Chapter Twenty Six- Final Lap
"Tammy, ya need ta come with us tonight." Felix said as he took ahold of his wife's hand and pulled her near the trolley.
"Hang up now, Felix. What's the problem?"
"I-I couldn't tell ya tha EXACT problem love but…."
The little man lowered his head, worry all about his face.
"Look, I think we might need ta have a talk with Nelly. She's been actin' all weird and such since ya brought her back from tha cords."
"Does this have anythin' ta do with tha trouble she's been causin'?"
Felix looked up, his eyes wide "Ya KNEW?!"
"A'Course I knew!" scowled the marine "I told her straight forward not ta act up an' she gave me her promise that she would stop!"
"Well, a lotta good THAT did." Said Ralph, walking past the two.
"Big guy?"
The big man sat in his seat in the trolley, eyeing the couple before him "I love tha kid. I relaly do but…."
"But what?"
"Yeah, we need ta talk ta her." The big man nodded "I'm all for her standin' up against bullies an' all that but what's been happenin' lately goes beyond that!"
The three adults began their trek to Sugar Rush, the game even more packed then before. Calhoun looked about the mass of characters, finding it harder to spy the President than she thought.
"Where in tha…." The woman growled "Okay, gimmie ten seconds an' I'm climbin' tha rafters!"
"Tammy, stay down!"
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" blared the voice of the announcer over the intercom "PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR A SWEET TREAT OF A RACE!"
The crowd flew into a fury of excitement, Ralph and the others still standing around in hopes of seeing their friend somewhere.
"Do ya see her in tha line up?" asked Ralph.
"Nope! I-I can't spot her!" responded Felix.
"C'mon ya two, we can get a better view from the front." Said Calhoun as she led the two men towards the front of the racing gate. It didn't take long for them to be swallowed up by the emotions of the crowd or spot just how badly the other racers looked. Upon having their names announced on the intercom, what was once a sea of cheers turned into a storm of boos and other jeers. Felix winced at the sound, pulling his hat down in fear.
"Geeze, tough crowd!"
"I'll say." Huffed Calhoun, dodging a few items that were being thrown from the stands "I know I like a tough race but this is pushin' it!"
Pushing it weren't the words Ralph was thinking about as he witnessed the way the crowds had turned on the other racers. It was shocking to see that only weeks prior everyone was having FUN in Sugar Rush but now things that gotten nasty, had gotten SOUR. The kids, their heads hanging low and nearly all of the brightness drained from them, slugged their way to their dingy looking karts, not even making notice of the trash that rained down upon them.
"This isn't right…" Ralph said to himself "This isn't right!"
He might not have thought so but did anyone else care?
Out-of-game items were tossed left and right towards the center of the track, hitting the karts and often times the racers as well.
"HEY!" shouted Calhoun "What do ya guys think you're doin'?!"
But no one heard her. They only wanted to continue.
"Is this tha problem ya were talkin' about, Felix?" the marine said down to her husband. The repairman gulped, shaking his head.
"It wasn't THIS bad!"
"AND NOW!" called the announcer "PRINCESS VANELLOPE VON SCHWEETZ!"
The booing and cursing that had gone on for so long suddenly transformed into outright cheers and applauds, Vanellope driving by with her shiny kart and a grin on her face.
"Thank you, thank you everyone!"
The crowd might have been taken in by the girl's actions but for the other three right in the middle of it.
"Vanellope?" blinked Calhoun.
"Yup." Said Ralph "Our Vanellope."
The girl took the microphone in her hands, looking lovingly at the crowds "Now, settle down everyone! Save all that energy for when the race begins!"
VANELLOPE! VANELLOPE! VANELLOPE!
The crowds were chanting her name, singing her praise and the little racer could not have felt or looked any better.
"I can tell ya guys are ready!"
"WE ARE!" shouted someone from the crowd.
"TEAR 'EM UP!" said someone else.
"Weeeeell…..I guess we mustn't keep ya cuties waitin'! We have a race ta run!"
"Nice ta see that she has some enthusiasm…." Said Calhoun "But I find it kinda off she's not a blip worried about everythin' else that's goin' on here."
"An' here I am makin' myself sick over it all…" moaned Ralph "I tell ya, Sarge. All of this is makin' tha hair on my neck raise."
"Shh, shh…." Hushed the marine "I wanna take a look at this for myself."
THREE!
TWO!
ONE!
GO!
And they were off, the racers speeding off like light down the track but of course Vanellope kept her clutches on the lead while the others sputtered and chugged behind her.
"Mmm, a wonderful sight!" someone called above the trio of adults "Can't wait to see how bad Vanellope busts up those boogers this time!"
To say the least, the crowd were correct on their first assessments. Vanellope was indeed busting up a few of the racers, using her advantage of lead to grab every power-up she could. She knew that the rules she had put in place had finally worn them down to the bone and their energy was much too low to fight back…
"Heh, let's have a lil fun, EH princess?"
The girl sped ahead, getting another power-up in her clutches.
SUGAR SHARDS!
A cannon appeared on the back of the girl's kart and with one good aim she NAILED Jubileena for a direct hit, the girl screaming as the sharp blades of sugar began to cut around her kart, destroying it right then and there!
"JUBI!" shouted Citrusella, watching her sister take a spin and drive right into a wall. It was bad enough that the cherry racer had been taken out so early but the laughter that followed from the crowd was indeed the cherry to add on top of the bitter sundae that had been built.
"Look at her squirm!" laughed someone, character pointing and jeering at the screen as images of Jubileena attempting to crawl from the remains of the kart flashed before everyone's eyes. The laughter began to sound like barking echoes of maddened dogs around the trio of heroes, feeling less and less comfortable that characters would laugh at a child in such a manner, especially when it was becoming more and more apparent that the attack this time was much harsher than normal power-ups.
Felix shrank down, wanting to leave the crowd "Uh, I'm not too sure that I like this anymore…."
Calhoun looked on, scowling. She knew that the races could be TOUGH but for the ones she had witnessed the kids always picked themselves back up, they always battled to the finished with strength and power.
Whatever she was witnessing now was not the same thing she had seen during those early days. Jubileena finally noticed the camera panning on her, guessing that the crowd was looking at her. She teared up, running away with the camera in hot pursuit.
"HAHAH! Lil dumb brat!" laughed someone "Go home and cry to your mama! Oh wait, NONE OF YOU HAVE ANY!"
"HEY!" shouted Calhoun, her eyes aimed at the voice "We'll have none of that here! NONE OF THAT!"
"An' what are ya gonna do about it?" the character said, seemingly unafraid of the marine "Screw those kids. They deserve everything they get!"
*BOOM!*
Another large explosion rocked the game, the group seeing Snowanna getting flung from her kart right into a fudge pit and as expected the crowds only grew more and more excited at the melee, enjoying the sights of the other candy racers being served their desserts by Vanellope.
But if everyone else was enjoy it, why weren't the racer's friends?
Ralph felt his skin crawling as the camera zoomed over to Vanellope, the man seeing her face through the helmet. Her smile, her eyes, they were all wrong. Even her driving skills didn't match the girl she had befriended not too long ago.
Everything was WRONG.
But he just could not figure out WHY.
As for the remaining racers, the battle had continued. Vanellope remained in the lead and there was still plenty of ground to cover before the first kart made it across the finish line.
"Keep up!" Vanellope cackled back to the others, making a few dangerous moves of her own to taunt them "Unless ya think you're gonna do somethin' WRONG!"
Minty was only four cars down from Vanellope and she could see the sickening glint as if she were mere inches from her. The little hard-candy racer was at her wit's end by now, having had enough of the 'President's' behavior.
"DAT'S IT!" the girl roared "Rules or no rules, this trollipop is goin' DOOOWN!"
"Minty, NO!" cried Sticky, putting her foot to the pedal to catch up with her sister but Minty had already taken off. The engines of her kart were roaring loudly as she finally crashed right into the back of Vanellope.
"AAAAUGH!"
"OH NO!" cried the announcer, the crowd gasping in shock "Looks like Minty Zaki is starting to unleash the spicy-beast inside!"
The crowd began to boo at Minty's actions but she didn't seem to care. They were much too far away at this point for any sounds of the crowd to be heard but that didn't mean they were alone.
WHOO-WHOO-WHOO-WHOO!
The Candy Police!
The rules were still in play and Minty had violated one of the top tier of the list; Don't bump!
"Puh, do ya think I care?" the green girl growled as she took hold of the wheel. She saw the police baking up near her but already her mind was working on what to do.
"Hey, you know the rules Mr. Zaki!" said the first police.
"Yeah, I do!" growled the girl "AN' YA CAN SHOVE 'EM!"
Minty hit a hard left, her kart fish-tailing in a semi-spin and KNOCKING the two cops off her trail, both being flung into a large dollop of sweet-cream.
"OOF!" cried the first, wiping the cream from their eyes "HEY!"
"Sorry but this is a race, not a kiddie game!" snarled Minty, her eyes going back to Vanellope.
Back with the crowd, Calhoun jumped back as she had not expected one of the candy kids to perform such a move.
"WOAH!"
"Ya okay, babe?" Felix asked. Still in disbelief, Calhoun rubbed her eyes.
"Man! That was a HD move right there!"
"Whatever move it was, tha crowd isn't too happy about it." Said Ralph, the others showing that he was indeed right. Minty's actions were not meet with happy sounds but she continued on, the others following her.
Vanellope and Minty were now tied for the lead but Minty just wasn't thinking about taking first prize. Like Taffyta, the little bundle of strength had kept her own anger bottled up but this time, being a lady about it wasn't in her mind.
"I WANNA TALK TA YA, VON SCHWEETZ!" growled the girl "An' this time without your stupid rules!"
"How can we have time ta talk when there is a RACE goin' on, ZAKI?" Vanellope cackled, ramming the other girl into a wall, her kart grinding against the hard surface.
"YEAH VANELLOPE! TAKE HER OUT!" shouted another member of the crowd.
"SHOW HER WHAT A REAL RACER IS MADE OUT OF! SHOW HER!"
Vanellope was strong but Minty was stronger. She looked down at her inventory, spying that she had one power-up saved in her stock.
"Here, maybe THIS will get rid of the SOUR LOOK, PRINCESS!"
The girl in green jabbed the button, the front end barrels of her kart glowing.
SMOOTH AS MINT!
Out came a deluge of mint syrup, the goo coating the roads right under Vanellope's tires and causing her to lose friction against Minty. She screamed, her kart squealing back onto the road which allowed her opponent to free herself, returning to her place on the road.
"GUYS, C'MON!" shouted Minty as she signaled the others "Ya better catch up before Vanellope does!"
"Well, this is a sudden turn!" said the announcer "Looks to me like Minty Zaki has opened a hole for the others to go through? An' here I thought she was gonna take the lead for herself!"
"What is that kid doin'?" Ralph said in worry.
"I dunno but somethin' tells me tha results aren't gonna be GOOD!" said Felix.
The race only got hotter and hotter and after losing her first place move, Vanellope was SEETHING with rage.
"Stupid lil NOBODIES!" the girl said, glitching faster than ever "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE REAL CHAMPION OF THIS GAME IS!"
Vanellope moved in, taking no caution into how hard she began hitting the others. It didn't matter who it was, just so long as she could knock them out of the way and regain her spot. Taffyta drove up next to Minty, the girl still angry.
"Minty Zaki, what did you do?!"
"What ya guys have been too CHICKEN ta do for DAYS!"
"Look, if you're talking about what Vanellope has been doin', we-!"
"DROP IT MUTTONFUDGE!" shouted Minty "After what she did to Tori?! I ain't holdin' nothin'-!"
*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*
A MASSIVE explosion rocked the tracks as Minty seemed to erupt into a giant mushroom of fire and smoke! Taffyta cried out, nearly losing control but she regained her hold on her kart and as she watch back….
Nothing
There was nothing left
The remains of Minty's kart flipped and spun down the track, great chunks of it going off everywhere and hitting several of the back racers, causing them to crash as well!
Sakura was nailed in the middle, her kart spinning out of control and flying off the side of the cliff, Nougetsia was CRUSHED between a crag and her car, Gloyd's kart cut in two!
It was a slaughter of sugar as far as everyone could see.
But the crowds celebrated it
"What the-?!" cried Felix, turning blue in the face "SOMEONE HELP THOSE KIDS! THEY'RE HURT!"
But no one came, no one showed any signs of concern. All the did was LAUGH. They laughed and laughed at what they say, celebrating Vanellope's actions for it had been HER.
She had been the one to shoot off the rocket
"What are you blubbering about?" someone said in a harsh tone towards Felix "These kids are used ta being thrown around!"
"Not like THIS they are not!" the little repairman said, losing his temper "You know this is wrong, you cold-hearted-!"
"Felix, wait!" Ralph called, point towards the screen "Some of those kids are left!
Indeed, there were a few racers who stuck around from the massive crash and it was a classic fight if ever.
Vanellope Von Schweetz versus-!
Rancis Flubbutters!
Candlehead!
And of course-!
"Taffyta Muttonfudge!" the vanilla racer smiled "I'm shocked that ya managed ta stay in tha race this long! Good ta see ya still gotta lotta kick in ya!"
"I don't know what ya did…" growled Taffyta, her eyes shooting towards the racer next to her "BUT HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO THEM?!"
"All's fair in love an' racing…." The other girl smirked "Is it MY fault that ya can't keep up with me?"
"THAT'S IT!" cried Taffyta as she attempted to ram Vanellope into a wall but the girl GLITCHED out of the way, laughing as loudly as the crowd were at the strawberry racer's flub. Pink Lightening CRUNCHED against the wall, its driver scrambling to recover before anything else happened.
"Oh, OH!"
"Watch out Mutton-Flub!" said Vanellope "Wouldn't want a prissy lil BULLY like yourself messing up that DISASTER of a DYE-JOB would ya?"
"Vanellope, this is too much!" Rancis cried as he pulled up alongside the two "For game's sake, what are you trying to-?!"
"SHUT UP, BLONDIE!" sneered Vanellope, hitting another button on her power-up collection.
JAW BREAKER JAM!
Rancis had no time to react as Vanellope began pelting him with the rock-hard candy, his focus lost on his steering and in that split second-!
"W-Wait, NO!"
Off the side of the cliff he went, his kart crashing horribly on the rocks below.
"Rancis!" cried Candlehead as she watched her friend go over "Oh, GOODNESS! RANCIS!"
"Vanellope! You can't do this to us!" cried Taffyta.
"Who says I can't?! I RULE THIS ARCADE! I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!"
"No, you can't!"
"Oh YES, I can!"
Taffyta was seething with anger, so much so that she couldn't think. She wanted to get rid of that face before her, get rid of the laughter, get rid of EVERYTHING.
This is what the game had been reset for?
This was the ruler that Sugar Rush was supposed to have?
Vanellope?
This was BETTER than King Candy?
No.
No, this wasn't right!
THIS WAS ALL WRONG!
Vanellope continued to laugh as she glitched back and forth, trying to make Taffyta dizzy but…
But….
Taffyta's eyes.
Her reactions.
She looked at Vanellope darting back and forth but…but she could see it. She could see the move.
SHE COULD SEE THE OPENING.
"You wanna play SWEET?" growled Taffyta "THEN STAY SWEET, PRINCESS!"
The girl a button on her control pad and launched a massive strawberry seeker at her. Vanellope MIGHT have been flashing the glitch to try to fool the girl but Taffyta was flashing something else, flashing something that even she could not explain. All she knew was that she could pin-point the second she needed, the second she needed to hit Vanellope right in the back of her head and send her skidding into the wall.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
*SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-!*
"Ain't so special NOW, huh?" Taffyta shot at the raven-haired racer, speeding off.
At that moment she felt as angry and as unstoppable as Minty had. She didn't want to admit it but there was some relief that came from releasing all that fear and anger but she knew it wasn't going to last long. If she wanted things to stop she had to get to the end of the race and hopefully in one piece!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGHR!"
*CRUNCH!*
"KIYAAAAAAAA!"
"I am NOT losin' ta a nobody like YOU!" Vanellope roared, ramming the back end of Taffyta's kart again and again "I AM NOT LOSIN' TO A NOBODY!"
"I AM SOMEBODY!" Taffyta yelled, eyes showing forth the madness within "I'M MORE THAN YOU'LL EVER BE! AT LEAST I DIDN'T NEED SOME STUPID ACCIDENTAL POWER TO MAKE UP FOR BLAND SKILLS!"
"YOU ARE DEAD!" cried Vanellope "YOU ARE-!"
"Vanellope! Taffyta!"
The two girls cried out as another vehicle forced its way between them.
Candlehead!
"C-Butt!" gasped the strawberry racer "W-What are ya-!?"
"I DUNNO!" cried the little candle-headed sobbed "Just-! Just get outta my way!"
"No, YOU get out of MY way you empty-headed dunce!" screeched Vanellope, looking down at her power-up cache "What do I have ta do ta get you lil cavities away from-!"
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!"
Another hard hit was dealt to the President of the game, Taffyta crying her best to avoid Candlehead in the fight but the three girls were locked in together! Somehow, Candlehead had snagged her bumpers with the other two and all three were careening towards certain doom if they did not free themselves. Granted, Taffyta's only focus for the moment was VANELLOPE, trying to find some way to get her away from her and to prevent her from using any other power-ups.
"OH MY LAND!" cried Felix "Things have never gotten THIS crazy before!"
Calhoun was rocking on her feet, not sure whether to jump out and help the three "Darn it, darn it, DARN IT! I know what's gonna come from this if they don't unlock!"
"Dare I asked?" ralph gulped nervously.
Without thinking twice, Calhoun jumped upon her hover-board and flew off towards the three.
"Tammy, WAIT!"
"Someone, HELP ME!" wailed Candlehead, her controls unresponsive on her kart.
Taffyta was unable to move anywhere near her friend but even if she could she knew that Vanellope would move in and prevent her from getting close. The vanilla racer was red with rage as she turned this way and that to dislodge herself from the other girls.
"Always slowin' me down! Always gettin' in my way!"
"Candlehead!" Taffyta shouted over the deafening roar of the engines "You might have to eject!"
"But we're too close together!" the cake-themed girl said in fare "If I let my kart go unattended, it'll roll! WITH YOU TWO UNDER IT!"
"Just take the chance, C-Butt!"
"No, don't do it!" cried Vanellope "Unless ya wanna spend ONE HUNDRED GAME CYCLES in tha Fungeon!"
Candlehead began to wail louder "No! Anythin' but that!"
"Don't believe her, Candlehead! Just go! Go for your own safety!"
"Kids!"
The girls looked up, seeing Calhoun racing near them. She held out both her hands towards the bunch, signally them to move forward.
"Jump! Just jump an' I'll catch ya!"
"Move out of my way, SARGENT!" Vanellope barked, slamming her hands on the steering wheel.
"Kid, this is too dangerous! No race ain't worth th-!"
"I SAID GET BACK!"
And with that, Vanellope shot Calhoun in the face with a cream pie.
"YAAAUGH!"
"TAMERA!" cried Felix in horror, Ralph looking on equally as stunned.
"No….no, she didn't just do that…." The Wrecker meeped, his lips floundering to say anything more.
Luckily for Calhoun, the vehicles had made their way towards the final turns of the track where many cupcakes lay. Her view obstructed, the Marine had no control over where she was going and ended up landing face first into a giant pastry, its fluffy interior saving her from what was to have been a much terrible fate had she landed on the track.
"She's okay!" Ralph looked on, watching the woman kick her legs in the air before pulling herself free. Felix was hyperventilating at this point, white as a sheet as he leaned on the rails for support.
"HUU! HUU! T-Tammy! Alive?!"
"Yes, yes she is!"
"Blauuuuurgh…" Felix moaned, falling right on his face in the stands.
Calhoun might have been safe but what about the others? Their karts were burning up from the friction and power they were putting on each other and if they didn't cross the finish-line, they would surly EXPLODE first!
"I'm warnin' ya two…." Vanellope hissed looking at her fellow racers "If ya do not let me pass that finish line, I'm gonna show ya a torture even WORSE than tha FUNGEON!"