Chapter 14

You and your little friend are doomed…

The voice of Turbo, Ralph's former nemesis, rang aloud in his mind.

No, thought Ralph. No, it can't be…

It's game over for both of you, Turbo persisted as Ralph approached his doom.

"No," Ralph answered him aloud this time, just as he had done in his last encounter with him. "It's game over… for me…"

Ralph shut his eyes. He was ready.

WHAM!

I'm dead, Ralph thought. I gotta be dead. But he was not- that he was in pain from his landing was proof of that. The surface on which he had just landed was not that of boiling lava. Rather, it had a cold, metallic feel to it.

"You must be a friend of Mario's," a pleasant voice sounded nearby. "Stand."

Ralph did as he was told, and took in his surroundings. He was standing on what appeared to be a metal saucer, one that was flying in the direction of the castle gate. The pilot of the saucer, a young woman in aqua blue, stood nearby with her back to him. Ralph could only assume she was the owner of the mellifluous voice that had just addressed him.

"Thanks for the save, and… uh… lady, who are you?" asked Ralph.

The woman turned. Her platinum-blonde hair was lank and long, and her eyes glistened like emeralds. Ralph was instantly seized with a sensation of déjà vu. He knew he had seen her face somewhere… perhaps in Game Central Station?

"I am Rosalina," she answered him. "I watch over and protect the many worlds within this arcade. I have sensed that your friend Mario is in grave peril. That is what has brought me here."

Suddenly Ralph remembered. "Mario! FELIX! What's happened to them… they're not… they can't be-"

"Worry not," Rosalina assured him. "Your friends are alive. I have sensed it. We shall join them in due time."

Ralph's knees buckled as he felt the saucer lurch forward with a great boost of speed. Surely enough, within a minute they were flying side-by-side with the Mario Bros., Felix, Calhoun and Candlehead, all riding atop the reanimated Cy-bug.

"Ralph!" Felix yelped with delight. "Goody gumdrops, he's alive!"

"Glad you could drop in on us," chuckled Calhoun.

"I told-a you he'd make it," Mario answered. "Thanks-a so much, Rosalina."

" You are welcome. But my work here is not done," she responded. "This monster has upset the balance of order in the realm of gaming. It is my duty to restore order to this world. Until I have fulfilled this task, I shall accompany you."

"Well, we'd be glad to have ya," Ralph answered. "Now let's move!"

Together, the seven heroes touched down at the castle gate. Calhoun whipped out her grappling hook and fired it at the Cy-bug before tying it to a nearby post, creating a makeshift leash.

"Now you just stay right here and behave yourself," she told the Cy-bug. "We've got some unfinished business to take care of."

As if they had been expected, the gate swung wide, giving the heroes access to the castle. And as if to greet them, a maniacal laugh from Bowser rang out from within.

…

If the changes Bowser had made to the castle's exterior were bad, things on the inside were, if anything, worse. No longer the vibrant, heartwarming abode of Vanellope Von Schweetz, this was now a dark, foreboding place of great evil.

"It's so dark in here," whimpered Candlehead. "I can't see…"

"We can't turn back now," said Ralph. "This is between me and Bowser. And I'm not leaving until I find him and Vanellope."

"Ralph? Is that you?" asked a voice from within the darkness. The sound of it made Ralph's hair stand on end. A pair of eyes emerged from the pitch-blackness, followed by the rest of the figure of the castle's former owner.

"Ralph!" Vanellope shrieked, as she flung herself at his legs. "YOU'RE ALIVE!"

"Good to see you too, kid," said Ralph, patting her on the shoulder.

"Listen, get outta here! All of you!" Vanellope hissed. "You guys are walking into a trap! Bowser stole my glitch, and he's about to use it to kill you guys! You gotta run, now!"

"He stole… what?! 'Nelly, what are you talking ab-"

Ralph broke off as lightning bolts suddenly illuminated the dark throne room. "Gwahahaha! Welcome to the crib, shrimps! Ready for a taste of my cool new power?"

Ralph knew the voice. "Bowser! How could you do this? I thought you knew better!"

The erubescent Koopa King appeared before them. "Oh, I know what I'm doing all right, Ralph my man. And I'm just gettin' started!" He began charging up a powerful attack.

Vanellope leapt in front of Ralph, shielding him. "Stay back, guys! I'm the only one who can take him!" She leapt high in the air and began to attack using her own discharge.

Bowser was ready: With a wave of his claws, red bolts of electricity erupted from him, and the two rays of light became suspended in the darkness. Stray bolts burst off from the point where they met, striking at anything in the distance. As the red surges met the blue, they gradually forced back Vanellope's attacks. Finally, there was an earsplitting bang and Vanellope was blown backwards into the air, hitting the ground with a subtle thud.

"VANELLOPE!" Ralph yelled, scooping up the unconscious girl in his arms.

"Finally… I WIN!" Bowser roared in a fit of triumph. "The last greatest glitch in the arcade is no more, and no mortal can challenge me now! I will be-"

"Hey, what's this thing do?" asked a voice from behind Bowser.

Bowser whirled around in a panic. While the others had been intently observing the ensuing boss battle, Candlehead had become distracted with the buttons on Bowser's control panel. With a look of curiosity on her face, she hammered a large red button on top of the panel. Bowser's eyes widened in terror as the floor beneath him began to rumble.

"Oh crud."

Without warning, the throne room trapdoor gave way, exposing the pit of boiling lava within. Bowser plummeted like a stone, foiled once again by his arch-nemeses.

"OOOWAAAAAH!" he screamed, as the trapdoor resealed itself above the lava pit.

…

Overjoyed at Bowser's defeat, the heroes proceeded to triumphantly exit the castle. "Yippee!" the Mario Bros. exclaimed in unison. "Game over for Bowser!"

"It's not over yet, guys!" shouted Calhoun. "The Cy-bug's gone! It escaped!"

"No way!" said Mario, staring at the broken grappling hook. "You don't-a think-"

With a deafening roar, Mario was interrupted by the arrival of his worst nightmare.