Chapter Thirty Six- Desperately Seeking Sweets

The moment that Ralph had thrown Mouse and Vanellope into the station, the Cadet wasted not a second. There was a battle going on and even if she were not in the heart of it, she still had a duty!

A BIG duty!

So after removing her breast plate from Zangief's face, only to step on it a second later, the marine tore off for Sugar Rush with one Vanellope Von Schweetz dangling helplessly from her hands.

"YAUGH-YAUGH-YAUGH-YAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" the girl screamed "I can run, Mousey! Put me down before my arm snaps like a cookie!"

"NO TIME FOR THAT! I GOTS TA FIND THOSE KIDS?!"

WHAT kids?

The Cadet didn't even watch out for pedestrians, barreling down the village circles and leaving those who were hapless enough to be in her way STOMPED, flat on their backs.

"You're doin' more wreckin' that Ralph!" Vanellope moaned "Mouse, who are ya lookin' for?!"

"EATIN' KID! SCIENCE LAD!"

"Ya mean….Candlehead and Swizzle?"

"Yeah, whoever!"

Not wanting to receive the inevitable popped-arm-out-of-socket, Vanellope wisely glitched her way out of Mouse's hand, only to appear on her head.

"I'm sure if ya'd stop steamrollin' tha villagers, we'd be able ta-!"

"VANELLOPE!"

The girl glitched to the ground in surprise, seeing the other racers dashing towards her with Taffyta leading the way.

"You! You got out!" the strawberry racer said in shock.

"BWOOF!"

Taffyta threw herself on Vanellope, hugging her tight "We've been watching the whole thing! And-! And when Mayor Gene THREEEW the building?! We didn't know if you were smashed or not!"

"Nah, ol' Mayor Blueberry didn't put a MARK on me!" the girl said, covered in LOTS of marks "But right now, we need C-Butt an' Swizz! Has anyone seen 'em!"

"Wait, I'm right here!"

Mouse's eyes shot towards the boy in the thick of the candy racer crowd.

She had found her prey.

"I dunno where Candles is." Swizz said "But I don't think she's that far-BLLLURGH!"

"BLURTH!"

And with that, Mouse grabbed both Swizzle and Vanellope and ran off again.

The racers could only watch as the armor clad woman stormed through the game, more candy people crying out as they were rolled over.

"….Um….ya think she wanted a tour of the castle?" Rancis gulped.

"WHERE'S CANDLE GIRL?! WHERE'S CANDLE GIRL?!"

Vanellope was certain that every last bit of candy had been shaken off of her "If ya let us on tha ground, we may be able ta-!"

"THERE SHE IS!" said Swizzle as he pointed towards the Candle Wick Café.

"What-? What is she doin' there?"

The three ran in, Candlehead busy at the counter with a load of cakes and-!

"POWER UPS!" Mouse cried in jubilation, brightness seen through the lenses of her goggles.

"C-Butt, just what we need!" Vanellope smiled as she hopped over to the counter but the cake-themed racer didn't say anything.

In fact, she looked so gloomy and sad.

"C-Butt?" Vanellope waved her hand in front of the girl's face "Who-Hooo, ya there?"

"Do ya think he'll like this?"

"Like what?"

Candlehead broke apart another power-up.

SWEET SUGAR STARS!

And in a flash the cake she had was covered in twinkling sugar stars, the three transfixed by the sight but only for a moment.

"I saw what Giant Mister Mayor Nicelander Gene was doin'…." The girl whimpered as she held the cake in her hands "Do ya think this cake will make him happy again?"

"AUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURGH!"

Mouse rushed to the door of the café, candy people running everywhere.

"Miss Hero's Duty Cadet Mouse?" blinked Candlehead "What's goin' on?"

The woman climbed up the ladder on the side of the building, getting high enugh to see through the sky box of the game and witness-

"Holy-"

Gene swallowing Ralph whole.

"Sweet jelly-beans in a basket!" the woman heard Snowanna call from the grandstands "He actually ATE him!"

"Mouse? Mouse?"

The woman looked down, seeing the kids staring up at her in worry.

"Mouse, what happened?!" asked Vanellope.

Mouse looked back at the screen.

Then back at the racers.

She slowly climbed down, stands stiff and what little of her face that could be seen blank.

"Cadet Mouse?" asked Swizz.

The woman placed her hands upon the backs of the three and quietly pushed them into the café. She shut the door, closed the blinds, and made certain that not another soul was around them.

"…..we need to get to work."

"Okay, C-Butt! We need a complete list of your power-up inventory!" Vanellope said as she shook Candlehead before turning towards Swizz "SWIZZLE!"

"Yeah?"

"…..I have NO idea what Mouse wants with ya!"

"Here." The Cadet said as she shoved a massive tool box in Swizzle's hand "You're gonna need this."

"Why?"

"Because your gonna be my second pair'a hands." The woman began as she set up her equipment throughout the café "Eatin' girl!"

"Yes?" Candlehead nodded, Vanellope surprised that she answered to such a term.

"Imma need one of your most powerful power-ups!" the woman said "Somethin' that clears away any damage or-!"

"ON IT!" Candlehead hopped to as she saluted the woman, rushing upstairs.

"That's a long list you're askin' for." Vanellope meeped "An' I know Candlehead does have a storage lot, there's a lotta things even she doesn't have."

"Well, right now we gotta work with what we have." The woman said, looking over and seeing a few power ups beside her "Which ones are these?"

"Uh, Sweet Boost." The vanilla racer said "They give ya a ten point pick up on your-!"

"Here." Mouse said as she opened the power-ups but doing so in a way to expose the inner working code rather than activating them. She then handed the orb to Swizz "I need ya ta cut the connecting wires from port A and the one from port C."

"Easy as puddin' pie." The boy said as he went about it.

"How about one FIVE of 'em?"

The boy smirked, cracking his knuckles "My pleasure."

"Uh, Mouse?" Vanellope said as she looked about the two.

"Those will serve as the base." The woman said as she typed upon her com "We need enough power to-!"

*KA-CRAAASH!*

The three screamed as a figure CRASHED through the ceiling only to land on the table, a faint rainbow glowing seen through the dust.

"C-Candlehead?!"

The girl sat on the table but she was not at all phased. In fact, if there were anything that bothered her it was how much dirt and dust had coated her. She got back on her feet and shook herself quickly.

"BRRRRRRRR!"

"Uh, C-Butt?"

"Is this what ya needed, Miss Hero's Duty Cadet Mouse?" the ditzy racer said as she handed Mouse her haul. The Marine took it and scanned, hoping to find what she was looking for.

"No, no, no, no-! Oh, it's not here!"

"Which power-up are ya lookin' for?"

"I need that…tha Sweet Heal thing!" Mouse said "It's tha HEART of this whole thing an' without it we can't-!"

"Oh, Sweet Heal?" Candlehead chirped, completely forgetting the dire situation she was taking part in "I know where-!"

"A Sweet Heal?" Vanellope gasped "Why didn't ya tell me before ya came here?!"

"Why?"

"Those things are tha RAREST of tha RARE Sweets!" Vanellope said "They only pop up on that track when a game is active! An' in tha field!? Do ya think I would have been in tha mud-pit I was if I had found any sweet heals when-?!"

"What Nelly is tryin' ta say…." Swizz cut in "Is that if ya wanted a Sweet Heal, we have ta go ta tha code room an' bring 'em up from the inventory. That's tha only way we can cut the search."

"Urgh! That's gonna cut us a lotta time-!" the Marine growled as she slapped her forhead "But okay! Go ta tha castle kid an-!"

"Swizz is tha one who knows how ta manipulate tha codin' count!" said Vanellope "After Turbo messed up my system, I'm still havin' trouble-!"

"But I need 'em here!" the woman responded "He has ta help me with-!"

"OOOOOOOH!"

Everyone looked at Candlehead, the girl skipping on the floor as she clapped her hands in glee.

"Candles?"

"Ya wanted a Sweet Heal?" the girl beamed "Then why didn't ya ask?"

Vanellope felt her fingers starting to twitch, as if she already KNEW what was about to appear before her but she still could not believe it.

Her smile still going strong Candlehead reached under her hat and pulled out not one, not two, not even THREE but FOUR SWEET HEALS from her person, the large golden orbs glowing brightly, a heavenly choir singing…

"Uh, guys?"

Which turned out to be the collective voices of the other three before her, their hands clutched together as they looked at the sight with massive, glittering eyes.

"Wow, I made a LOT of people happy today!"

"Where did ya get these?!" Vanellope said as she broke out of her trance, Mouse and Swizz still in awe.

"Oh, I always carry around a few Sweet Heals!" Candlehead giggled "Just n'case of emergencies."

The girl removed her hat, revealing a collection of other things balanced perfectly atop her mint-chip head.

Vanellope wasn't sure whether to be impressed or unnerved.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH-!"

"Guys!" the vanilla racer shouted as she bopped Mouse and Swizz on their heads "We still need ta heal Gene!"

"Oh, right!" the Cadet coughed as she went back to work "Ya got those small ones ready, kid?"

"All done!" said Swizz, sounding proud of himself.

"Right. Now I'm gonna need four licorice vines!"

"On it!" Candlehead said as she went to her inventory and brought back a jar of vines, but the Cadet did not smile.

"No, no! I need red! They're compents have what I need!"

Candlehead whimpered, her lip quivering.

"Ah darn it…"

"S-Sorry, Miss Hero's Duty Cadet Mouse." Sniffled the racer "I'm waitin' for tha delivery guy ta come by an-"

"Wait!" said Vanellope as she undid the tie in her hair "Use mine!"

Mouse was shocked, the girl handing over her precious licorice hair band over.

"Are…are ya sure?"

"Yes!" the girl said, excitement and determination clear in her eyes "I just don't wanna stand around as everyone else does tha work! I'm President Von Schweetz! It's my DUTY ta help!"

Vanellope may have been standing proud but Candlehead went into a heap of laughter.

"Hehe, you said Doodie."

"Alright!" Mouse cheered as she tossed the tie into the air only to snap it back and cut the ends into fine points "Swizz-Kid!"

"Yeah!"

"Take those pink things!"

"Fun sized!" bounced Candlehead "Fun sized, fun sized, FUN SIIIIIZED!"

"Reroute the wires from tha first port! Undo tha others!"

"What in Frakenstien's lab are ya doin'?" Vanellope blinked.

"Hah, don't tell me ya forgot tha plan already?" Mouse snickered "I wish I had more time ta do everythin' neater but we're cookin' up a tasty treat that is SURE ta send Gene back down ta size!"

Vanellope gulped, the hair on the back of her neck standing on end "I HOPE so…"

"Just have ta rewire some things, patch it up an' make some new commands for these sweets." The cadet continued as she and Swizz reworked the power-ups "An' with some fine retoolin, an' a few connectors-"

"My hair tie?"

"Bingo." Swizz nodded "Yeah, it's a sweet treat but at tha very end it's still pixels an' it's still code which can be used ta conduct a command, IF ya know how ta wire things right. But, heh, havin' tinkered with these things as long as I have? Puh, piece'a cake. Piece'a cake."

From outside, the three heard banging on the window. Being the closest to the pane, Swizz lifted up the blinds only to see a peeved Minty standing on the opposite side.

"NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERD!"

And Swizzle lowered the blinds back down.

"Okay, hand me those heals."

Swizz handed Mouse the reprogrammed power-ups and she quickly attached Vanellope's hair tie between the circuits, soldering them into place. As she did so, the orbs began to glitch and flicker.

K-K-K-KING SIZED!

"Mouse, watch out!" Vanellope said as she and Candlehead held each other "You're big enough as it is so I don't think it's a good idea ta have those things go off on ya!"

"Don't worry about me." The woman said, finishing the last bit "Because-!"

There was a flash, the kids covering their eyes as the mass of power-ups glowed and hovered in the air. They could hear the command voices between them all glitching and speaking all at once, the sound warping more and more as the mass started to spin around.

"Whoooooooooooooa…..COOOOOOL!" Candlehead said as she peeked, so many colors dancing through her café "I wanna use this for all my parties!"

The orbs glitched, the sparked and then there was a POP!

"AH!"

"HAHA! SUCCESS!"

The racers looked, seeing a MASSIVE rainbow colored orb floating gracefully above them. It was unlike anything they had ever seen and even in the arms of Mouse it was GIGANTIC.

"What….is that thing?"

"Tis tha solution for all'a this." Mouse said as she took ahold of the orb "But it still needs ONE more thing!"

"Name it, an' I'll get it for ya!" said Vanellope but the Cadet nodded as she took her hand.

"Nope. Tha thing we need is back in Fix-it-Felix an' we better get there before-!"

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!*

An arcade-shaking THUD rocked the game, all in the café falling to the ground as the lights flickered.

"W-What was that?!"

"Oh NO!"

"I can't believe she did that!"

Mouse had a terrible feeling in her stomach as she ran from the café, candy people and racers scrambling for cover after the quake.

"Guys, what happened?!"

"It's-!" panted Nougetsia "They-!"

"THE MAYOR WAS SHOOT OFF THE BUILDING!" Adorabeezle cried as she jumped in front of her older sister "He went-! BOOM! An' then he went REEEEEEEEEN-BAM, on the ground!"

"He was SHOOT?!" screamed Vanellope "By WHO?!"

"Sarge."

Mouse wasted not a second, grabbing her hover board and taking off with both Vanellope and power-up in tow.

"Thanks kids!" the Marine called as she waved back at Candlehead and Swizz "I owe ya two BIG for this!"

Once Mouse and Vanellope were gone the others turned towards their comrades, all in awe and curious to know what they had partaken in.

"Swizzle?" asked Rancis.

The two racers looked at each other and in a moment of clarity they too realized they had just put their hands in the pot of one of the BIGGEST messes of the arcade. Swizz put his hands in his pockets, rocking on his heels.

"Well, can't argue that we don't find our way into everything, can we guys?"

Mouse flew through the air of the station, dodging as many people as she could.

"HEADS UP, ZANGY!"

The Russian wrestler screamed as she quickly jumped into the arms of Sakura, the school girl somehow able to carry him.

"Where Mouse Cadet learn to hoverboard?!"

As the two flew through the tunnel to Niceland they were greeted by the sites of the game in utter chaos, glitches and lightening going everywhere as pixels broke and snapped apart.

"My god, what happened while we were-?!"

"Cadet Orzela!"

"Sarge!" Mouse cried out in happiness as she finally spotted a familiar face but things dropped once she saw the condition the game's residence were in "Oh, no! Oh, NO!"

"They're all still online." Calhoun breathed out, holding her husband in her arms "But I don't know how much longer they'll be able to hang on."

Ralph moaned loudly, rolling over on his back "I'm hangin' on, hangin' on…."

"Stick in there, Stink-Breath." Vanellope frowned "I know it's gonna take a lot more than a few glitches ta know you're stupid head over."

Mouse could see that there were a lot of characters who needed urgent care around but through her scan ONE person in particular was yet to be seen.

"Where's-? Where's the Mayor?"

Calhoun struggled to look at her Cadet, Felix starting to come to.

"Rugh, Tammy?"

"I shot him…"

"What, Sargent?"

"I SHOT HIM!" the woman said, knocking both her Cadet and Vanellope on their bottoms "He-! He had Felix! He was going to rip him apart an' I-!"

"TAMMY!"

The woman jolted, Felix fighting to get out from her arms.

"F-Felix?"

"He's-! He's in tha woods!" the repairman said as he tumbled onto the ground, glitching worse than ever "An' I know EXACTLY where he went!"

"Honey, there is no way I'm takin' ya with me." Calhoun said in a grim voice "Look at ya! You're-!"

"I maybe be glitchin'….." the little man said, his voice deep "But not now, not ever am I gonna let that stop me from helpin' my friends!"

"In tha condition you're in?"

"I've been attacked by viruses, de-powered, watched my friends go through hell an' back. I ain't stoppin' now."

The others looked at the man, knowing there was nothing they could do to convince Felix to stay back. He looked weak, his legs shaking a bit under him but he refused to fall.

He was Fix-it-Felix Jr. from the game Fix-it-Felix Jr.

He had learned a lot about what it meant to be a hero throughout his tenure in Litwak's.

And with each new lesson, he found more reason to continue.

"O-okay…." Calhoun said, sounding uneased as she took out her own hover board and picked up her husband "B-but don't fight too hard, okay Honey?"

Felix smiled, another glitch rippling through his mesh.

"Y-Y-Ya may hafta told me back then."

"An' tha others?" asked Mouse.

"Let me…let me take care of 'em." Puffed Ralph.

"You're in no condition to-!"

"GOOOO!" the Wrecker roared as he pointed towards the forest "Just GOOOO!"

"Right!" Calhoun nodded and with a flash and a blast she and her Cadet took off for the woods, Felix and Vanellope along for the ride.

Ralph watched as the four blasted off, his eyes going back to the many Nicelanders sprawled out at his feet. To see them huddle in so much pain was frightening as he never would have thought that all in his life he'd be so worried about them.

He remembered when he thought they didn't care for him, he remembered when he thought that they were so empty-minded, that there was nothing to them but endless praise for Felix.

But after they had saved him.

"H-Hang on guys…" he puffed, gathering them together so he could keep a closer eye on them "J-Just-!"

*GLITCH!*

The man cried out in pain as another glitch rocked through his code, falling over beside Mary like a tree. He felt faint, his body feeling as if it were slowly breaking apart pixel by pixel.

"F-Find him….f-find him…."

Ralph's eyes began to shut but as things grew dark the bright glow of the code void began to glow in his eyes. He could feel the energy surrounding him but his body tried to pull forward but he wasn't strong enough, not this time.

He could hear the others, their voices echoing along with the so many other things. As his eyes looked upon the void he could only remember the nightmare that was Beta, how he and the others were trapped within the Sugar Rush code but this time around?

This time, Ralph could not fight back.

It was HIS code that was being destroyed, it was HIS code that was put on full display, it was HIS memories.

It was the entire game's memories.