A/N: Extreme Hearts is back! It went on a hiatus so I could write 2 more WiR stories, one of them the sequel to Violin's Song titled Devastated, and the other as a short response fic to the Covid-19 pandemic titled Go See The World. The latter is posted in full and can be read now, while Devastated won't be published until after Extreme Hearts is complete. That should give you time to read Violin's Song to fuel up on all the details. But as a sampler of the next big thing from me, I created a potential cover poster and some random sketches of the story on my DeviantArt. Give those a visit for a sneak peek!
I normally don't break away from my stories like this, but this is the first one that I'm experimenting a chapter-by-chapter publishing method…which I don't recommend, because a story always flows best when the whole thing has been planned out from start to finish. Granted in my case, I worked well ahead and currently have the next parts all set to go. The final chapter has also been outlined, but just needs to be written.
Part 10 – New Revelations
The months passed and Sugar Rush did not fail to bring good profit to Mr. Litwak's arcade. His visitors were trilled for the return of their favourite fast-paced candy racing game, and now played it more than ever. They were, of course, surprised and confused as to why Vanellope no longer seemed available in the random selection of racers, but thankfully, this did not seem to deter from gameplay traffic. If anything, Sugar Rush saw more plays than ever. In similar fashion of Fix-It Felix Jr., perhaps its temporary hiatus and revival had sparked a refreshed interest in playing it, for this kind of popularity hadn't been seen since it first arrived to the arcade. And that was saying plenty since Sugar Rush was one of Litwak's most popular games.
Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, and the racers were all happy together too. They followed through with Felix's idea and the kids visited their parents almost every night after holding their Random Roster race to slept over on Saturday nights. Seeing how gathering together made this weird family so happy, and knowing that he had many more friends than just Vanellope now, Ralph decided to spread this kind of joy with not just his closest buddies, but with everyone. So, he came up with the idea to have little social parties every Friday night hosted by a different game each time to bring even more characters together. Everyone was on board with this, and before long, the barriers separating the different gaming worlds began to dismantle, allowing for all to get to know each other better. Ralph truly was a professional wrecker, but this was one thing he had never thought of tearing down until now.
All the kids pitched in and worked together when it was their turn to host a Friday night social. They weren't just professional racers. Putting their baking skills and creative minds together really benefitted, especially since their game was bursting with delicious treats. Eager to impress their visitors with their individual talents, Jubileena baked her famous cherry pies and Crumbelina broke out her exclusive Italian desserts. Adorabeezle kept every party stocked with ice cream and popsicles dipped in the finest frozen juices and glazes that only she knew of up in Soft Serve Summit. When Halloween rolled around, Gloyd went full out in directing the decoration process. That Friday night saw at least a thousand Jack-o-lanterns.
Within the little group of 10 racers, there too were new changes. Taffyta still retained a slight glow of her conceited, tough self, but nothing overbearing. She was now also very kind and pleasant with those around her, and connected with her fellow racers at a much deeper level, which helped in many ways since she had taken over Vanellope's duties as Sugar Rush's president. Life in their sugary racing game pretty much returned to normal, aside from the improved behaviours of the kids. At times when the stresses of leading her people started getting to Taffyta's head and threatening to rip her to pieces in frustration, Candlehead was always there to help calm her heart.
Rancis and Gloyd followed Swizzle's example and tried socializing with the girls a bit more instead of just sticking to their usual boy band. Gloyd struggled with this department, given that he was the last of the trio to be all friendly and soft, yet Rancis didn't seem to have any trouble. It just fell more naturally for him than for Gloyd.
Candlehead took to their new karaoke machine immensely. The first thing she had done after their first day of racing following Sugar Rush's return was to rush to The Sweet Spot village lounge and hook up their parents' gift. For many days after, she entertained the candy citizens by letting her heart sing a happy song with any chance she found.
And as for Swizzle and Minty, they continued to stick together closely, and accelerated their adventurous endeavours. Somehow, the events following the unplugging had brought them closer than ever before, and they grabbed every chance after the days' worth of racing to check out any game they could venture into. Swizzle really had no idea why they had never thought to expand their explorations to all of the outlets of Game Central, for it had never occurred to him that there were so many more worlds to see outside Sugar Rush. He and Minty spent much of their free time together game-jumping and discovering all kinds of cool new things to do. They shot baskets at Hoop Jamz and rode ostriches in Joust; they played tag in Pac-Man much to the annoyance of Blinky, Pinky, Inky, and Clyde. They stole burgers from Burger Time before taking their loot to the quiet streets of Paperboy to snack on. After Tron had its virus fixed, the kids took to racing each other in this alternate racing environment. But no matter where they went, home was always in two places: Sugar Rush and Fix-It Felix Jr.
Admittedly though, there was a third game that the pair often found themselves visiting again and again, and that was Dance Dance Revolution. Emi, Yuni, and Disco were always happy to see the duo; even Rage was beginning to warm up to them, flashing a smile at them once every blue moon. The stadium raves, obnoxiously loud music, and flashing colour technology were to die for, and neither Swizzle nor Minty could get enough of them. And yes, along with the epic dance battles, there were the occasional slow dances. And the more they danced with each other, the better with their steps they became.
Somehow, they had both mutually agreed that they would keep their trips to DDR a secret from the other racers. That might have explained why they kept 'forgetting' to bring Snowanna along to check out this place.
One night during the following winter, when Calhoun finally decided to introduce her children to her game (after wisely adding in all of their codes), Swizzle and Minty went full out in braving the dangerous apocalyptic lands of Hero's Duty, armed with powerful ion blasters and super-charged firearms bigger than their own bodies to destroy the thousands of man-eating Cy-Bugs. Most of the girls like Jubileena and Crumbelina were absolutely terrified with this game, but not Minty. She jumped right into the heat of the action, laughing like a maniac as she took on the bugs with full force and unleashing her bullets for the love of spraying ammunition and spilling bug guts in all directions. Swizzle thought she was wonderful.
This was related to something that had been flipping back and forth within his mind over the last few weeks. Among all these new changes brought upon his life, Swizzle couldn't stop thinking about what Rancis and Gloyd had off-handedly babbled on about during their second night living in Fix-It Felix Jr. at the penthouse party.
With everything considered, he did like Minty a lot. After their adoption, he had grown closer to all of his friends and was now very fond of the other girls, but there was a special place in his heart that was always reserved for Minty. It wasn't hard to see that she was the most important girl to him, but there was something else…
As time had gone on and the two had spent more and more time together, he had quietly begun to notice the characteristic things that lay inside of Minty: how sweet and kind she was to him, so loyal and protective. And he wanted to protect her. Making her happy was what made him happy. More than anything, she made him feel happy inside. But it wasn't quite the happiness that he felt when he was chatting with Crumbelina, or braving expeditions up Frozen Frosty Heights with Adorabeezle. Sure, he felt great vibes with them, yet Minty was different. With her, he felt a different kind of vibe. One that made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside, turning his legs to sugary Jell-O, causing his brain to freeze as a warm sensation zapped the warmth away to melt his candy heart and render even the bold and brave Swizzle Malarkey almost a little shy under her brown-eyed gaze.
She had never held back from giving Swizzle friendly hugs, but lately, they had been hugging a lot more than they normally did. And not only that, but her hugs were making him feel this peculiar way. Same with the slow dances they shared in Dance Dance Revolution. And whenever she smiled at him. If was almost as if he now felt nervous whenever they got so close to each other, but at the same time, secretly wanted to get even closer to her…
Swizzle Malarkey's eyes suddenly snapped open. At present, he was lying in his sleeping bag on the carpeted floor of Felix's dark living room on this peaceful Saturday night. The sounds of his sleeping friends were all around him, but his mind was ablaze with a sudden revelation that had struck him cold. As if he were a dead body rising from his tombstone-guarded coffin by some supernatural force, Swizzle sat straight up with his eyes wide in the pitch darkness and his mind alive with this startling discovery.
I love her, he thought to himself, but this statement echoed loudly in the chambers of his sugar-coated mind. I can't believe I'm saying this but…I think I'm in love with Minty.
He stared straight ahead with his heart beating rapidly as he thought this conclusion over and over. He had always been known around Sugar Rush for his smooth-talking, cool-guy mannerisms, alongside his tendency for being a bit of a flirt. Nowadays, Felix and Calhoun's teachings had directed these traits towards behaving more of a gentleman, as was the same with Rancis, but Swizzle had never expected to actually fall in love, having never had any idea of what it felt like. Admittedly though, he had seen many examples in the form of the public displays of affection that Felix and Calhoun never bothered to hide for each other. Gloyd was openly disgusted whenever these showed up, but Swizzle always remained respectfully silent. He saw this kind of thing all the time from his parents, but not once had he ever connected any of it with him.
But seeing it and feeling it were two entirely different things. He had realized how he had been getting increasingly attached to Minty over the past few months, yet he had never really understood it fully until now.
The reason why he had felt oddly nervous when they had talked to each other for the first time in Sour Patch Gulch…
How excited he became whenever he and Minty went on adventures together…
The way he had felt for her when he had comforted her after the unplugging…
The fear that had jolted his body into action when she had almost fallen to her death off the side of the Niceland apartment building…
How much he looked forward to visiting DDR with high hopes of getting to dance with her to one of those mushy love songs…
How much he couldn't stop thinking about that kiss she gave him when Sugar Rush returned…
I love her, he thought to himself one more time, and this time, there was a smile growing upon his face. He couldn't believe it. What had been right in front of him all this time for years had been too close for him to see. But with his eyes and his mind now open, it became all clear to him. Swizzle lay back down in his sleeping bag and turned his head to look over at the dark form lying next to him; snoozing peacefully by his side was his good friend Minty Zaki. They were lying in the exact same spots that they had grabbed on their first night here all those months ago. Barely able to contain his growing excitement, he extended a hand out to lightly place it upon hers that lay idle by her side.
Watch out Minty, I'm gonna take you on the best adventure you've ever had, he thought with growing determination.
A low creak suddenly reached his ears and a shaft of light streamed briefly into the room as the front door opened a crack. Swizzle turned his head just in time to spot what looked like Candlehead slipping out the before the door closed, plunging the room in darkness once more. Moments later, there was a shuffling noise coming from the other side of the room, and the same thing happened again, only this time, Swizzle spotted Rancis sneaking out. He blinked.
"Where the heck are they going?" he muttered to himself. He wondered if he should go after them to investigate, but decided against this. It probably wasn't important anyway.
Besides, he had something a hundred times more important to think about now. Tomorrow, he was going to tell her. He was going to present to Minty the answer to all the problems she had ever had and ever would have again. He couldn't wait for it to be morning.