Finale
"Now, I'm gonna ask this again…." Calhoun said in a low voice "Where exactly did you find out about those two?"
"Wouldn't ya like ta know." Turbo huffed as he laid back on his cot, his arms behind his head.
"Look,TURBO! We don't have time to play games!" the woman roared, taking a threatening step towards the prison cell "Remember, since you're back in the arcade, if those things try to take this place out, YOU'RE goin' too!"
Turbo was unmoved by the threats, his foot kicking in the air plafyfully.
"Like I thaid, CUTIE, my memory is a lil sketchy when that virus game me a thystem reboot!" the man then grinned at Calhoun, giving his forehead a little tap "I JUSTH can't remember a thing!"
The woman knew that the racer was lying but at the moment, nothing was moving him. She sighed heavily as she turned, giving Turbo a frosty glare.
"Alright, we'll play you're little game but I know soon, you're gonna get tired of this Turbo."
The man frowned, turning his head towards Calhoun "An' whath makes ya say THAT?!"
"Because I know you're type. Ya try ta play hard but once ya get corned n' caged, you'll break."
Calhoun got up, preparing to leave, but as she neared the entrance of the prison block she stopped, her head turning a bit. There was a smile on her face, one that Turbo found rather unnerving.
"That's why ya were so desperate to take over Sugar Rush, right? Ya couldn't just couldn't STAND the thought of not bein' able to do your thing. In this case, ya couldn't stand the thought about us movin' on with our lives without ya…That's why ya went out of your way to find people to HELP you take over again."
The woman ran a hand through her hair, a hand placed on her hip as she looked directly at Turbo, enjoying his worsening mood, "You're locked up now. You're locked up and you have NO outlet for anything. No attention, no glory, no racing. It's gonna wear on ya soon. Soon, you'll be BEGGIN' for us ta let ya out and when that happens, I'll be right there, enjoying EVERY moment of it."
The woman put her hand on the lock pad, opening the door. Before she left, she made one more turn towards the race "Think about it Turbo. So much pain could be avoided if you just told us about those two but since you've chosen the hard route, looks like I can't help ya."
Turbo growled angrily, his cheeks burning red as he glared at the woman with balled fist but still, he said nothing. Not so much because he wanted to keep his knowledge of Mal and Tor away from the sergeant.
But because he knew what she had said was true.
And that's what made him even more furious.
The door to the prison block slammed shut, leaving Turbo alone to stew in his anger but he wasn't the only one who was angry. Calhoun was as well, having not gotten any closer to figuring out the true identities of the viruses or where they had originated from.
"So, got anything out of him?" asked Ralph.
"Not a word…." The woman said shaking her head "I gotta hand it to the lil guy, he's a tough nut to crack!"
"Aw, come on Sarge! Tell me there's another way we can learn about those guys aside from Turbo!"
"Well…" Calhoun said, putting a hand on her chin "Since we have modem set up in our cabinet, my team and I can see if we can dig up as much dirt as we can! Contact other arcades, look through old virus attack reports! We might find something but it might take a while to find a true origin on these two, even their current location!"
Ralph let out a groan, leaning on the wall "Just so long as we find those guys and stop them from comin' back…or goin' to another arcade…"
"That's the big thing, Ralph." Calhoun said in a worried tone "We can warn other arcades as much as we can about those two but with the power they have? Who knows if anyone else can take 'em…"
"So are you guys alright?!" asked Taffyta, holding onto Vanellope tightly.
"We're fine!" the raven racer said "Don't get your roots in a bunch!"
"I'M NOT!" the strawberry racer said angrily "It's just that this is the SECOND virus attack we've had here! It's like this place is JINXED or somethin'!"
"I wouldn't say JINXED!" Swizz said with a nervous laugh, his hand on the back of his neck "Buy, hey! We kicked butt again! Not bad for a coupl'a kids!"
Vanellope looked down at her feet, a little unsure on how to reply "Y-yeah! An' since ya guys were given the position of Scouts by HD, I feel EXTRA safe now!"
Taffyta gave Swizzle an unsure look but some of her fear started to wash away, a smile forming on her face.
"I suppose you're right…" the strawberry racer said, trying to reassure herself "Heh! Yeah! I mean, we took on Candybug AND two viruses! If that's not a record for success, I don't know what is!"
"R-right!" Vanellope said, forcing a smile "An' besides, what we NEED ta worry about is RACIN'! Not about some ugly-butt viruses!"
"YEAH!" cheered Swizz and Taffyta, the two running towards the garage.
While seeing her friends did put an air of comfort in Vanellope, she still felt a growing pit of worry in her stomach. She knew it. Everyone knew it; things were only going to get bigger for her and her responsibilities of keeping her friends safe had only increased.
She wasn't ready for this, not in the least.
Maybe if she had those fifteen years to prepare, she would be more certain. But now?
She was going to need the help of her friends more than ever.
The girl put her hands in her pockets as she made her way to the track but a sight caught her attention.
"Huh?"
Candlehead was sitting alone, looking out towards Milk n' Cookies Falls.
"What's she doin'?"
Vanellope walked over to her friend, a little taken aback by how upset she looked. Her candle had gone out completely and the usual brightness that hung around the girl had faded a bit.
"C-B-" Vanellope stopped "Candlehead?"
The candleheaded racer didn't answer, her attention clearly on something else. Vanellope walked a little closer, tapping her friend on the shoulder.
"Arcade to, Candlehead. Are ya there?"
"What did that lady mean by BLOOM?" the racer said, looking a might frustrated.
"Huh?"
Candlehead looked at Vanellope, becoming a might worried "She…she called me Bloom?"
Vanellope let out a small chuckle, sitting next to the girl "C'mon, Candle! That virus was CLEARLY insane at that point! It was probably a buncha nonsense!"
Candlehead shivered a bit, holding her arms "I dunno Nelly…th-there was just somethin' about the way she…she looked at us! The way she looked at ME…."
Vanellope couldn't help but trembled at how Mal had turned on both she and Swizz, going on about how they had taken something from her, but what. What did they have to do with it? The raven-haired racer sighed, putting an arm around Candlehead and leaning on her a bit.
"Candlehead. Let's just forget it, okay? Let's just forget about all of it…."
"My hammer did as much repair as it could…." Felix said with a sigh "But right now, Gene'll need a few days of rest for the vaccine to go through his system."
"Thank you…" Mary said, giving the repair man a tight hug "I-I'm just glad that he's back."
"Yeah…" Felix said, tipping his hat up "I'm just sorry things had to go this way."
"What do you mean?" Mary asked, looking up at Felix.
"Er, what I mean is!"
Felix blushed as he looked down at the worried woman, realizing that he had said too much. He sighed heavily as he looked back at the mayor in his bed.
"Mary….you need to talk to Gene. He has something he wants to say to you."
Mary blinked in confusion but nodded her head, walking quietly into the mayor's bedroom, Felix shutting the door behind her.
"G-Gene?"
The mayor moaned softly but as soon as he saw his love approaching him, a small smile appeared on his face.
"M-Mary…."
The woman smiled, her cheeks glowing "Shh, shh! Yes, I'm here darling."
The mayor struggled to sit up, moaning in pain as his entire body still ached from the battle the other day.
"D-Don't force yourself!" Mary said, helping the man sit up.
Once the mayor was sure he could sit without feeling too much pain, he looked over to his love, the very sight of her making him feel better.
"I-I'm glad to see that you're safe…." Gene said softly, putting his hand on Mary's.
"If there is anyone who should be thankful someone is safe, its ME!" Mary replied "I…I almost lost you out there Gene and if I had-!"
She stopped, putting a hand to her mouth "I….I don't know what I would have done….."
The two sat in silence for a while, just not sure what to say. There was such a mix of emotions that both Nicelanders were feeling but on top of it all, they were just happy that they were together once again.
"I-I want to ask one thing…." The man said, his face turned away from Mary's.
"Yes?"
"H-how much damage did I do?" the mayor asked, rubbing his mustache subconsciously, "I d-didn't hurt anyone, d-did I?"
The woman looked a little stunned by what Gene was asking her but she softened a bit. She knew the truth of what happened but she also knew that if Gene knew the full details of everything, he would never be able to forgive himself.
"Dear, what matters is that you're back. We don't need to talk about what happened when you were infected…."
"YES, yes we do! I HAVE to know!" the man said, moving closer to Mary "I-I want to know if I hurt anyone, especially YOU!"
There was a look of desperation in Gene's eyes; he wanted to know because he couldn't bear the thought that he had lost control at some point of the fight.
"Gene, if you have any doubts, if you have any guilt. I want you to know this…" the woman said, putting a hand on the mayors cheek "That wasn't you…"
"T-tell that to everyone I attacked…." Gene said, a bit of a pout coming on his face.
"No! NO! It wasn't!" Mary said, taking Gene's hands once again "That THING that attacked us? It was a monster! A beast those two horrid viruses created! I know the real Gene would NEVER attack anyone like that!"
"R-right…." The man said, still not believing Mary's words.
"Gene….you want to know when I knew the REAL you had come back?" the woman said softly "I knew you were still in there the moment I could see those blue eyes of yours again."
"M-my eyes?" Gene said weakly.
"Yes…" Mary nodded "The beast…it didn't have the same loving eyes that you have. The same eyes that bring me happiness whenever I see them. The moment I saw those return, I knew you had come back!"
Gene bit his lip, trying not to look too upset in front of Mary but he was finding it increasingly difficult, his face turning red.
"M-Mary, I-!"
The two looked at each other for a moment, Gene sniffing back.
"I'm sorry!" Gene said, embracing his love in a hug "I'm sorry I put everyone in danger!"
Mary held tightly onto Gene, burying her face in his chest "Dear….it's alright. At least we're back together…"
The man then looked over to the side table, noticing that the top drawer was slightly cracked open. Peering inside he saw it.
The ring box!
But he was sure he had lost it in the melee!
Gene let go of Mary and looked inside the drawer, pulling out the box and finding a small note tucked inside, the handwriting looking very familiar.
Gene, you already went through enough. I didn't want you to lose out on something to make you happy.
Ralph.
Ralph?
Ralph had found the box.
Gene chuckled softly, a tear coming down his eyes once he realized how lucky he was.
"Dear, what's wrong?" Mary asked in a worried tone.
Gene shook his head, a smile on his face "Darling, I have another question to ask…."
"Y-yes? What is it?" the woman said nervously.
The chubby Nicelander didn't say another word as he opened the box and removed the ring. He then took Mary's hand gently into his own, slipping the beautiful gem on her finger, the woman lost for words. She gazed at Gene, the man smiling at her warmly.
"Mary…..will you marry me?"
Deep within the millions of cords, connecting people around the world, there are just as many black markets. These are the places those who want to hide go. These are the places where those who want to run away from their past go.
These are the places those who want to bury their pain go.
Inside a little run down motel lay Mal, the woman still huddled as the bright light of the motel sign flashed in her eyes.
She didn't move, she didn't blink. She was just so angry over everything that had happened.
"We let 'em get away…." The woman growled "WE. LET THEM. GET. AWAY!"
In her rush of anger, Mal rolled of the bed and hurled the side lamp at the wall. She panted, her hair starting to flutter again but a sharp pain rippled through her. She cringed, flopping back on the bed.
"Yeah…stupid vaccine still burns…" she hissed "Might take a while to get a full heal…."
"So until then, we're staying put dear?"
Mal looked up, seeing Tor coming into the room, his arms filled with various items and rations. The woman eyed her husband up and down before turning up her nose and laying down.
"You've been busy…how many did ya have to eat to get back?"
"I'll leave the guessing up to you…" Tor said in a rather haughty tone, shoving a bun into his mouth "You know how much it takes to fill me up!"
Tor moved towards the bed, sitting on the floor as he placed a hand on his wife's back.
"Darling?"
"WHAT?"
"What happened back there?"
Mal turned, glaring at her large husband "What are ya goin' about?!"
"What I'm 'goin' on about' is that little display with the sugar brats. You seemed to have went through another error…"
The woman sat up on the bed, crossing her legs and looking down at her husband as if he were crazy, "Babe, ya keep tellin' me about that but….but I don't know!"
Mal put her hands to her head "I-I just couldn't tell ya what happened because I don't remember! "
"You don't?"
"NO!"
Tor rolled over a bit, his eyebrow arching "Not even when you keep talkin' about this Bloom person?"
The woman stopped; there was that name again. She had no idea what it meant but as the word passed her husband's lip, something inside of her seemed to lurch. She couldn't explain it. Was it the name of a person she had taken out before? Was it a pass code, a cheat, a name in the credits, a gaming company?
The woman didn't have an answer.
And yet…despite all the mystery behind it, her mind was telling her that there was something more to it.
But she had had enough. The woman reached down and grabbed her husband by the cheeks, squishing them.
"Oh big Tory, there are some things we shouldn't probably not go too deep into…."
"Mpphf. If you thay tho…." The man pulled away, resting his head on the mattress of the bed "But…moving on to a much more important question."
"An' what would that be?" the woman asked in an annoyed voice, taking one of the bun's from Tor's bag.
"When are we going back?"
Mal took a bite of the bun, her eyes glaring at Tor "Goin' back WHERE?"
"To that arcade…." The man hissed "Don't even ATTEMPT to hide it from me, love. You want to go back. I KNOW you want to go back."
The virus clenched her first, flames starting to rise from her again. Mal wanted to go back to Litwak's more than anything in the world. She had been used, humiliated, and most of all, she had missed her mark.
She and her husband had not taken out a SINGLE game, a first in their long run of traveling through the cord. Their perfect record streak was now broken and it was thanks in part to those upstart characters from Litwak's.
A wrecker.
A repair man.
A marine.
And a little girl.
The woman took another bite of the bun, scowling.
"I do believe you're right, TOR. That arcade does deserve another visit from us…."
A smile began to creep on her face, the very thought of getting her revenge on those who had stopped her only making her hungrier.
"And when we do come back, we have to show them what happens when you mess with us!"
