Mal was losing her grip on the programming, Mouse looking around to see that the entrances of the games were starting to blink, the lights returning.

"It's workin', it's workin'!"

Just as Mouse had hoped the doors finally opened, the programming weakening and dropping the shield!

"N-N-N-10101-NO!" Mal screamed, once she realied what was happening "NO! DON'T!"

"Everyone, just gun it!" Calhoun shouted "Don't worry about gettin' in tha RIGHT game! Just get inta any one! Get through the doors, don't touch tha floors! JUST GET OUTTA HERE!"

"T-TOR!"

Tor jumped down, trying to aim himself away from the center of the shock.

"Hang on darling! I'll-!"

*GLITCH!*

"AURG!"

Once more, Vanellope glitched before the man and kicked him in the face, knocking him off guard and right into the center of the shock wave! He too cried out as he was subjected to the painful electrocution, his added size only making the electricity flow more and destroying the weaker jellies on the floor.

"Th-that's two down!" the girl panted, feeling a familiar and unwelcomed feeling in the middle of her core "T-try gettin' at us again, I dare ya!"

"Vanellope, let's go!" Candlehead shouted, taking the girl by the hand "We can't-!"

The two let out screams as they felt something strike them from behind, both hit by shocks. Ralph was only but a short distance away and saw both girls fall.

"Oh, coconuts!" the big man cried out, shoving the last Nicelanders into the game "Kid, get up!"

The two moaned, feeling their entire bodies shaking from the shock. Candlehead looked up and screamed, noticing Tor staggering to his feet on his hands and knees, his vine-like tendrils sprawled out before him and still twitching from the electrical bath, the light finally dying down as both devices hit their time limit. Mal fell to the floor, her body wafting with smoke as the final remains of the jelly virus dissipated, not a single trace of them left.

"G-G-G-Gonna sm-sm-smash you to-to bits!"

"Urg, run Candlehead, run!" Vanellope cried out but the other racer was far too scared, far too shocked to move as the large virus glared upon both her and Vanellope, his features warping, his body glitching.

"F-For consumption!"

And his mind thinking of nothing more than to consume the two.

He roared, braying like the boar people had first seen him as, and charged towards the two. Vanellope took hold of Candlehead and glitched out of the way but the man quickly followed the pattern, his skin sensing the power that leeched off her with every jump she made.

"No, get away!"

He snorted loudly, smoke billowing from his nose and mouth "Yo-You hurt her! B-b-bits and BYTES!"

"Just leave us alone, leave us alone!" Candlehead cried out in great fear as Vanellope glitched again. Tor proved to be the faster this time, clumsily letting out an arm and striking the two onto the ground near Mal. Vanellope glitched in pain but her focus turned to Candlehead, the girl still beside her.

"Candles? CANDLES! Say somethin'!"

"W-What?"

The vanilla racer stumbled over towards Candlehead just as Mal regained herself, the woman feeling dizzy as she sat up.

"Urrg….why do I taste sour berries in my mouth?"

She looked down, her eyes going upon the two racers before her.

"Get up, run!"

Mal paused, her body glitching as she looked upon the two.

"…..NO."

"C-C'mon, Candlehead! We don't have much time!"

"I-I'm goin'-!"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The two stopped as they heard Mal bellow so loudly before them, the woman going to her feet and screaming as she clutched her hands to her head, glitching and warping horribly.

"NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO! D-D-D-DON'T TAKE HER AWAY! DON'T GET AWAY! DON'T-!"

"W-What's happenin' ta her?" Candlehead cowered in fear "W-Why's she screamin' like-?"

The virus' wings opened up, the woman looking even more like a monster than before as she raced towards the two, her claws out.

"HE NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE HERE! HE NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE HERE!"

"Stay away from her!" roared Ralph, the man leaping into the fray as she took Mal by her legs and pulled her back. Tor attempted to counter the move but in his weakened state, he was no match for the Wrecker. All it took was one punch and the man was sent flying, Ralph panting heavily as he stood before his friend.

"You've already done enough damage ta us! I ain't gonna let ya hurt tha kid!"

Mal skidded on the smooth floor a great distance away from the others, her body still thrashing and twisting even after she had landed.

Theytheytheytheytheytookhertookherherherherher!

Ralph braced himself, on the watch for another attack.

Shesmineshesmineshesmine!SHECOMEWITHMESHECOMEWITHMESHECOMEWITHMEEEEEE-!

The way Mal was contorting, the way she was moving about, the way it seemed she was calling out to her….Vanellope began to realize just how dangerous the entire situation was becoming. Even Candybug could not drum up the same amount of fear she was now developing over the viruses, Candlehead right along with her as she shivered.

"W-What does she want with ME?" Vanellope gasped only to hear a low drown behind her. She looked back, seeing the lights above the games starting to flicker again, a clear indication that Mal had regained control over the programming after her little 'shock'.

"Oh, no!" the vanilla racer gasped, taking Candlehead by the collar "Get back in, C-Butt! Before-!"

*SHRRZT!*

It has closed.

They were trapped.

"V-Vanellope!" Candlehead sobbed, the other girl trying all she could to glitch through the shield but it wasn't working.

"No, please! Just let Candlehead get back in! Just her! PLEASE!"

Calhoun and Felix, busy helping others for cover, looked over and saw their friends laying before the viruses.

"Ah, sweet butter biscuits…."

Mary looked up, pulling the Repairman back "Felix, wait-!"

"Ms. Mary, ya gotta do a BIG favor for me, okay?"

The little woman shivered, noticing how tightly Felix was taking her hand "Y-Yes?"

"Make sure everyone is safe, make certain no one else gets in. I'mma take care of somethin'!"

"But-!"

A large boom knocked the two back, the glitch cover returning in its place as Felix rolled down onto the ground. He moaned, but a hand lifted him up.

"Honey?"

Calhoun said nothing, standing watch of the viruses as they looked down upon the racers, both their forms towering over the candy children. Candlehead was shaking terrible as Vanellope could feel, the only thing left to do was the thing she was programmed for.

To lead.

"Don't ya dare hurt Candlehead!" Vanellope said, standing tall before Mal, such emptiness seen in her eyes "I don't care what ya do ta me! I've been through more, I've been through it all! So there is no way that I'm gonna get scared away by a buncha-!"

A hand.

A soft touch of a hand.

Vanellope's words stopped in her throat as Mal placed her hand upon her head, a smile forming on her face.

"Sweet lil thing…." The virus said, her voice so kind and sweet, sounding nothing like the maddening cackle that the racer had grown used to.

The adults twitched on their feet, waiting for the next move and those who were within the man games could only watch; only watch and wait for the first move to be made.

The mint-chip girl's heart was racing, her eyes wide in shock. Was Mal going to HURT Vanellope, was she going to hurt HER? She had to look up, she had to see just what Mal was planning. Despite the fear going through her, Candlehead forced herself to look, to see right into the eyes of the woman who had caused them so harm, who had hurt so many.

Her eyes.

They…they didn't seem as scary as they had before.

From where Candlehead sat, she could see them brighten, she could see them glow but not with the same malicious power as the woman had shown before. There was something FAMILIAR in the woman's eyes, something she had seen before and yet she could not pin-point it.

Those eyes.

Those green eyes.

Mal stooped down to Vanellope, a finger slowly going up the girl's back "Everyone here loves you so much…."

Vanellope glitched in place but Mal seemed to hold on firm, her nails clawing DEEP into her scalp.

"BUT NOT EVERYTHIN' IS ABOUT YOU, GLITCH!"

Her grip tight upon the girl, Mal picked Vanellope up and HURLED her towards Ralph, her screams filling the entire arcade.

"Gotcha!"

Nice catch by Ralph.

Vanellope panted loudly, still in shock from what had happened but it dawned upon her a moment later that if Mal had tossed her away….

She was moving onto another.

"CANDLEHEAD!"