Chapter 18 – Snowanna's Redemption

Her question caught him off-guard. Why was she asking this?

"Of course I did," he muttered. "Do you really need to wonder about that? I told you I was worried."

Crumbelina's smile grew just a little bit. She turned to look out to the view once more, her arms resting on the ledge. "I just wanted to know because…I missed you too," she murmured softly.

Gloyd frowned in confusion. "But...how could you miss me?" he asked, looking at her still-sparkling face. "You were sleeping the whole time."

"Maybe not the whole time."

"What?"

The glowing girl paused for a quiet moment, still gazing out to the land below. "I'm not exactly sure how to describe this, Gloyd, or how much you're willing to believe it," she began in a soft voice. "But the whole time when I was out…I was still awake, but not exactly. I didn't feel quite connected with my code. It was like I was trapped in another level of the game's data board."

Gloyd stared incredulously. "Whoa, really? You mean you were like…in limbo?"

"Maybe," she said. "I'm not too sure where I was, to be honest. But all I can remember…is feeling like I was in a dream, but far too awake to be sleeping. It was so bizarre. It almost seemed like I was bouncing back and forth between the game and an unknown blank void. I was completely aware of my surroundings, but somehow my code just couldn't sync properly. That may have been why I couldn't return to the game no matter how hard I tried. It was like I wasn't able to calibrate or something like that."

The boy listened to her, trying to fabricate this surreal image for himself, but failing to picture what Lina could be talking about or experienced. "What else do you remember?" he asked her tentatively.

Lina finally turned to look at him. "I remember that I was in glitching pixels, as if just a fragment of my code was holding me together. I tried my very hardest to leave this state…but I couldn't."

"And then I began to hear voices," she went on. "They were muffled, so I couldn't understand what they were saying. But I recognized them all. I heard Vanellope, Dad, Taffyta, Candlehead, and you."

Gloyd blushed, for he had said quite a lot to Lina's silent body over the course of the night. For some reason, half of him was thankful she hadn't heard his words to her…but the other half was disappointed.

"I tried calling out, hoping someone would hear me, but no one did. And I became so sca-…worried that I would be trapped forever."

Catching the brief, but distinct correction in her speech, Gloyd wondered for a moment if she had been about to say the word 'scared' instead of worried. But there was something much more pressing that he wanted to know.

"How did you manage to come back?" he asked.

Crumbelina looked down at her hands. It almost looked like she was embarrassed to say what she had to say next. "I heard crying."

"Huh?"

"I heard crying," she said again. "Someone was crying. I didn't know who it was, but it was someone in distress. And I simply can't stand crying. So I concentrated as hard as I could to focus on my code. I had to strain myself a lot in order to return…that might have been where my headache came from. And somehow, after a lot of tries, I finally did it. The code and I became one again, and I glitched back to the game similar to how Vanellope can glitch herself back and forth. And that's when I woke up and saw you."

"But the weirdest part of it all…" she whispered, now looking away from him with a faint blush beneath her pink glow "…the one who was crying...almost sounded like you."

Silence fell between them. Gloyd felt his mind tense uncomfortably. But after a moment of thought, he decided to come clean. "You're right. It was me."

The wisps of glowing pink light surrounding Crumbelina illuminated just a bit brighter as she met his gaze. "You?"

Now it was his turn to look embarrassed. "Yeah. I was the one crying."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly before speaking quietly to her. "Look. Ever since the accident, I was really messed up," he admitted, trying hard to keep from mumbling. "I was scared. My whole mind went into a tailspin. The whole time I hung in there, believing that you would come back. But…just before you woke up, I was seriously starting to think that you wouldn't."

Gloyd looked down at the tower's flat rooftop, feeling his voice starting to crack as he continued to unlock his thoughts while holding back nothing.

"It was just so hard for me to see you like that. And it broke me to think that you were…you know…going to die," he struggled. "And then, I guess I couldn't keep it inside me any longer. Jubileena, Adorabeezle, everyone else was crying nonstop when they lifted you out of that ravine, but I kept everything locked inside…until that moment when I thought I lost you forever. I looked at you…and thought of all the things about you that I was going to miss. They were everything that I loved so much about you. And I thought of how all those things would disappear if you weren't going to make it. If I lost you, then the only thing left would be memories."

Lina gazed at Gloyd, her mind quite stunned by what he was saying. Then her own memories began replaying, remembering how hurt Gloyd had been when he had revealed to her his secret fear of losing the few friends he had. How he had torn himself apart a month ago upon ranting how Swizzle and Rancis fading from his life had felt. And the same with Vanellope in the popcorn box last night.

And now…she was the one whom he had felt was slipping away. But this time, permanently.

"Ohhh, that must have been so hard for you…" she whispered sympathetically.

The boy sniffed, still staring at the ground. It was taking every ounce of his coded being to not cry in front of her. "Yeah. Yeah, it was," he mumbled. "But…it was gonna be okay, y'know? I decided that I would carry on for your sake. You wouldn't want me moping around for the rest of my life. You'd want me to keep racing and making friends and being happy. I was going to do it…at least try to, even with a broken candy heart. I'm just…sorry for giving up on you at the last moment."

A mixture of confusion and astonishment filled Crumbelina in the chest. "Giving up on me? What do you mean?"

He made a half-attempt at a shrug. "Right at the end, I stopped believing that you would come back. Gave up all hope and finally decided that you weren't going to make it. What kind of friend does that make me? A pretty lousy one to just quit on ya."

The girl took a step towards him, a little at a loss of what to say to this. "Pumpkin Pie…"

Gloyd suddenly lifted his head back up to meet her eyes, finally deciding that he was tired of staying silent. "Okay, look, words aren't really my thing, but I'll try to say this anyway…"

Her eyes widened.

With the lessons he had learned up to this point from Vanellope, Jubileena, Minty, and most of all Crumbelina, along with all the idle thoughts that had been quietly building up inside his mind over the last four weeks now laid out in front of him like one large open book, the Halloween racer took a big breath and said his piece.

"The thing is, Crumbelina," he said slowly, "you're…important to me. Even in the single month since we really met, you've meant everything to me. You gave me a reason to live and made me want to change myself for the better. I had always known this, but to have you taken away from me out of the blue like that…seemed to make it click in my head for the first time. Gave me the biggest wake-up call of my life."

Feeling the heat in his cheeks, Gloyd closed his eyes, as he found that he could no longer look at her. He didn't want to break down in front of her, but at the same time, felt the urge to tell her just what exactly he had been going through all night. "I was so scared that you would leave me," he moaned. "You were one of my only real friends ever. One of the only ones who's really…understood me. And it took losing you to make me realize how much I need you."

Crumbelina's hand rose to her rapidly beating heart. She started to speak, but Gloyd cut her off.

"When I accepted that you might be deleted forever…I vowed that I would never forget you," he sighed resolutely. "Every race from now on was gonna be for you. And every moment we spent together since the night I tried to prank you…I was never gonna forget. How could I? They were some of my new favourite memories ever."

His hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets and his back slumped low as if it was being weighed down by a sack filled with rock candy on his shoulders. Stray tears leaked from his eyes and dropped down to the floor, but he finally worked up the nerve to look back up at her, the words Vanellope had told him echoing through his digital soul. "You made me the happiest racer in the world by becoming my friend. That was the best memory of all."

A warm wind skimmed peacefully over the tower as the two young racers stood there together. Crumbelina felt both mesmerized and immensely touched. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to think. She had always known that she was special to him, maybe even as far as his favourite among the girls at best, but to actually hear him confess his feelings of deepest care and affection for her was another thing entirely.

And it was in that very moment when something hidden in her heart clicked. A certain something that she had questioned of its existence numerous times before, but had never fully established until now. Gloyd's confession had done just that.

Before Gloyd knew what was happening, Crumbelina's arms were wrapped around him and her chin was resting on his shoulder.

"Pumpkin Pie," she whispered into his ear. "If what you're saying is true…then you didn't give up on me at all. In fact, you believed in me."

He blinked. "Huh?" he uttered, completely clueless.

"You did," she whispered. "You believed in everything I taught you. And you were willing to move on and continue that legacy for me. For my sake. You were going to keep on living, knowing that this would be exactly what I would want you to do. You were going to try your very best. And to me, well, that's a big deal."

Gloyd felt her arms tighten around him as he tried to process her words. His own arms did not touch her though, feeling rather unworthy of hugging her back. "I…I couldn't let you down," he mumbled at last.

"And you weren't going to," she replied. "You weren't going to forget me, or let me die in vain…all because you let me into your heart. Just like I hoped you would."

His memory slowly dawned back to the previous night, when she had told him this. Before he could think of a response, Crumbelina's Italian-laced voice drifted softly into his ear again.

"Everything you said…about you being the happiest racer since we first met and how our time together would be your favourite memories…it's true for me too."

"It is?" he asked weakly.

"Yes, Gloyd," she whispered. "It is."

She caressed his back gently. "Over the last month, I…I've found that I've grown very, very fond of you, far more than I've ever had with anyone, but I've never been quite able to tell you. You make me happy every day. It's hard to believe that just a short while ago, I used to think you were just a selfish, obnoxious troublemaker…but now, you're so precious to me that I could never let you go either because…you're in my heart too."

Gloyd felt his cheeks burn as she buried her face into his shoulder. As his mind slowly managed to whir into motion, he finally put his arms around her protectively to complete the hold. She was like a flower, so delicate and fragile that he couldn't squeeze too hard lest he crush her, but at the same time, wanted to hold her as tightly as he could to press out the last of his anguished feelings still trapped deeply inside. He hugged her closer to his chest and listened to her steady breathing pattern, the last tears that had been hiding away finally dropped to the floor.

They stayed like this for a several minutes, just holding each other in comforting silence. Slowly but surely, Gloyd's heart began to calm.

With her hands resting on his shoulders, Crumbelina pulled back just enough to look him straight in the eye. Lowering his arms, Gloyd looked at her as well, and was suddenly awestruck by how breathtakingly beautiful she was: still glowing faintly and surrounded with gleaming sparkles that combined with the rich metallic finish of her outfit, the gentle golden swirls of her flawless cinnamon hair buns that hung from her head in perfect symmetry, the splash of vibrant orange of the rose in her hair, and her honey-amber eyes gazing softly at him, she looked like an angel that had descended from the heavenly bounds to take him away. He already knew she looked this amazing before her update, but now…

"And it's not just that," she went on in hushed tones, oblivious to his entranced gaze upon her. "I've watched you change yourself and become so much happier and far sweeter since the day we met. I haven't told you this before, but I'm so proud of you, Gloyd. And after this near-death experience…I've never been happier to see your face again."

Gloyd blinked out of his trance and, very slowly, his features softened as he felt his heart rise from the depths of darkness, lifting a small smile to his face. "Then I guess that makes two of us," he whispered.

It was hard to tell, but he swore that under her bright surreal shine, Crumbelina's cheeks had begun blushing again as she smiled sweetly at him.

She embraced him again, this time letting herself fall into him, snuggling the side of her head into his chest as her arms wrapped around his neck. A bit surprised by this gesture, one that had never been given to him before, Gloyd responded by draping one arm around her shoulders to hold her close, and letting his face rest upon her glowing hair, his other arm just hanging obsolete against his body. His lip quivered as his heart hammered against his chest.

"You have no idea how much I really, really missed you, Lina," he murmured.

Lina let out a soft chuckle, pressing her ear to his beating heart. "I think I have a pretty clear idea, actually."

Breathing in her sweet cinnamon scent and exhaling deeply, Gloyd let out a breath that he didn't know he had been holding, and with it, the last of his worries and fears finally blew away. At long last, for the first time since today's tragedy, he felt relaxed and at peace, with his friend tucked under his arm as a way of letting her know that he was not going to let her disappear again.

Her voice, so familiar and comforting to him now with its rich Italian splendor, lifted into his ears again, albeit muffled by the fabric of his shirt as she spoke softly. "And if you're still feeling bad about any of this, Gloyd, I just need you to know one thing…"

"What is it?" he asked when she didn't answer right away.

Crumbelina took in a deep careful breath and gripped the material of his jacket tightly. "If it had been you who died today…then it would be me forever left with a broken candy heart."

Gloyd said nothing. He just closed his eyes and heard her speak lower than a whisper.

"I love you so much."

His eyes flew open and his programming went into hyperdrive. She just said 'love'. But what love was that? Jubileena had taught him about two kinds of love today. Which of the two kinds of love did Lina mean just now? He didn't know.

But did he need to know? His thoughts ceased to spiral as he realized something much more important: here he was, with Lina – whom he had almost lost today – snuggled to his chest, alive this very moment under a sea of candy stars in their own game called Sugar Rush. What more than that could he possibly ask for? In this present time, he decided that he didn't mind not knowing. Too relieved he was to have his friend back safely where she belonged, that this burning question felt unnecessary, at least for now. Only one thing mattered: she was alive. She was here, not just in this game or in his arms, but in his heart. Right here. Right now.

And she loved him.

With all this in mind, Gloyd wrapped his other arm around her shoulders to embrace her fully, and said the most honest thing he could ever tell her.

"I love you too."

Hearing his words, Crumbelina blushed deeply and let out a contented sigh. Never before had she been happier to be alive.

As the reunited kids remained locked in a long-awaited embrace, Snowanna Rainbeau, with her favourite sugar-plated guitar in hand, was lounging lazily on the wide flattop windowsill of her guestroom, which happened to be on the other side of the castle courtyard, directly facing the west tower. Similar to what Crumbelina had used to do before she had found Gloyd lying on her doorstep on that faithful night, Snowanna was using her musical chords as a vehicle to release some deep hidden feelings…that is, until a little while ago. She had been watching Lina and Gloyd on the tower's rooftop together from the moment she had seen them step up there.

And though there was still a lot of guilt for how she had handled today's situation lingering in her mind, Snowanna found reason to smile, finally coming to terms that she could at last trust Gloyd. For nearly all her life, she had been very skeptical of the prankster, even more so when Lina had taken a keen interest in him for whatever reason. That final blow she had delivered upon him after the accident may have very well been all her bitter energy centered around Gloyd accumulated inside her for years and unleashed in one violent outburst. It was going to take some time before she really felt she could truly earn Gloyd's forgiveness.

But now, seeing her two fellow-racers clearly so happy to see each other again after today's horrific events, Snowanna finally found peace in her heart to accept Gloyd for who he was. A true friend.

Glancing down at her instrument, she felt an idea spark her mind. Even though Gloyd had forgiven her, she still felt there was something she could do to make it up to him. Plugging the conductive Candy Cable into her nearby amplifier and swinging the guitar into position, she began to strum the chords to one of the songs that Yuni Verse of Dance Dance Revolution had taught her. One that Lina also knew very well.

"This one's for you, Gloyd," she whispered.

It was the first time she had ever dedicated a performance to him.

"I guess your heart of gold really paid off again," Gloyd said loftily. "It was your natural kindness that saved you."

Crumbelina smirked as she pulled out of their passionate hold and held both his hands in hers. The children were standing as silhouettes, one glowing pink and the other not, against the bright circle moon on that rooftop, though they failed to notice; they only had eyes for each other.

"For once in your life, Gloyd, you don't have to try to be modest," she told him. "You were the one who saved me. It was your heart of gold that brought me back. Trust me, gold is one of my programmed specialties. And I also know that I owe my life to you."

He took in her words as something new dawned upon him. "You mean…you saved my life…and now I saved yours?"

"Well, if you look at it that way…yes, I suppose 'a life for a life' could describe our little bond," she said with a giggle.

Then she blushed and glanced down at their conjoined hands bashfully. "Earlier on...you said that you thought of things that you loved about me…"

She looked up into his eyes, her own eyes twinkling with hope. "What were those things?"

Before Gloyd could say anything, he became aware of music that was unexpectedly filling the night sky. It sounded like it was coming from somewhere below him, but he couldn't tell where. It was a soft, gentle melody, a little like Lina's soothing music from her violin, but this was a guitar.

Crumbelina, however, smiled as she recognized Snowanna's acoustic strums to that DDR song 'Perfect'. Though she couldn't see her, she knew that her best friend had to be close by. And somehow, just by being her best friend, she felt she knew why Snowanna was playing this song right now. Feeling the rhythm melt into the fabric of her mind, she began to sway gently to the melody.

Gloyd's smile faded in surprise as Lina, who was still holding his hands, slowly pulled him away from the ledge to the centre of the tower's rooftop. Without a word, she began to move them in small simple circles in time to the music.

The magic sparkles that emitted from her seemed to surround them now as they danced silently upon the rooftop hand in hand. A swirling energy seemed to raise their feet off the candied cobblestone, letting them float in the air as if they were weightless, sparkles glistening beneath them. All of the world seemed to close away, like they were dancing upon their own little cloud. Gloyd did not know what was happening right now; he had never danced with anyone before, nor did he know how. So he just followed her movements as she led them to the peaceful music, feeling himself quite lost in the moment. It was all like a dream. Words couldn't describe the feeling inside him; it was like he was dancing with an angel.

Crumbelina's heart swelled with joy as she led Gloyd in a graceful waltz; she took her eyes off of him so she could rest her head upon his shoulder and hold him close as they swayed to the music, which continued to fill the sweet air. Music was one of elements of life that she had always connected closest to, and right now, it resonated through her heart, allowing all her worries and thoughts blow away in exchange for just sharing this time with Gloyd.

He gazed down at the girl in his arms. She was smiling and her eyes were closed; it looked like she was asleep. Maybe this really was a dream…a beautiful dream that he did not want to wake up from. So he held her a little closer and leaned into her. It seemed to be the natural thing to do in this moment.

Upon this tower, their fears and their troubles were lost to the night time breeze. All they had was each other. And neither of them would give that up for anything.

Snowanna's music ended and their feet gently touched down to the rooftop once more.

For a moment, they said nothing as they looked at each other in a whole new light. Lina slowly reached a hand up to cup Gloyd's cheek in her palm, her eyes twinkling in the night glow. She wasn't seeking confirmation that he was real this time; she knew completely now. This time…she simply wanted to feel him.

Gloyd stared into Lina's eyes, dazed and captivated by everything that had just happened. As his senses slowly returned to him, he noticed that Lina was no longer sparkling.

"Hey…I think you're finally done updating," he whispered.

She broke eye contact to look over herself, also now becoming aware that the sparkles and glow that had followed her all through the night had now vanished completely. "I must be," she whispered back.

"How do you feel?" Gloyd asked as he examined her thoroughly. Even in the light of the moon, he could tell that Lina was now truly experiencing the wonders of the update: she was shinier and glossier, and her rich outline seemed to stand out against the night darkness. Her gold jacket and bronze skirt seemed to shimmer even more brightly now, and her movements had a subtle enhancement that gave her an extra touch of elegance. She looked amazing.

"I feel…different," she said slowly, though Gloyd could tell that she was in awe. She let go of his hands so she could step back to examine herself. Then, out of the blue, she spontaneously twirled on the spot like a ballerina, her arms widespread and her skirt flaring out like a sparkling fan. "It's…it's gorgeous!" she gasped with a growing smile on her face.

Gloyd's smile matched hers as she then broke out in that cute happy dance of hers, cupping her hands to her chin and jiggling about with her eyes closed. But this time, there was so much more reason for her clear excitement than just winning a race.

"I feel so refreshed!" she gushed. "And polished. And…"

"Beautiful?"

She stopped swaying about (and found she had ended up a good six feet away from him now) and glanced at him in surprise when he suggested this particular word. "Yes," she murmured in a transfixed voice. It actually did seem to sum up this rejuvenated sensation filling her up inside, but she had not expected Gloyd to think of that.

"Good," he said, folding his arms and grinning smugly, though with a gleam of hope in his eye. "Cuz that's what you are right now. Beautiful on the inside…and on the outside too."

Crumbelina's cheeks flushed a brilliant magenta, but with it shone a bright tender smile. It had been worth absolutely everything to regenerate just to see Gloyd again.

A force lighter than air sent her drifting straight back to him in one swift push, and the next thing he knew, her face was just an inch away from his own and one hand was pressed upon his chest.

"You know, for someone who claims that words aren't his thing…" she purred seductively, her heart overwhelmed with flooding emotion "…you are one sweet talker."

Lifting one foot into the air behind her, she kissed him.

His eyes glazed and the colour of his cheeks instantly matched the dozen floating hearts that had materialized to float around their heads. Gloyd would never tell her or even admit it to himself, but he had truly been waiting for that one thing from her all day.

Feeling quite giddy, he couldn't suppress the dopey grin on his face. "Still think I'm an idiot?" he challenged.

Crumbelina grinned back and shook her head in fond amusement. "No…you're an adorable idiot," she corrected firmly, waving a pixelated heart away from her face.

"My adorable idiot."

A/N: And there you have it. The big scene I was anticipating the most since the very beginning and the one that I feel the majority of you were waiting for. It's not the longest in word-length, nor does a whole lot happen in it compared to previous chapters. But it is by far the story's most significant…as of now. It took a while for our characters to reach this point, but all the steps taken to get here were not only necessary, but worth it. And the story still isn't quite done, as there's just a few chapters left, so keep hanging on!

Seth: You amaze me in the way that you truly do read this story like a book! Your predictions have been on point and analysis always fun to see whether you have cracked the code. And as with your review for the previous chapter, you're right on the money and I'll dive a little further into what that means in the final chapter.

car9723: You're right, Chapter 17 did offer a sample of some of Crumbelina's own character flaws. She's just another racer after all, and just as Gloyd has seen for himself, she's not perfect. She's just really good at hiding her imperfections. We will discover one more flaw within her before this story is through, the one that will need to be uncovered in order to truly tie this story together.

momojelly: Chapter 15 was sweet enough to melt your heart…but was this sweet enough to melt it a second time?