We Can Fix It
Over the weekend, Felix asked Sour Bill and the other royal candy dwellers where the game's database was. He traveled over there hoping he could reset Taffyta's code. And he took Ralph with him as backup because Ralph claimed that he knew several secret ways to get into the game's data.
Meanwhile, Tamora took the kids for a long walk across Twizzler fields. A couple of them were carrying a big picnic basket together, filled with nutritious snacks and treats. They've grown to appreciate a limited amount of artificial sugar in their meals. It seemed to make them less cranky and jittery.
Out of habit, she kept looking down for any cracks or holes in the ground. The space underground could have housed several thousand colonies of cy-bugs.
Just to be safe, she took her sensor.
Candlehead stayed beside her, and asked so many questions about what her mornings were like back in Hero's Duty. Tamora had to think of a heavily simplified version of morning drills and training.
"Well, every day we head on over to the arena, and we start our mornings with a nice long workout." She neglected to mention all the heavy discipline that went into training those poor saps. "And then we battle the enemy from nine-to-five, depending on how good those game geeks are, and then we go home."
"Are your men scared?" Candlehead asked, still shaken from the little adventure she and her siblings went on. "They must be pretty brave if they go through that every single day."
"Eh, trust me, they've been through worse. Especially when I don't have my morning coffee."
Her last statement was barely a mumble.
Candlehead's eyes fell on the small pistol on her side. "Why do you always carry that with you?"
Tamora didn't even realize she'd brought it with her.
"Never can be too careful. We gotta make sure to keep those pests in line."
Candlehead forgot about the possibility of monsters escaping the game. Well, it made sense because she managed to leave the game every day.
"Can I try it?" She asked.
Tamora barked a laugh. "Not a chance."
The little girl hung her head. "Pretty please?"
"No way, Candy-cane. You're not tall enough to ride on that one." Tamora turned her head up at the candy cotton sky and heard the little girl whine softly. "Maybe someday when you've gone through all levels of training."
Candlehead was hopeful. She wondered if it was in her program to become as tall as the soldier lady. Then she could fire all the pistols she wanted. That settled it. She had a new goal to show how responsible she could be with weapons, and try to grow at least a foot taller to be qualified in the first place.
When the children found a place to settle, the two boys carrying the basket set it down and everyone gathered.
Gloyd started handing out packed sandwiches and they all sat on a hill overlooking the fields. The Twizzlers swayed in the cool breeze and a few chocolate birds were chirping nearby.
Swizzle laid back against the ground and pointed out the different-shaped clouds.
"That one looks like a go-kart."
"No it doesn't." Gloyd told him. "It looks like a mushroom."
"You're both delusional." Taffyta said. "It clearly looks like a pillow."
Nougetsia was holding a tape measurer up to the sky and pulled the tape across the cloud. She'd become so interested in finding the exact length of almost everything around her. She also began wearing a pair of pink overalls and a pink cap. She often trailed behind Felix and asked him mathematical questions about the things he repaired. She also asked Tamora what the longest length of her rifle was. There were things that she'd been fascinated by on both sides.
Tamora turned to Candlehead, who was hugging her knees beside her. "Candy-cane, can I ask you something?"
"Uh-huh."
"The other night, I heard you mumble in your sleep." Tamora said, quietly while the others were having a friendly debate about the clouds. "You said you didn't want to lose your people, again."
"Oh, that..." Candlehead lowered her head. "Well, when Ralph came back from the Internet without Vanellope, I was having nightmares. It's kind of fuzzy now but I remember that I was feeling really lonely. Everyone was leaving me. I don't know why, but they didn't tell me 'goodbye' or tell me that they'd be right back." She hugged her knees tighter. "I was really sad." She looked up at the taller lady. "I thought that since Vanellope left, well everyone else was going to do the same."
Tamora remained silent.
"But I don't feel that way anymore." Candlehead told her. "I think I just learned to be okay with it."
"We all did." Crumbelina said as she joined them. "At first, we thought that you all took us in until Ralph came back and were just going to send us back. But then we saw that you actually cared about us."
Tamora felt a slight nudge in the space between her arm and her side. She looked down and saw Nougetsia nuzzling her face into her arm. She was such a cuddly creature. It reminded Tamora of Felix.
"Aw, shucks, you guys are making me feel all fuzzy inside." Tamora said. No one would ever see her let her guard down like this besides her children and her husband. The ones that were the closest to her. She would die if one of her men found her in this state.
Soon, all three children were embracing her, and the rest of them were beaming with gratitude. Of all the missions that Tamora had completed, this one made her feel the most satisfied. Helping fifteen orphans who had lost their home and their leader learn to feel safe and welcomed.
"Look at all of us!" A little voice called from nearby. "Getting along, being a family! Oh, it just brings tears to my eyes!"
Felix was sniffling further into the fields, with Ralph grinning and stifling a laugh at how emotional Felix had just gotten.
Taffyta stood up and wandered over to him. "So what happened?"
"Well, I got good news and not-so-good news." He began. "I fixed up your code as best as I could, but it was still sparking a bit when I left. Your code is stable again, even with the small kinks. So that's good news."
"And the other news?"
Felix frowned. "Well, try as I might, I wasn't able to fix up your kart. It kept falling apart and then it just stayed broken. I'm afraid we might have to replace it."
Taffyta's face deflated. "I worked so hard getting that kart together. I had to win several games and upgrade my first kart a bunch of times. I had to actually go out and fish for parts to make it as awesome as it was..." She hung her head. "It'll take forever to find all of those pieces again..."
Crumbelina appeared at her side and gently grasped her shoulder. "Then we'll all go out and find them together."
Taffyta perked up. "Really? It won't be easy..."
"That's okay," Candlehead told her. "We've all got different places where we found parts for our cars. If we all do it, then it'll go by fast."
Rancis stepped forward. "Yeah, and we can all add some of our own style to it."
"It'll be like a scavenger hunt." Gloyd said.
Ralph raised his hand. "I can make big pieces into smaller pieces for... you know, some sparkly accessories, and stuff."
"And I can put a nice hard candy body for it!" Felix added.
Tamora stood up. "I'll keep an eye out for any creepy crawlies around here." She added, grabbing her pistol. "Got to make sure everyone gets around safely."
Taffyta nodded. "Okay, if you guys insist, you all can help me make a cool new kart."
"Alright," Tamora said. "Now let's get moving, people! We ain't got all day!"
...
Throughout the map, each region had a different part, either as the prize of a mini-game, or a loose part of the landscape waiting to be found. Each of the racers made the long journey by using their karts and keeping their eyes peeled. While Ralph tried to make things easier by carving smoother paths in the rough terrain. Felix reconstructed broken bridges - especially the one over Nesquik Canyon - and parts that were damaged from the map's natural climate.
Tamora fired her pistol at something that she thought was a cy-bug, but it turned out to be a hopping chocolate bunny. Regardless, they all were glad she was there to keep an eye on them.
It had taken a few hours, but eventually they all met up back at the kart bakery with each of the parts in hand.
"Alright, kiddos," Tamora said as they stood in front of the factory door. "Are y'all ready to construct the greatest kart ever in existence?"
"Yeah!" They all cheered, including the two men in the background.
"Then let's roll!"
Taffyta hopped onto the control panel and started up the machinery. While she completed the mini-game, each of the kids were shouting out different suggestions, but too many of them were talking at once and it was difficult to follow any of them.
"One at a time, please!" Taffyta asked in a loud tone.
She kept the majority of the features the same. Strawberry hard candy with a hint of taffy mixed in. The extra parts were the spoiler made out of a peanut butter candy cup by Rancis; four different-colored wheels by Minty Zaki, Sticky, Torvald, and Minty Sakura; a pumpkin antennae ball; a cooling feature that sprayed a burst of snow if the engine overheated by Snowanna, Adorabeezle, and Nougetsia; a brown-colored heart on the side by Crumbelina; a violet and red mirror by Citrisella and Jubileena; a green-lollipop license plate by Swizzle; and two candle headlights.
To top it off, Felix and Ralph added a special offense feature where a massive hammer would pop out when a button was pressed.
Taffyta wasn't even worried about it looking strange when it came out. She was so overjoyed by everyone lending her a helping hand that she couldn't have cared less if a giant cinderblock with wheels came out.
The vehicle that did come out was much larger than her last one. It was grand and big and seemingly important. It looked similar to the kind of kart one would find at the boss level of the game.
It was fit for a leader.
Taffyta was speechless. And Candlehead stepped forward and asked, "Well, do you like it?"
"Guys..." Taffyta began. "I love it! This tops every single kart I've ever built before! Thank you, guys!"
"We did it!"
And Ralph stepped forward and scooped the entire crowd - with Felix and Tamora - into one giant hug.
"We're the best family in the whole world!" He bellowed into the factory.
Though their bodies were being squished by the wrecker's big arms, the other two adults smiled widely.
AN: Good lord, I'm getting a cavity just by reading over this chapter. I took a few days in between writing chapters because I'm trying not to get too burnt out from writing.
As always, thanks for everyone who has kept up with this story. I'm glad that I've gotten this far this fast in one of my long-term stories.