Chapter Twenty- Geography
Lumi kept himself curled up on the makeshift cot in Taffyta's living room, both he and Candlehead sharing restless nights. The three friends once more decided to make the strawberry racer's home a base to plan their next moves but as well to keep a certain member of the party safe and, surprisingly, it wasn't the green racer.
Candlehead was far too frightened to return home on her own, fearing that Snake and his band would be there waiting for her to continue what they had started at the track. Taffyta was more than open to the idea of having the girl camp out but their sleepover wasn't one of fun. Lumi could see it in the girl's eyes that she was angry, hate filling every inch of her code due to what had happened and as far as he felt, Taffyta's emotions were well justified.
He knew he could take Snake's ruthless actions, having been on the receiving end of his fists TWICE, but to see how he treated Candlehead? To see how Snake just threw her with no regards for her wellbeing, to watch her cry as she bled had proved to him that Sugar Rush was no longer the sweet game he remembered and there was one person who was responsible for the sour turn.
Vanellope Von Schweetz.
He no longer cared; he didn't care what the so-called Turbo had put her through, he didn't care about the bullying she went through. After everything he had experienced, after what he saw the others going through he felt Vanellope could go the way of an obsolete system and disappear. She was no princess, no President, no victim in his eyes. He saw her run away when Snake had hurt Candlehead and all that told him was that she wanted all of it to happen. She wanted everyone to get hurt and as long as she rode her little sob story it was going to continue.
He HATED Vanellope. He hated her with all his might.
As the dawn arrived in Sugar Rush the three continued to sleep, worry weighing them down greatly.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
"TAFFYTA!"
The pounding on the front door continued, the strawberry girl stirring as she woke up.
"Huh?"
"TAFFYTA! OPEN UP!"
"W-wait." She yawned, the other two slowly coming to as well as they watched the girl walk to the front door. She blinked, trying to collect her sight only to see the frantic looks of a few others behind the door
"Guys?"
"Have ya heard?!" said Nougetsia.
"Heard what?"
"Turn on tha TV, turn on tha TV!" said Swizz, he and the others rushing into the tiny cottage.
"Hey! We all can't fit in here!" Taffyta huffed as she closed the door of her home, wanting no one else to spy on them. She then made her way over to the tv set, turning it on as the others gathered around.
"Breaking news!" said the reporter, the TV coming into focus "Health Crisis as the Candy Castle!"
"What's happenin'?" asked Lumi, he and Candlehead trying to get good views among the others.
"We are live at the Candy Castle bringing you the latest updates on President Vanellope Von Schweetz!"
The hair on the back of Taffyta's neck rose up, her eyes widening "Wait, what happened?!"
"Shhh!" said Snowanna "They're gonna say!"
"From the news we have gotten, the President has been stricken with some sort of code-depleting malady!" said the reporter as he looked at his notes "No words on what exactly has been going on but what we do know is that the President fell ill last night with this condition and is at this moment bed ridden with doctors on stand-by!"
The candy racers couldn't do anything more than look at the screen in complete shock. Only hours before there had been that awful tussle at the track but now Vanellope was ILL?
"We just saw her…." Said Crumbellina, her voice as steady as always but inside the worry was clear "She looked fine when we left her but she has now come down with a sickness? What if it is something terrible?"
"They said it had somethin' ta do with her code!" said Minty "Ya think all tha stuff Turbo did is comin' back ta bite her?"
"WHO CARES?"
Everyone turned, Taffyta turning the television off as she walked back towards her room.
"But Taff-!" said Swizz, taking the remote to turn the set back on again "This is an EMERGENCY! Even YOU hafta see that if Vanellope is this sick, she-!"
"Like I said. WHO. CARES." The girl replied, sounding angrier than ever "Lil glitch probably has a belly ache from enjoyin' all her victory cake from what her buddies did ta us last night."
Swizz was AMAZED, as well were a few of the others; Taffyta couldn't have been this cold, this mean given the situation at hand.
"Taffyta, don't do this." Said Rancis "I think-! I think something really bad is going on!"
"Then why don't ya go ta tha castle an' see for yourself, Flubbutters!" the girl spat "But don't get mad at me when they turn your butt around for not bein' tha right person."
"Listen to yourself!" the peanut butter racer shouted, stunned by how callous the girl was being "If this is about last night, then-! Just-!"
"If ya ask me." Taffyta said, brushing her hair, showing not a concern "Karma came back an' bit her right where she needed it. Candlehead gets hurt an' she runs? Well, let her get sick. 'Sides, I doubt she'd want ta have our presence ruin her day."
The others said nothing, the lot of them knowing that there was some validity to the girl's words. Even if they wanted to go to Vanellope to see her good will there would be far too many others to push them out. They had done so many other times so what would make this any different?
"Urgh, we're gonna hear these stupid updates all day." Taffyta said, once more taking the remote and turning the TV off "She's fine. I'm sure she'll be up an' annoyin' again in no time."
"She's going to need a lot of bed-rest…." Said the Hero's Duty op "No racing for a while until your code is back in good condition."
"But doc, what happened?" asked Ralph, sitting by his friend's beside in worry.
"Over-glitching, over-powering, over-stimulation of her code." The man said, nodding "It's a good thing your friend here withheld from hitting her with his hammer because that would have only made things worse."
Felix lowered his head in sadness, once more reminding that his magical hammer could not fix everything.
Vanellope lay breathing heavily in her bed, her limbs glitching and jittering but too weak to move on her own. She shivered with cold but was covered in sweat, her head pounding and her heart racing.
"Do ya think this had anythin' ta do with that race yesterday?" asked Ralph, Calhoun looking up from the status report.
"Perhaps, but if so it was only a small factor in all'a this."
"Are ya kiddin'?!"
"I've looked at tha report myself an' it all makes sense ta me, Red." The Marine continued "Vanellope's glitch has shown ta be a useful abnormality on its own but with everythin' she did yesterday, she nearly burnt herself out. She used just too much at once and nearly did herself in like Turbo wanted to!"
Ralph nearly dropped to the floor, his mind only imagine the worst part of what Calhoun had told her.
"Then-? Then she can't glitch anymore? Is that what you're tellin' us?!"
"No." the other Hero's Duty Op said "Once she is fully recovered, she can go back to glitching but she has to watch herself. She has a limit, in both usage and length, and if she over exerts herself she'll wind up in this condition again or WORSE."
"WORSE?" blanched Felix.
"Sadly, yes." Said the doctor "If things go too far, if she overloads herself she MIGHT self-delete."
Ralph was grief stricken as he heard the news; only a year ago had the two found a way to use the damage that Turbo had placed upon Vanellope as a good thing but now it seemed that the damage he had done was finally catching up, the girl now fighting life and death to recover, to live where she could once again function.
She still lay in the bed, having heard EVERY word that the doctor spoken. A tear ran down her cheek, the girl wondering just how much worse things could get. Outside the Presidential bedrooms she could hear the murmurs of the crowds, the flashbulbs of cameras and many-a voices chattering on and on about her condition but those were not the sounds that upset her the most.
Outside her window, right within earshot, she could hear them. The sounds of karts rushing down the track, of sweet wheels and engines roaring as they ran down the road.
The others were going on without her as they done before when Turbo was in charge. Once more Vanellope was laid up with an 'illness' that prevented her from joining the others. They were free to have as much fun as they wanted, to go about riding their karts but she was trapped, unable to move, unable to function.
Vanellope had never felt so horrible in her life but for others? Who knew what they were doing? Who knew if they even cared? After all, she hadn't seen any of the other racers make their way to the castle.
"Madame President?"
Ralph and the other adults turned around, seeing a form at the door.
"Billy!" Ralph said, feeling some relief come to him as the familiar gloomy face welcomed him "Oh, thank goodness it's you. What's-?"
"There seems to be a line…" the man interrupted.
"A line?" asked Calhoun.
"Yes, for Vanellope."
"Oh, for the love of-! Do they not know we have a sick kid here?!" the Marine growled as she stomped her way towards the door, only to be greeted with various characters all awaiting outside the halls.
"IS THE PRESIDENT OKAY?!"
"DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN?!"
"ARE THE OTHER RACERS SUSPECTED OF ANYTHING?!"
"People, people, BACK THA HECK OFF!" the woman roared, her hands pushing forward "Man, it's good enough we can't hear that much in tha bedroom but can ya tone it down?! Just a BIT, huh?!"
"Sssssargent…."
Of course.
Calhoun scowled as she turned towards the source of the voice, her eyes meeting once more with Snake-Oil, the baddy backed up by various of his personal friends.
"We jussssst want to make ssssure that the Pressssident is alright. Isssss that a crime? Or do you assssume that ALL bad guyssssss like USSSS are going to causssse harm?"
The mics and cameras twitched, ready to capture any words to come from the woman's mouth but the Marine knew the tricks that the snake was trying to pull with her.
"Snake. She's, what? Eight? Nine? Do ya THINK with her status she needs ta be bothered right now?"
"Hmmm, the Sargent does make a good point." Said one of the reporters, quickly turning their focus on Snake "Why are you so hesitant to see her anyway?"
Finally the dial had been turned upon the reptilian, the creature feeling the cold stare of the cameras on him.
"Oh pleasssssse!" he huffed "Can I not vissssit a closssse friend when they are in need?"
"Ya can visit LATER." Calhoun said "Perferable when Vanellope has the strength to string some words together. Right now isn't good."
"But YOU'RE here, Ssssssarge. What givesssss you the excussse?"
"I dunno, maybe tha fact that I brought one'a MY MEN here to assess everythin'? Does that suit your needs, SNAKE?"
The baddie growled, knowing that no matter what he tried to pull Calhoun wasn't going to stand for her. Perhaps if Ralph were in a better mood he would have back up but as it were, the man in red was in far too much worry himself to even come out of the Royal chambers, Snake now left to his own accord but this didn't mean he was beat yet.
He was determined to regain position with Vanellope, no matter the situation.
"Then allow me…." He said with a smile "To proposssse thisssss."
"Oh lord, what is it NOW?"
"Sssssince it ssssseemssss that you have thingssss taken care of with Vanellope, perhapssss I should help keep thingsssss in order outssssside!"
"Oh, don't EVEN think about it mis-!"
"What plans are these, Mr. Snake?!" rushed one of the reporters.
"Hey, wait now!"
"Consssssidering how much of a friend Pressssident Von Scheetzzzz hassss been to me…." The reptile began, making sure to play up the theatrics "I believe I should only pay her back the kindnesssss she hassss shown me! It issss sssomething I MUSSST do!"
Calhoun moaned and slapped her forehead "Oh, BROTHER."
"Assss I ssssstand, I promisssse not to let a ssssingle perssssson bother or aggravate her condition any further!" the snake continued "If I ssssso much asssss ssssee sssssomeone give her a funny look, they are OUT of here!"
"She has GUARDS that can keep care'a that." Calhoun quipped, not buying Snake's tale for a moment "An' I'm certain they can keep up with things much better than YOU, considerin' your own schedule, HMMM?"
"Oh, they will be SSSSSO bussssy! They NEED assss much help assss they can get!" the reptile retorted, press and reporters hanging on in excitement as the discussion continued "And bessssidessss, they might be a little TOO soft, no offenssssse."
"MUCH taken." Calhoun mumbled to herself.
"I KNOW I have a lot on my handssss given my own bad guy dutiesssss, but I'll ALWAYSSSS be here onccce the gamessss are over." Snake smiled oily "And I'll make CERTAIN that the wrong company is kept out of thissss wonderful palace and away from the Pressssident."
"It actually feels RERESHIN' here without Von Glitch muckin' things up." Taffyta said tartly as she rolled past the finish line, all a smiles but the sentiment wasn't shared.
"Taff, lay off." Said Snowanna "Vanellope's SICK, for jelly's sake."
"An' like I said, it's her own fault." The strawberry racer snapped back "An' lemme say somethin'! If YOU were sick, I KNOW she wouldn't show up! HA! If any of us were sick, I betcha she would have her stupid cronies find a way ta mess up our karts an' take advantage'a EVERYTHIN'"
"I just don't think its right ta talk like this, okay?" the snow-cone racer said "I mean with everythin' that's been happenin'? I know I was glad ta get my house back an' all that but if all'a this is gonna split us?"
"It hasn't."
The girls turned, Lumi making his way up the track and he looked just as stern as Taffyta.
"It hasn't split US." The boy said "Since we started this, I think ya guys have been gettin' back together like ol' times. It's VANELLOPE who's tha one who SPLIT!"
"Oh, Lumi."
"She's tha one who gets upset whenever we find somethin' that belong ta US, somethin' that doesn't have her grubby lil hand-prints on it. She's the one who's had her goons follow her only ta make things worse." The boy said "If there's a split in any'a this, she's tha one who's been tryin' ta make it."
"See? There ya go." Taffyta gave a nod, agreeing with the boy but the other racers were strangely quiet.
Lumi peered towards them, their expressions showing who was on his side even if their words were withheld. It was still uncomfortable though, perhaps because they felt that those 'cronies' of Vanellope were still around, ready to tell the President the chatter between them.
"Don't be scared guys…." Lumi growled "This is YOUR game. Ya can speak up."
"Not really." Mumbled Minty "Ya already know that."
"Snake's not here." Lumi smirked "Can't smell his stank anywhere around."
Finally some laughter rose from the group, the air around them starting to lighten.
"I betcha he ran all the way ta tha castle an' tried ta charge tickets ta see Vanellope." Guffawed Minty, standing up and doing her best Snake impression "HIIIIIISS! That'll be twenty bucksssssss to ssssee Vanellope because you're not on her besssst friend lisssst like ME! SSSEEE I even got a tattoo of her on my BUTT! An' every night I bend over an' kiss it! Mwa mwa mwa!"
The laughter grew louder, the kids slowly realizing just how silly Snake and his antics were.
"I bet he'll make a claim he can cure her!" laughed Sakura "Oooooh! No, it wasn't a DOCTOR who helped! It was MEEEE! ME ME ME ME ME ME! Me and my special Stupid-Head Snake Goodness powers!"
"What GOODNESS does he have?" laughed Taffyta, her sides aching "The only thing he's good for is showin' up ta cause TROUBLE."
"Heh, maybe more than that." Smirked Gloyd, the boy stroking his chin "He WAAAAS good for showin' up at our lil haunted house, wasn't he?"
The laughter reached a sweet high, the group never having felt so giddy in their lives. Even Candlehead had to join in, Lumi happy to see her smile through the bandages on her face.
"Ah-! AH!" the girl panted, trying to catch her breath through her laugh "Kukuku-KACHU! I'm tha flame girl! I will barbeque ya, Snaky!"
"Ya KILLED it with that, Candles!" Taffyta said, finally able to take in air "Didn't know ya had it in ya!"
"As tha sayin' goes, life's no fun without a good scare!"
There was something about that moment that brought a sense of home to Lumi, watching the others share in the fun that had been had during their little 'trick' those many nights ago. It only brought about him so many more of his own memories but he knew better than to try to share them, at least for now. There were still so many unanswered questions floating about and with things still sore from the attack the previous race, he knew it best to restrain himself.
"But hey." Said Swizzle "If Snake is gonna be busy up at tha castle, maybe that gives us some time ta do what we WANNA do."
Lumi looked surprised, having a feeling that the boy was talking about the rest of the game.
"Wait, ya actually wanna-?"
"Yeah, I know I do!" the lollipop boy responded "I mean, we can't IGNORE that massive road rage ya brought up from last night! Even tha players noticed it!"
"But they liked it!" said Minty, grinning from ear to ear "An HOOO-BOY! I did too! Whatever ya did back there, Lum? WHOOOSH! BAM! I've never felt a kick like that since that time I ran into a Pop Rocket an' Soda Soaker at tha same time!"
"What?"
"Don't ask." Giggled Sticky "You'll never hear tha end of it."
"Oh-Ho, so Mr. Brainbox wants ta do more…" said Taffyta "Heh, that sounds good ta me but maybe we should move outta tha garage if we wanna do some more, ahem, STUDIES. Ya know?"
The group nodded and slowly drove their cars away from the track, no one around the wiser to the plans they shared. Once the karts were safely locked up and tucked away, the trek began to the outskirts….and to the safe haven they all shared.
"I made certain ta bring PLENTYA ta eat this time!" Candlehead cheered, opening up a crate that simply SPILLED goodies from all around.
"Okay, I know this is our place ta go to in EMERGENCIES but c'mon! We're not gonna startin' hoardin' things here, are we?"
"Somethin' tells me that all'a this won't last two days. TOPS."
Candlehead blinked, looking at the others "Then I should have brought more?"
Once things had settled, and everyone had taken dibs on their favorite treats, the discussions had once more resumed. It seemed that every racer around had a job to do, each one determined to get it done. Gloyd was put in charge of cartography, giving Lumi lack of drawing ability, while Torvald was put in charge of keeping care of every bit of written information they could gather. Sakura knew how to work her way with cameras so she would take photos of any new landscape and creature should they pop up around them.
So many missions for so many racers!
"Kay, so what can ya tell us 'bout that whole shake up on tha track, Swizz?" Taffyta said as she bit into one of her chocolate puffs.
"I've made a few guess 'bout tha whole thing an' each one goes right back ta Lumi."
"Me?" the boy asked.
"Sure does!" the lollipop racer nodded "I all thought it had ended with how tha game was reactin' ta havin' your name an' data put into ta counter but I think it went far deeper inta it."
"What do ya mean, Smarty?" Minty asked with a huff "All we saw was tha whole track rumblin' worse than Candlehead's stomach."
"Imagine this…" the boy began as he took one of the candies from atop the mess table "See this thing? This is Lumi. Green, round, an' SOUR."
"'EY!"
"An' this candy is Vanellope…" the boy continued as he took another sweet and lined the two together "Since Vanellope's data was already implemented in tha game, even with her glitch, as she goes about tha game has no problem with it. Bzzzzzt, everythin' is fine!"
"Then what about Lumi?" asked Candlehead.
"Ah, see that's where tha good stuff, er if ya can call it that begins!"
Swizzle then took a jar of sprinkles from the shelves and dumped the whole lot onto the table.
"Whoa, I'm not cleain' this up!" Taffyta said in protest.
"An' THIS is what happened when Lumi took ta tha tracks!"
The boy looked on, only feeling the nervousness twitch all around him as he looked at the display. It may have been candy and sweets to everyone else but he knew in his own mind EXACTLY what it meant; glitches, errors and various other less than pleasant things. Lumi gulped, his fingers gripping tightly onto the side of the table.
"I-I didn't cause that much trouble? Did I?" he managed to whimper out, remembering all of Snake's insults towards him about being a glitch.
"It's trouble…" said Swizz but a smile formed on his face "But not tha type ya would think."
"Huh?"
"All'a this?" Swizz said as he gracefully placed his fingers through the sprinkles "This is all data, all data that had been blocked off an' locked up by Turbo! Data that hadn't been freed when Vanellope crossed that line! As soon as Lumi took ta tha tracks, I can only guess HIS data reacted with it, made it all come up where it should be!"
"Wow, he really did that much?!" Taffyta said, wide eyed "Heh, an' Vanellope thinks she's tha one with all tha po-!"
"Now lemme finish. Vanellope had a hand in this too!"
Candlehead looked up, the spark atop her candle jumping.
"Tha presence of both on tha track resulted in things comin' to. Lumi was part of tha key of course, but Vanellope's code bein' read CORRECTLY caused a lot of tha internal ruckus that ultimately lead ta everythin' twistin' n' turnin'!"
"Urgh, can we PLEASE get a translator for Swizzle?" Minty said before smacking the boy on the back of his head.
"OW! I won't have anythin' worth translatin' if ya keep boppin' me like that!"
"So them racin' TOGETHER is what did it?" asked Candlehead "An' it wasn't Lumi's fault alone?"
"Nah, an' as we saw tha damage that happened was more good than a lot of people are goin' on about! It may have been rough but those two rearranged tha course tha way it SHUDDA been than what Turbo MADE it out!"
"I wonder why he did it that way." Asked Snowanna, filled with curiosity.
"I can only guess because he didn't want any of ya feelin' all nostalgic if ya went through certain areas." Lumi said "When I was on that course, I noticed that I could see a lot of areas that SHOULD be your homes durin' my run!"
"REALLY?" Sticky beamed, inching closer to Lumi "What else did ya see?"
Lumi was starting to feel a little nervous with how close Sticky was towards him "Geeze, now I KNOW why we call ya STICKY."
"Tha roads, Pastilli." Taffyta said "What were ya gonna say 'bout 'em?"
"Oh, yeah. It was just so weird, even before those glitches started poppin' up." The boy continued "There were some parts I was able ta look up an see areas that were completely all flat n' stuff where houses shudda been an' all that. Places where ya guys lived! It was like Boo Town! Everythin' was outta order an' gone till we were able ta set it back right but in this case, I was on tha ROAD an' saw it."
"An' when tha glitches started-?"
"When I managed ta look up, things started goin' off in my head!" the boy said, spinning his fingers around his temples "It was just so-! Everythin' was so weird an' BOOM! Bang! I could see all these places, even if tha track itself wasn't in MY memories!"
"But it was in tha final cut…." Said Swizz "Only Turbo made certain to keep everythin' twisted an' harder for US ta figure out."
"Heh, maybe we should make Vanellope race with ya on all tha routes." Taffyta sniggered to herself "I'm sure there's a way we can entice her, without spillin' too much of course."
"No way, Taff!" pouted Candlehead "Vanellope is sick enough as it is! We can't just use her as a key an'-!"
"It was a joke, C-Butt. Don't flame out on us." The strawberry racer puffed out, rolling her eyes "'Sides, if there is anyone here GUILTY of usin' Vanellope, I think we can all agree who it is."
Minty wrapped a gummie snake around her fingers, slowly stretching it before making it break with a sharp SNAP.
No one needed to respond to THAT.
"I have an idea…." Swizz said "But we're gonna hafta be really hush-hush if we wanna get this goin' without YOU-KNOW-WHO findin' out."
"Spill it, Swizz."
"We don't have any good maps here, but I'm sure tha library does." The lollipop racer said "If we can get our hands on a few atlas, some road maps an' alla that we can see what Turbo really did ta this place an' I can finally prove ta ya guys just how mucked this game has gotten."
"Sounds like a plan ta me." Said Taffyta, all a smiles "We just gotta make certain tha attention is on VANELLOPE for once an' not on us. We have a break day tomorrow so a meet up?"
"A'course!"
"Then this is what we're gonna do…."
Hours passed before the sun rose in the arcade again, the game already swamped with spectators awaiting to hear the latest update on Vanellope's health and given that it was a SUNDAY?
People from near and far in the arcade made CERTAIN they were around.
But as predicted their attention was paid only upon the CASTLE and the people within it, not the track or the other racers. It was because of this lapse that the racers were able to make their way to the little library in the center of the village though they all made certain to keep careful NOT to arouse the suspicion of the other outsiders.
"Guess we're lucky no one wants ta sight-see." Lumi said to himself, pressed closely against Candlehead.
"What's tha matter?"
The boy blushed deeply and jumped back, finally realizing what he was doing "AH! Well, I was-! Er-!"
"You're not upset are ya?" the girl asked, looking rather worried.
"Me? Hahaha, a'course not, C-Butt! Eh, in fact I should be askin' YOU that question!"
"I'm not scared." The girl smiled, her smiling embarrassing Lumi quiet a bit because he could tell she was indeed not afraid "In fact, I'm kinda excited!"
"Excited?"
"Yeah! I love goin' on these adventures now! They're so much fun an' they're givin' me so much more ta do!"
Even with the danger that was posed in front of her, even with the threat of getting HURT, Candlehead seemed to bounce back to it and seeing it made Lumi feel a swirl of emotions. On one hand he was happy to see that Candlehead and her chirpy attitude had returned but he could only wonder if her attempts of bravery would get her into trouble once more as had happened with Snake. The bandages on her face were still the only thing he could see and it reminded him that she had only gotten so hurt because she had attempted to defend HIM.
"Candles…."
"Yeah?"
"Just….just be careful." The boy said, frowning "After what Snake-Breath did. I just don't wanna see ya hurt again."
The boy could see Candlehead blushing slightly, her hand reaching up for her bandaged cheek.
"I'll be fine." She said, a little shaken but her feet continued to carry her forward "E-Even if he's still around…."
"Look alive, we're here!" declared Taffyta.
"Gosh, I 'member this place bein' so much bigger." Lumi said as he looked about, making certain to keep his voice down enough.
"Maybe it WILL get bigger if this place resets." Taffyta said in confidence as she led the others towards the door but as soon as she opened it her demeanor changed, the others following suit.
The racers went into single file, keeping their eyes forward and their mouths shut. A few other candy people were dotted about the building but things were so silent that even a dust ball could have fallen and EVERYONE around would hear it.
Lumi held his breath, keeping down the temptation to look towards the main desk where a rather large and frilly dressed candy person sat, a book clutched tightly in her hands.
B. Brittle.
The boy gulped, once more reaching for Candlehead's hand and clutching onto it.
"Almost in the clear, Lumi! ALMOST!"
"Taffyta."
Torvalds's voice came out in such a thin little voice Lumi almost didn't hear it. He opened one nervous eye, seeing the girl in yellow whispering something to the strawberry racer. Taffyta nodded, the other girl leading the pack now.
"Where is she-?"
Suddenly, the once 'small' building seemed to grow around Lumi as Candlehead pulled him forward. The shelves twisted and turned like a maze, the group of racers snaking around as they disappeared within a forest of books until finally-!
"Shhh!"
Torvald had lead them to a little nook in the far corners of the establishment, a little hollow behind the shelves as the books served as walls and covers.
"This is probably tha BEST place ta go ta read if ya wanna avoid Miss Brittle." Said Torvald, her voiced raised a little more.
"What's tha matter, Lum?" Minty snickered as she looked over at the pale boy "Somethin' tells me that Miss Brittle was part'a your memories too."
The boy gulped, rubbing his knuckles as they suddenly felt sore "Boy, WAS she!"
"I guess some things never change!"
"Okay, guys don't go off just yet." Said Taffyta "We still got a plan ta go through!"
"Right, tha atlases! Tha maps!" Lumi said.
"I can take care'a that too!" smiled Torvald, waving her hands towards her sisters "C'mon, I'm gonna need all the strength I can for this!"
"Hold on a sec, Tori. Ya said YOU could take care'a this." Minty huffed "NOW ya need US?"
"Will ya just come on?"
A few moments later the triplets returned to the group, each one carrying an array of maps and other information books with them.
"That was fast." Joked Taffyta.
"Tha bookworm over here led tha way." Minty said, laying rest her massive stack of books "Don't ask me how she was able ta get past Brittle."
"Are ya sure this is it?" asked Swizz "These are tha only books of maps ya could find?"
"Swizz, there's like fifty bajillion of 'em here!" said Minty "How is that-?!"
"Some of 'em are missing." Sticky interrupted.
"Missing?"
"Yup! A lotta blank areas an' books standin' in for others! I mean, it makes no sense! Miss Brittle makes for certain that EVERY book her is called for an' up to date!"
"Yeah, even I can 'member that." Said Lumi, thinking back to the many times he could see the peanut brittle librarian making her arounds and reminding people to be careful with the collection "There's no way in tha furnace ya could even make her do somethin' so sloppy."
"I smell another Turbo plot." Taffyta said.
"Of course, but right now let's focus on our books." Swizz said as he jumped into the pile and pulled one out, thumbing through the glossy pages "Man, this one is already set to the default. I don't see any changes an' tha Brownie roads are set ta tha way they were when Turbo was in charge."
"Same here!" said Snowanna, adjusting her glasses "An' what's more, check this out!"
The group moved over to Snowanna's book, all of them seeing Candy's grinning mug at the bottom of the pages.
"Hmmph, seems ta me that Vanellope didn't do that great of a job cleanin' house." Taffyta muttered.
Swizz shook his head "Hoo-boy. This is gonna be a long one, I can tell."
The group continued to go through the books but as they all expected, the blocks were already put in place. Book after book showed nothing more than the Turbo-twisted version of their games, maps reset to what he had put in and information once more slipping from their fingers. Even when Torvald went out to grab more books on her own what she brought back was the same; Turbo-approved books, ones that Lumi did not remember.
"These were all part'a his reimagin'." Taffyta said "Stuff we thought was part of tha game since this is what he WANTED us ta remember."
"But don't you find it rather odd?"
All eyes turned to Ranics, the boy pondering deep thoughts.
"We have these books here but didn't you say there were some MISSING, Tori?"
"Yeah, a whole lot of 'em!"
"And Miss Brittle hadn't rearranged the shelves even though they were already out of order…."
Swizz started to pick up on Rancis' suspicions, a grin forming on his face.
"Hehe, shall I be tha one ta pick it up from here?"
"MISS BRITTLE! MISS BRITTLE!"
The candy lady slammed her book on the ground, a low growl rumbling in her chest as she turned her head slowly towards the source of the noise.
"If there is one thing I have told you munchkins again and AGAIN…." She hissed "Do NOT RAISE YOUR-!"
"MISS BRITTLE!" Sakura said, falling to her knees and pressing her hands against her cheeks "SOMEONE HAS TAKEN ALL THE BOOKS ON GAME THEORY AND SET FIRE TO THEM IN THE BACK!"
UH-OH.
Forget about noisy children!
Without wasting a moment, Miss Brittle tore off to save the precious books but the moment she was gone-
"Gimmie one sec!"
Swizzle jumped upon the woman's seat and typed away on her keyboard as he shoved something into the old drive.
"C'mon baby!"
Flickers went off on the screen as the computer made a low droning noise, the little candy device of Swizz' blinking bright colors.
DING!
"Hey, let's go!" the boy called as he tore off, the others dashing out of the other exit. They made their way to their karts and then drove off, Lumi catching sight of the peanut brittle librarian putting out the remains of the fire herself.
"Man, gotta cut it to tha lady. She'll REALLY go in ta save books!"
Gloyd smirked as he held one of his firecrackers in his hands "Awww, she won't be so upset. After all, just a lil flames an' a few old phone books finally put ta use."
It didn't take long for the group to make it to Swizz' garage, the boy rushing to his computer and plugging the little device up.
"An' let's see what we can find."
Rows and rows of listings appeared on the screen before the group but it seemed only a few knew exactly what so many words and names meant.
"Oh, I know that one!" said Torvald.
"And that one seems familiar too!" said Rancis.
"Haha, just as expected!"
"Mind ta tells us what's goin' on, SWIIIIIIZZ?" mocked Taffyta.
"If I didn't know any better…." The boy said, swirling around in his chair "We have a list of books that Turbo must'a confiscated in his tenure here."
"Confiscated?"
"Yup!" the brainbox continued "All'a these books are listed as either IN or MISSING. An' their placements line up with tha empty spaces an' all tha spots were other books were put in."
"So he took 'em!" said Taffyta.
"But what would Turbo want with a buncha books like that?" asked Nougetsia, trying to get a closer look at the screen.
"Maps held tha key ta ensurin' he could always win EASY." Swizz said "He'd be able ta study tha roads in a way we never could. On top'a that, if he KEPT certain books away from us while slippin' in his dummy ones, he could ensure we never knew what he was doin'. Add in a few memory slips ta keep even ol' Brittle from noticin' tha missin' books an' ya got another way Turbo was able ta keep things under our nose!"
The group were shocked as the revelation came about them; once more Turbo had managed to go beyond to keep his secret to himself and the racers unaware of what was going on.
"So even if Vanellope were able to get into tha library, all she'd see were the dummy books as well." Said Taffyta "She'd be in the dark just like US!"
"Ya say that as if that's a GOOD thing, Taffyta." Swizz replied "What gives?"
"Oh, nothing." The girl said, curling her hair between her fingers "I was just thinkin' 'bout somethin' else."
"But that leaves us one thing." Said Rancis "Where are the REAL books at?"
"Turbo could have destroyed them…." Swizz said "An' I mean in a way they wouldn't have come back if Vanellope got her position back but even then that would mean gettin' rid of somethin' that gave him tha key ta remoldin' this place. Turbo was desperate but he wasn't completely STUPID."
"So they could still possibly be around, but where?"
"Tha dump?" asked Candlehead "That's where we found Lumi an' I betcha there's tons of other things still there?"
"Seems a bit of a bold move, darling." said Sakura "Even if he wanted to keep us from them, I don't think he'd put them somewhere that would mean he'd have to dodge all those HORRIBLE monsters and-!"
"THE LIBRARY!"
The group turned, Torvald and Rancis once more aligning their thoughts together.
"Um, but we just LEFT there." Said Taffyta "Don't tell us ya want us ta go back an'-!"
"No, no, no!" Torvald said, shaking her head "Not THAT library!"
"The ROYAL Library!"
The other racers GASPED in shock, the very mention of the place nearly knocking them over.
"OF COURSE!"
"NO WAY!"
"It has to be!" said Rancis, feeling as if he were floating off his toes "Think guys! Turbo was ALWAYS antsy about people touring the castle, especially OUTSIDERS and what was one place he always made certain guards were placed? Somewhere rather ODD?"
"The library doors!" gasped Taffyta, feeling a spark going off in her head.
"Yes!" continued Torvald "It was the ONE place out of everywhere in tha castle he never allowed ANYONE to go into!"
"No one?" Lumi asked, glancing over to Taffyta, the girl crossing her arms.
"Not even ME." She replied "He was always so co-co and sweet anywhere else, remindin' me how I won another race but even when I asked NICELY he never gave me a chance ta go inta tha place. NEVER."
"Have ya been in since Vanellope got back in charge?"
A glum silence befell the group once more, their heads lowered and colors starting to dull once more. Lumi got his answers through their motions, another sign that things had not sweetened as they were said once Vanellope was reinstated.
"She made a lotta promises…." Said Candlehead "Maybe we put too much on her."
"Puh." Taffyta snorted, shaking her head.
"But she seemed so happy to do things with us…." The cake-themed racer continued "We made all these big plans! It sounded like fun but-!"
"But she never came through!" interrupted Taffyta.
"Taffyta!"
"Ya wanna know how long it's been since we stepped foot in that stupid castle?" Taffyta said, a hardened look about her "Upon until YOU came about? I can't even COUNT tha months."
"But why?" asked Lumi.
"Ask her new 'FRIENDS' because they're tha ones who have been pushin' us out."
"As much as I hate ta say it, Taffy's right on that one." Said Swizz "Those first few weeks when Vanellope came back were sweet enough I guess but when Snake an' his followers came in, they more or less BANNED us from tha castle!"
"Why?!" Lumi said "This is OUR-!
The boy paused, catching himself on his words; OURS?
"This is YOUR game! Your HOME! They have no right ta direct where ya can go or whatever!"
"Well, apparently they CAN." Said Torvald "Since Vanellope doesn't seem to care about it. We told her countless times but she never fixed it. Even when Mr. Ralph is there with her, it seems like all those request or things we told her got pushed back."
"It's because she doesn't care." Said Taffyta "I keep tellin' ya guys but ya didn't listen ta me before."
Adorabeezle ducked down shyly "M-maybe we just hoped…."
"HOPE didn't get us anywhere, at least anywhere GOOD." The strawberry racer said in a sharp tone "An' right now we're lookin' another task that leads us back ta a place no one wants us near."
"But I KNOW tha books are there!" said Torvald "I can feel it in my code, Turbo's hidden the books in the library, someplace even Vanellope doesn't know."
"An' how are we gonna get 'em?" asked Taffyta "Tha palace is backed up ta tha BLOCK with visitors an' I know our heads are gonna stick out no matter which way we go about this!"
"We could always say we wanted ta bring Vanellope a present." Candlehead said, hopefully "Once they hear that they should let us in?"
"Really, C-Butt?" Lumi said "'Member what happened when ya tried ta bring your gift basket over? What Snake did ta ya THEN, when Vanellope WASN'T sick?"
The girl shrank back, the event still very fresh in her mind "W-Well, I just thought-"
"There's no way ta sugar coat it; no matter what's goin' on, no matter tha situation, even if Vanellope hasn't made tha orders out we're still barred from that stupid palace." Lumi grunted, sitting down roughly in the big arm chair "An' like Taffyta said, that place is gonna be packed even when tha arcade is closed. Tha second they see us tryin' ta come in, they're gonna flip!"
"Maybe…."
Everyone turned, two yellow colored racers thinking diligently.
"We need ta do a RECON." Said Torvald, grinning from ear to ear.
"We need to do a little spying." Said Rancis, trilling his fingers together deviously.
For once, Taffyta felt a chill going down her spine as she looked at Rancis; this wasn't good. The two yellow racers snapped their fingers, pointing up towards the sky.
"WE can get into that library!"