Chapter 21: You Got The best of me, oh can't you see?

Dixie Darlin: I know. I just put Def Leppard on Shuffle one day a couple weeks ago, and it just clicked with me.

Dark Demon122: But, how could you be mad at Vanellope? Isn't that how girls react when their boyfriends are morons?

SargeTJCalhoun64: Thank you so much. About Chapter 14, I never thought it would reach 100 reviews. Now it just keeps growing and 115 is now what I am banking on with the last few chapters.

OKAY FOLKS: The beginning of this chapter with Vanellope is a wee-lil bit short, but I really want to keep focusing on Rancis for the majority of this chapter.

I do NOT own 'Bringin' on the Heartbreak from Def Leppard. It's from their 1981 hit album, 'High 'N Dry.'

OMG FANGASM! JEFF GORDON GOT HIS 74TH CAREER POLE ON THURSDAY AND 9TH POLE AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY. *INSERT FANBOY SCREAM*

(Same time as the last Chapter, but with Vanellope)

After slamming the door back in Challenge of the Champions, Vanlleope breathed in deeply, trembled slightly, put her hands on her eyes and glitched her way out of the game. "Vanellope!" Ralph yelled and ran after her with Felix and Calhoun in tow.

"Ralph!?" Felix shouted as the three ran as fast as they could to catch up with the Sugary President, "What in the name of Litwak happened?!" The carpenter asked. He put his gloved hand on his hat to keep it from flying off. Up ahead, Ralph's giant Big Foot-like feet were planting potholes in the concrete as they exited the game.

"I don't know Felix, she talked with Rancis and then ran out of the garage like a crazy person!" Ralph replied as they got on the train which promptly took off. After what seemed like an eternity, the train lurched to a stop and the three left the train, desperately looking for their friend.

"Private Cavities, where are you?!" Calhoun's voice boomed over the sound of GCS. None of the three could spot Vanellope, so they looked in her game. "Alright Fix-It, Wreck-It," Calhoun stated, "I just want to let you two know, watch what you say to her; the slightest thing can set her off," Calhoun warned as they walked through the power cord. Felix and Ralph nodded, knowing that when upset, women were like a ticking bomb, one wrong word could be the end of life as they knew it.

"Mod, if Rancis did something to Vanellope, I'm gonna beat the peanut butter out of him!" Ralph exclaimed and punched his open palm. Always seeing the best in people, Felix wanted Ralph to think about what he was saying since there was always two sides to every story. Despite not really knowing Rancis, Felix did know that he was a nice guy since he had seen Rancis and Vanellope having the time of their lives together and he treated her like a queen.

"Now Ralph, we don't know for sure that Rancis was the cause of this," Felix softly said, "we just need to talk things over with Vanellope and see what really happened; you don't necessarily have to assume Rancis is responsible for Vanellope's heartache," Felix concluded with a smile. Ralph snapped his head down and glared at the carpenter, slightly scaring the little man with a growl.

"Keep it together Fistzilla," Calhoun scolded, "stop being the overprotective father for one minute," the Sergeant ordered. Ralph backed away when Calhoun sneered at him. Ralph kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to make things worse. The three were shocked as they entered Sugar Rush, for instead of it being the usual bright and cheery game they remember, it was dark, overcast, and raining Lemonade.

"This is new," Ralph commented. It wasn't a peaceful and soft rain, it was a thunderstorm. Lightning flashed, scaring the two men, minus the sergeant who had obviously seen scarier shit than a little lightning.

"Men," Calhoun mumbled. The three started running again, this time with a little more 'oomph' in their step. They got to the front door to the castle and Ralph didn't even attempt to knock. The door exploded as his giant fist contacted the sugary door and the three got inside for shelter.

"The door!" Sour Bill whined as he entered the foyer to see what all the commotion was about. Ralph and Calhoun payed zero attention to the sour ball and ascended the stairs to Vanellope's bedroom. Felix on the other hand, pulled out his golden hammer with an apologetic smile and gladly fixed the door, this time making it even stronger than before.

"There ya go little fella!" Felix said cheerily, "that oughta hold up," he tacked on and ran to catch up with his friend and wife. Sour Bill stared at the fixed and sat down in the chair next to the door.

"At least that's one less thing for me to do," he said sourly and shut his eyes to take a nap. Back upstairs, Ralph knocked as softly as he could on Vanellope's bedroom door, and surprisingly, the door didn't break!

"GO AWAY!" Vanellope screeched at the knock. Ralph jumped a little bit at the volume of the screech. Felix cringed as well and pulled his hat down. Calhoun, being the bravest of the trio, showed no fear and opened the door. Vanellope was curled up in a ball in the fetal position with tears streaming down her face. The giant wrecker immediately rushed over to Vanellope's bed side to comfort her. He softly put his huge hand on top of her head and rubbed it.

"Hey, what's wrong kid?" Ralph asked softly. Vanellope let out another sad sob and sniffled.

"R-Rancis and I b-broke up," Vanellope choked out. The three older avatars, even Calhoun, gasped. The room grew eerily silent. Only the ticking of the clock and the game's faint theme song intruded the air.

"But Vanilla," Felix quietly murmured, "you two seemed to be in so much in love," he finished sadly. However, instead of feeling sympathetic with her Uncle Felix, Vanellope then felt enraged. She glitched out from under Ralph and screamed.

"AAAARGHHHH!" She yelled and punched a wall. Calhoun, Ralph and Felix were shocked by her sudden outburst, for no warning was preceded about it. "RANCIS ALWAYS PUT RACING BEFORE ME!" Vanellope shouted and knocked over her TV, which Felix promptly fixed, "and he broke his promise about no more fighting with anyone right in front of me!" she screamed again. Vanellope looked around for something else to smash before her eyes fixated on something in the corner. Vanellope ran over to Rancis' shield and tried to smash it against the wall, but to no avail because of its indestructible nature. This only aggravated her more to the point she started crying again. She started wailing and glitched back to her bed, face down on the pillow. Still in shock, Ralph hesitated before ruffling Vanellope's hair.

"Vanellope," Ralph exclaimed cautiously, "he was just trying to protect you from that dick," Ralph stated softly. Vanellope's head snapped up and glared at Ralph, scaring him again.

"DON'T YOU DARE DEFEND HIM!" Vanellope screeched. Ralph backed away, not wanting to piss off the closest person he had to daughter. Calhoun sighed at the failed attempts by the guys, so as a woman, she took things into her own hands, military style.

"Listen up soldier!" Calhoun declared, "you need to get with the program and tell us what is wrong! You told us not a few days ago that you loved him more than anything else and that he is a gentleman, so what changed?!" Calhoun both shouted and demanded with her hands on her hips. Vanellope rolled onto her back, wiped the salty tears from her eyes and replied.

"I-I s-saw how m-much competition c-can change s-someone," Vanellope cried softly, "the man I broke up with wasn't the sweet and loving Rancis Fluggerbutter I fell in love with, that man died the moment he got wrecked at Talladega, and this selfish, vengeful and lying sack of shit is Rancis' polar opposite," Vanellope choked, "and, I just want my Rancis back!" Vanellope cried out again as tears streamed down her cheeks and she wrapped her arms around Calhoun in a hug. Despite being the tough soldier who rarely showed any emotion, Calhoun returned the hug.

"Everything's going to be okay Soldier, you're tough," Calhoun softly told Vanellope.

(Back with Rancis)

No matter how hard he tried, Rancis' mind would not allow him access to sleep. He closed his eyes as tight as he could, yet nothing happened. After almost 30 minutes of failure, Rancis gave up and sat himself up on his couch. Still sad, Rancis' breathing was coming in short bursts. "What am I going to do now?" He asked himself. Rancis knew that Vanellope would still refuse to see him, no matter how much he pleaded, and he really didn't want to talk to Swizzle or Jubileena anymore, so, deciding upon the most rational decision he could think of, Rancis got himself up, left his house, and walked slowly out of Sugar Rush. The thunder and lightning didn't frighten Rancis a bit. Neither did the rain, for how could he even notice them with his broken heart. Leaving Sugar Rush behind, Rancis entered Game Central Station and headed to the one place that would accept him: Tapper's.

"Hey! Watch where you're going kid!" A game character that bumped into Rancis shouted.

"Sorry," Rancis said, not caring nor paying attention to his surroundings. Since he was 21, Rancis decided to try the big stuff: The Highest strength root beer Tapper had to offer. He had heard rumors that the root beer was so strong it was borderline alcohol, the perfect solution for his problem, or so he thought. As he reached out and pushed the saloon doors open, his view drastically changed. Music intruded upon his ear drums and the sight of happy couples dancing were the only things that his eyes took sight of. The music was coming from Def Leppard on stage, whom were performing their hit song, Bringin' on the Heartbreak,' which was in the bridge. He also saw Taffyta and Gloyd dancing together.

You're such a secret, misty eyes and shady
Lady how you hold the key

Rancis sat down on a bar stool, hands over his eyes, trying to keep the sight of happy couples dancing, from his mind. "What'll it be kid?" Tapper asked kindly. Rancis attempted to answer, but he couldn't find the right words. Instead, he felt as if his brain were forcing him to listen to the song.

Oh you're like a candle, your flame slowly fadin'
Burnin' out and burnin' me
Can't you see, just tryin' to say to you

You're bringin' on the heartache
Takin' all the best of me, oh can't you see?
You got the best of me, oh can't you see?

"Give me your strongest Root Beer please," Rancis said softly. Tapper read Rancis like a book, having been a bartender for almost thirty years, Tapper knew when a customer was down. Tapper kindly poured Rancis a strong mug of root beer and slid it down the counter top to the boy. It stopped perfectly in front of Rancis where he picked it up and sipped it, feeling the effects rather quickly. Feeling a warming glow inside of him, Rancis downed the drink rather briskly and ordered another one. "Refill please, and keep them coming," Rancis asked and dumped about 30 gold coins on the bar.

"Is anything the matter son?" Tapper asked nicely. Rancis looked slowly at him with his red puffy eyes.

"My girlfriend broke up with me because I only cared about racing instead of her. I'm such an idiot," Rancis told Tapper, "I had a great life going, a beautiful and loving girlfriend, the best of friends and a great racing career, but I threw it all away, just to one-up an asshole," Rancis said, his speech beginning to slur.

You're bringin' on the heartbreak
Bringin' on the heartache
You're bringin' on the heartbreak
Bringin' on the heartache
Can't you see, can't you see?

No! No! No!

"Okay Kid, but I want to let you know that after a few of these, you'll get pretty sick," Tapper kindly warned Rancis. But the heeded warning fell upon deaf ears as Rancis downed his second drink and then ordered a third. Rancis paid attention to the song more and more as it seemed to perfectly detail his feelings right now. But suddenly, the lights blared a bright light as Def Leppard neared the end of the song. Rancis put his hands over his eyes, shielding them as the strong drink began affecting his vision.

You got the best of me, oh can't you see?
You got the best of me, oh can't you see?

You're bringin' on the heartbreak
Bringin' on the heartache
You're bringin' on the heartbreak
Bringin' on the heartache
You're bringin' on the heartbreak
Bringin' on the heartache
You're bringin' on the heartbreak

"Vanellope," Rancis whispered as the song ended repeating the same lyrics over and over. Then, the only thing that Rancis could hear, was the song echoing in his brain. The echo grew quieter and quieter until Rancis saw black and he collapsed onto the floor.

"Oh my Mod!" He could hear someone that sounded like they were about five miles away say. After what seemed like forever, Rancis' eyes fluttered open and he could see a man who was about his age or possibly older, staring into his face.

"You alright there mate?" the man asked with a British accent.

"Ugh, how long was I out for?" Rancis asked groggily.

"About five minutes mate; you gave us quite a scare," the man said with a smile and lifted him up.

"Thank you, who are you?" Rancis asked.

"I'm Steve Clark," Steve replied and shook Rancis' hand. Rancis shook his head to see and hear more clearly when he saw Taffyta and Gloyd staring at him.

"Rancis, what happened? We heard that you and Vanellope broke up?" Gloyd asked.

"No, please! Don't talk about that!" Rancis begged, "Nelly, please forgive me!" Rancis shouted up to the ceiling.

"We got him folks, go back to your drinks," Taffyta exclaimed as she and Gloyd got under Rancis and helped walk him back to Sugar Rush. They led him to Gloyd's house where they dropped him on the couch.

"Nelly, I'm coming back!" Rancis said drunkly. Rancis then collapsed on the couch, still awake, but barely.

"Okay Rancis, what happened?" Taffyta asked, arms crossed.

"Nelly broke up with me because I only cared about racing instead of her. I'm such an idiot," Rancis told the strawberry lollipop girl, "I had a great life going, a beautiful and loving girlfriend, the best of friends and a great racing career, but I threw it all away, just to one-up an asshole," Rancis said, his speech beginning to slur even more as he repeated what he told Tapper. "She may have told me to not even try, but I'm never going to give up on my Nelly, even if she executes me, I'm willing to die trying, I love her!" Rancis declared and then started crying. Wanting to help him, Taffyta reached out, but Gloyd stopped her.

"Taffyta, he's drunk and upset, let's just let him crash here tonight and give him some air, alright babe?" Gloyd asked. Taffyta nodded and pulled a blanket over her close friend. His incoherent babbling ceased and snoring declared victory. Taffyta took one last look at her long-time friend and sighed.

"I hope you know what you're doing Rancis, for yours and Vanellope's sake," she said softly before going to sleep with her boyfriend.

END CHAPTER 21

Nothing to say except I hope you liked it and please review. Chapter 22, Rancis makes a decision that will change his life forever.