With the extra time from a lack of players today, I come back out into the plug of Fix-it-Felix Jr. to hang out for a bit, but stay in the end leading to the game. As I write and look around, the SP, presumably the one who questioned me, watches me with intense curiosity. I'm not sure why he's interested in my presence, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's still thinking about my history. With a sigh, he zaps away, probably to do something for his job. Eventually, I get bored and decide to stop by Sugar Rush again. There, I randomly decide to wander into a candy cane forest. I see a large silhouette not too far away. It grows larger as it makes it way toward me, but then vanishes as it goes behind a tree. Strangely, the thing is a lot bigger and wider than the tree.
"Hey there." says a deep, male voice immediately behind me.
"Hello?" I write, looking around for the source.
"Hmm, I could've sworn I heard someone." I think, looking around with confusion.
When I see no one, I frown.
"Maybe I am just a joke.." I think.
Suddenly, though, I find what look like dents in the ground. I try to follow them, which lead a good ways into the forest. The further I go, though, the harder it is to find them, with all the marshmallows coating the ground. Just when I lose the trail, there's a loud "thunk" from something colliding with another thing. I turn around, looking in a surprised way.
"Why are you following me?" the same voice asks in a slightly annoyed way.
I gaze up at the source, the cybug Ralph. Suddenly, I have a look of fear and nervousness and start walking away. There's a glitching sound behind me, followed by something flying right up in my face. It's the cybug from before, only much, much smaller, probably no bigger than my paw.
"Ya didn't answer my question, Missy!" he exclaims.
I blink with surprise at the sudden change.
"I was just curious about the source of a voice I heard and dents I saw in the ground. Plus, I thought you wanted me out of sight..." I write, putting my arms to my sides with fright.
He shakes his head.
"Well, you kinda come and go a lot without sayin' or doin' anything and it's kinda suspicioius, you know? Why run back and forth like that? And what's your name, anyhow?" the cybug Ralph responds.
"I like to wander in certain other games, especially when I want to see someone, but I don't always find someone to talk to where I arrive. I get bored, so I'd have to leave. Except if I was talking to someone, hardly anyone notices me leaving; I'm surprised you do." I write, moving my arms slightly away from my sides, but still keeping the fearful expression, "Anyways, I'm Irene, if you really want to know."
"Irene, huh? Well, I'm surprised nobody here talks to ya; everyone here's a chatterbox. Just catch a kid before a race, and they'll talk your ear off." the cybrid responds.
His lower pair of wings short out, and he sinks most of the way to the ground, before they kick in again.
"Hey Irene, what do you know about electronics?" he asks.
I shrug my shoulders.
"Yeah. Well, I'm practically invisible to almost everyone." I write, chuckling nervously, "To be honest, I don't know much, really."
"Mmn, it's easy to go unnoticed in a place like this. Arcade's big, and not everyone can be lookin' around at everyone." the cybug Ralph responds.
His wings begin to sputter, so he opts to land on a jawbreaker nearby, instead.
"Ya learn by asking questions, though, so there's always that to break the ice." he adds.
Now that he mentions it, I realize this arcade is, indeed, a big place. I've often believed everyone either hates me or is too busy with something else, but then again, there are a lot of people, so it's almost no wonder I get lost in the crowd. I guess I should, indeed, just keep "talking" to others first, even though I fear that I'm being annoying.
I wander around, hoping to find Vanellope nearby, but to no avail, this time. So, for a while, I sit around, enjoying the sweet scenery and munching on nearby chocolate chips. In the distance, Johnny's kart drives closer nearby.
"Hey there, chap!" he calls, driving over and jumping out of his vehicle, "What's up?"
I wave at Johnny.
"Hey there! Well, I had some extra time today, so I thought I'd stop by here to talk to friends." I write.
"Brilliant" says Johnny, "I had some extra time as well, so I thought I'd just drive around."
"Cools." I write, scooping up soda from a lake with an ice cream cone.
"So, what's been happening with you?" Johnny asks, as he takes off his helmet.
I take a sip and sneeze.
"Nothing much. It's been pretty uneventful for me, but I've overheard Felix being affected by a spell that makes him laugh whenever someone says 'pie'." I write.
"So, did you find Felix back in the game at all yet?" asks Johnny, "Or is he still in the outside world?"
"He's back inside the game, as I mentioned yesterday." I write.
"Good" says Johnny, "Without Felix, his game would pretty much just be unplugged, not unlike the time Ralph game-jumped."
"Yeah, it's a good thing that spell only lasted a few hours, and it was a Sunday." I write.
"True thing" says Johnny, pulling a brownie out from his back and eating it.
I take another sip of my lemonade soda and eat another chocolate chip.
"I'm guessing that perhaps some of the other racers might be around soon" says Johnny, as he looks around the place, "I just thought I'd drive around the place until then."
"Yes, probably." I write, looking curiously at the ground.
"I wonder if this ground is edible too." I write, kicking it a bit.
"It's made of cake, so it's possible" says Johnny, grabbing a chunk of the ground, "Never tried it myself, but it never hurts to try."
"Hmm." I write, scooping up a chunk with my cone and putting it in my mouth, "It tastes chocolatey."
"Well, what do you know, it is edible" says Johnny, grabbing a chunk and eating it, "Figured as much, since pretty much everything in this game is edible. Even I'M edible, but that is called cannibalism, and is, in fact, frowned upon in most games."
"LOL Yeah." I write, chuckling.
"Like I told Sour Bill, this is, perhaps, the only game in which I can safely eat food off the ground." I write.
"True thing" chuckles Johnny, "You can drop a whole pizza off of the ground, eat it, and not be infected by a virus."
"Yeah, assuming the pizza's clean." I write, chuckling.
"That's true" says Johnny, still chuckling and noticing Rancis driving on a motorbike, which is wobbling along.
"Oh h-h-hey guys" Rancis stammers, trying to stop the motorbike from falling over.
I wave at Rancis.
"How are you?" I write.
"J-j-j-just fine" says Rancis, braking the motorbike as it falls down.
"Ow" mutters Johnny.
"Are you nervous about something?" I write, noting the peanut butter-themed racer's stammer.
"No, it's just that I'm trying to ride a motorbike because-" Rancis is about to say.
"You saw Avril and the doughnut bobbies with motorbikes, and you got jealous?" cuts off Johnny, "Figured."
I chuckle and write "Does your 'wife' know about this?"
"No, not yet" says Rancis, "But I'm trying to get the hang of driving it."
I nod in understanding.
"Whatever, I still believe he got jealous" says Johnny, chuckling.
I simply chuckle in response to Johnny's comment.
"Speaking of motorcyclists" Rancis says, noticing Avril race over in her motorbike and Maria, Sticky, Amy, and Candlehead in theirs.
I turn towards the girls and wave at them. Avril brakes her bike rather abruptly, jumps off, and does a somersault through the air, landing to the ground and firing her gun behind her back.
"Well, that's a rather dramatic entrance, if I do say so myself" mutters Johnny.
"That was cool." I write.
"True" says Rancis, looking over and whispering to himself, "I gotta try that sometime."
As soon as Johnny and Avril hear that, they slap their foreheads with the palms of their hands.
"Well, he should at least get to try, right?" I write, turning to Johnny and Avril.
"If he can, that is" says Avril, "Doubt he can actually do it, though, but we might as well let him try."
I nod in agreement, eating the cone I used to scoop up soda.
"I don't really know about this" says Maria, watching as Rancis reverses his motorbike.
"Here we go, Mr. Fluggerbutter's big moment!" says Rancis.
"I hope so for all our sakes" mutters Sticky.
I simply watch, finishing up my cone.
"Stand by!" shouts Rancis, starting up the motorbike's motor and charging forward, the bike wobbling.
"For anyone who thinks he'll undoubtedly fail, fly a good, bloody long distance in the air, smack himself against a ruddy tree, and injure himself, say or write I" mutters Johnny.
I smile in amusement, but don't bet anything, as I'm trying to be neutral. Rancis starts up the motorbike and abruptly stops it, flinging into the air and falling into the ground face-first.
"Ow" mutters Johnny.
"Ooh, ouch." I write.
"I'm fine!" shouts Rancis, his voice muffled by the ground, "The cake saved my life! Thank you, you bloody lob of cake!"
I smile awkwardly and move closer to him.
"Reminds me of the time that security guard and Felix rode a bicycle and drove off of the brick stack" says Avril.
"Yeah, it is kind of like that." I write, chuckling, "Did you enjoy that skit?"
"Yep" says Avril, "T'was, with no doubt, the funniest thing I ever saw in my gaming life."
"Yeah, Felix and the Surge were pretty hilarious, there, especially given their calm, rational personalities." I write.
"That's true" says Johnny, walking over and helping Rancis up while chuckling, "The were hilarious alright."
"Especially the part when the latter came up to me and embraced me. If he did that to me for real..." I write, smiling in a shy, awkward way.
"And perhaps, someday he will" says Johnny, "Who knows, for all we know, he could have embraced you for real in the video."
"I hope so. Possibly. As for my lines in that portion, some of it is actually true, but no the 'gone' part." I write, "I definitely don't want him to disappear from my life."
"That's true" says Rancis, getting up from the ground, "Pretty much how I wouldn't want Maria gone."
I nod and look at my nails, which have gotten long enough for me to need to clip.
"So, shall we head back to Felix's game?" I write.
"That sounds like a great idea; let's get cracking" says Johnny, heading towards the exit of Sugar Rush.
I follow Johnny, looking at my nails again.
"I'm guessing that Bing-Bing's still at the apartment probably" says Johnny, as the other Sugar Rushers follow along, "And perhaps, we'll run into the Hendersons."
"Maybe. And my friends/neighbors, along with a certain accessorized blue security guard." I write.
"True" chuckles Johnny, going up the rainbow pathway and into the plug.
I follow along and board the train.
"Perhaps we can see how the others are doing, and we can finish last night's skit" Rancis says as he boards the train.
"Oh yeah." I write, nodding in agreement.
"Perhaps if we get there and find the time, we can" says Johnny, "On a side-note, I was thinking about asking Ralph if he wanted to be in it."
I smile and nod in agreement, as the train comes to a stop. Johnny and the other Sugar Rushers get off of the train, and as we head to the entrance to Game Central, the Surge appears.
"Hey guys" says the Surge, waving.
I wave enthusiastically at the blue, accessorized security guard.
"So, what's up?" the Surge asks, "I was waiting for you guys to show up so we can head to Fix-it-Felix Jr."
"I was wandering in Sugar Rush, for the most part." I write.
"And then Rancis tried doing motorbike stunts" says Sticky, "He... he didn't succeed, at all."
"I see" says the Surge, "Well, let's be heading to Felix's game, shall we?"
I nod, heading for the plug of said game. The others board the train.
"So, what else happened in Sugar Rush?" asks the Surge.
"Nothing much." I write.
I purposely leave out the part with the large silhouette, so as not to reveal secrets and cause worry.
"There hasn't been much of anything going on in Game Central" says the Surge, "And plus, I'm sure the other Surges have things under control."
"Yeah, I guess so." I write, feeling a bit cold here, for some reason.
"Well, we're here" says Johnny, noticing the train approaching the exit of the plug and towards the station in Fix-it-Felix Jr.
We step off of the train and see Ralph along with Miles and Desmond.
"Hello, guys" says Miles, waving.
I wave at Ralph and the gangster brothers.
"What's up, guys?" asks Ralph as he walks over.
"Not much, your adorableness." I write, walking over and giving Ralph a pat on the back.
"Well, now that we're here, shall we head on inside the penthouse now?" asks the wrecker.
I clap and write "Heck yes we should."
"And perhaps we can finish up that skit idea from yesterday" says Miles as Ralph guides the rest of us into the apartment.
"Uh huh." I write, nodding.
"I'm excited to see how Rancis succeeds in the skit" says Sticky, "Johnny showed me the already-filmed footage earlier today."
"Me too." I write, "So, did you like what you've seen, so far?"
"Yeah" says Sticky, "Rancis was rather humourous through most of it, especially when he falls asleep on Desmond."
"Oh yeah. That was kind of funny." I write, chuckling.
"You got that right" chuckles Johnny, as he steps into the doorway to the room, "Now, we can see how Fluggerbutter puts up with this."
He then pulls out his camera. I nod in agreement, chuckling a bit, and step off-screen.
Rancis lies on the couch pretending to sleep, before suddenly waking up.
"The brain is a muscle" he murmurs sleepily, waking up, "Des? Des? Okay, now where was I?"
Rancis then grabs the Fix-it-Felix Jr. comic book.
"Well, at least I'm reading" he says, "If you count grrrrr as a word, and I do."
"What are you looking at me for, you troglodyte?" a picture of Ralph asks.
"Troglo-what?" asks Rancis.
"Look it up!" shouts Ralph, as Rancis tosses down the comic book.
I dilate my pupils slightly at the sight of the picture talking to Rancis.
"Wow, that was weird" mutters Rancis, just as Ralph taps him on the shoulder.
"You're gonna read that book, and you're gonna read it NOW!" the wrecker shouts, punching his fist into his hand.
"But reading hurts" whines Rancis.
"Not as much as this" says Ralph, tossing Rancis onto the couch, "You see? Reading is a joy!"
"Owww!" shouts Rancis, as Ralph pulls at his leg and arm and lifts him in the air.
"Reading takes you to new and exciting places!" shouts Ralph, swinging Rancis around and tossing him behind the couch.
"How forceful!" I jokingly think, chuckling.
"Vanellope?" Rancis whimpers.
"You can't see me!" shouts Ralph, jumping on top of Rancis, who shrieks.
The peanut butter-themed racer wakes up on the couch.
"I gotta start reading" says Rancis, "But first, a sandwich."
I smile in amusement. Johnny then films Rancis and Maria sitting on the couch.
"So, what did you think?" Maria asks.
"This book?" asks Rancis, pointing at the book, "Wow. I can't even put it to into words, I-I mean the author's words, those are words, but my words to describe those words... I have no words for that."
"Nice cover up." I jokingly think.
"You didn't read the reservar" says Maria.
"No" says Rancis, "I tried, but-"
"There were so many words, and every time you turned the page, there were more?" asks Maria.
"I wanted to tell you, but... I thought you'd be disappointed in me" says Rancis, covering his face and peeking some anyways.
I smile, amused at how Maria easily figures it out.
"I'm not disappointed" says Maria.
"You're not?" asks Rancis.
"No" says Maria, "Because YOU are gonna read the reservar."
"I am?" asks Rancis.
"If you wanna keep dating a S-S-S-Spaniard you are" says Maria jokingly.
"Hersheyson, I'm gonna need coffee, and lots of it!" shouts Rancis, falling over the couch and scrambling towards the kitchen as the skit ends.
"Nice work, guys." I write, chuckling.
"Thanks" chuckles Rancis as he scrambles back over, nearly tripping as he does so.
"You're welcome." I write, "I'm not a huge fan of reading, either."
"I'm not too big a reader myself, either" says Johnny, chuckling, "Although I wouldn't try making excuses to get out of it."
"Yeah. I'm still willing to read something someone shows me, for the most part." I write.
"True" says Johnny, "Although I must admit, Fluggerbutter was amusing here."
"You definitely were." I write, turning towards Rancis.
"Got that right there" chuckles Sticky, "I wouldn't be surprised if he tried doing it in reality."
I smile in agreement and move towards the blue security guard. The Surge sits on the couch, putting his arm around me and pulling me closer to him, as the rest of us sit down as well. I smile at the gesture and start drawing. Johnny rests on the couch in an uncomfortable position, his cheeks losing their natural red color as he rubs his nose some.
"Is there something wrong here?" I write, looking curiously at Johnny.
"No, don't worry, I'm fine" says Johnny, rubbing his nose a bit more and suddenly wheezing.
"Um, okay. If you say so." I write, looking concerned.
"I'll be better by the next day, hopefully" says Johnny, refusing to quit rubbing his nose.
"Or a matter IF he gets better" says Miles.
"Did you just start having these symptoms right now?" I ask in writing.
"Dunno, I think I had them earlier today during the races" says Johnny.
I nod in understanding.
"Well, I hope it isn't anything too serious." I write.
"It won't, I'm sure" says Johnny, before gulping, "I'm sure I'll be well by the next day."
"Well, okay." I write, leaning a bit on the blue security guard.
"So, anywho, I think I'll go on in the back and check on Bing-Bing, probably" says Johnny, getting up.
I nod in understanding, drawing. Johnny slips off his helmet and removes his sword, putting them aside as he stumbles slightly away.
"I guess we'll just have to see how he is tomorrow, I'm guessing" Sticky shrugs, giving a nervous expression.
"Yeah, I guess so. You've seen these symptoms too, right?" I write.
"Well, my sister Minty had some of these before, though that was a few years ago" says Sticky.
"And how did she turn out?" I write.
"She ended up losing her appetite for a while" says Sticky, "Though she didn't scratch at her nose as much."
"Okay. How did she get better?" I write.
"She got better naturally" says Sticky, "Though she did act nauseous at times."
"You mean she just rested?" I write.
"Well, she didn't really take any kind of medicine for it" says Sticky, "And after a few days, she was feeling better."
"Oh, okay." I write, a little surprised.
"I was a little surprised she didn't really need any medicine, either" says Sticky, "Have you ever had these symptoms before?"
"No, I don't think so." I write, shaking my head.
"I've never had them, either" says the Surge.
"Neither" says Sticky.
"Well, that's good to know." I write.
"Yeah" says Sticky, looking at a nearby clock, "I think it's almost time for some of us to head back home."
"Okay. Bye guys." I write.
"Well, I can stay for a while longer" says the Surge, as the other Sugar Rush racers, Miles, and Desmond get up.
"Awesome" I flip my notebook to, patting him on the back.
Eventually, the Sugar Rush racers and the gangster brothers leave, as the blue security guard sits back on the couch to get comfortable. I wave goodbye to the racers and gangster brothers. As I lean, I rest an elbow on the Surge's lap. The Surge leans back against me, holding my paw with his hand and stretching out his legs. I smile at the gesture, as I draw.
"I think I'm still puckish right now." I think, suddenly getting up to get a snack.
"So, what are you drawing?" the Surge asks, as he gets up and follows.
"Just a picture of me leading you." I write, taking a bag of chocolate chips.
"Sounds nice" says the Surge, nodding his agreement.
"Thanks. This will be my second time drawing you." I write.
"No problem" says the Surge, "I'm sure it'll turn out well."
"Yeah. It should, especially since you're gorgeous, man." I write.
The Surge's cheeks suddenly become red, and he shyly murmurs "T-Thanks."
"You're totally welcome, girlfriend." I write, eating a chocolate chip and getting back onto the couch.
The Surge sits back down on the couch as well, turning his head around as he hears a few sniffles and wheezes coming from the hallway.
"Poor guy" the Surge says, "Hopefully, he'll be feeling better by tomorrow, at the least."
"Yeah, totally." I write, nodding and popping a piece of hard candy in my mouth.
