It's a Perfect Beginning
Taffyta had never been so nervous before in her entire life. This wasn't just any Random Roster Race. To her, this would determine whether or not she would continue to be as important of a racer as the others.
Moments before the race, she'd already made the announcement with more confidence than the first time, and turned to the adults on the side for their support. All three of them gave her a unified thumbs-up.
The whole family huddled together to exchange a few words of positivity.
"Remember, no matter who wins," Felix began, looking at all fifteen of them. "You're all special and we still love you every bit as much as before."
"Everyone's a winner to us, cadets." Tamora said.
Taffyta looked at the floor. "What if the gamers don't like me?"
"They'll love you and your amazing kart, Taffy." Tamora said to her.
"Yeah, it was made with a lot of love and creativity." Felix told her.
Ralph patted her on the head. "You got a lot of spunk, kiddo. Don't forget that."
She wasn't entirely convinced, and kept telling herself it was okay. She still had a place outside of racing. And she could have always tried the next race. She hopped into her newly constructed kart, which was bigger than the others but tactfully placed in the center.
"I sure hope you win, Taffyta." Rancis said right beside her.
"No way, you deserve to win way more, Rancis."
The other reason for Taffyta's anxiousness was that the little discovery she'd made after she fiddled with her code hadn't disappeared completely. And she'd spent all weekend trying to use it to her advantage.
It was a lot harder than she expected, trying to utilize this break in her code at will. But when she thought she had it down, she managed to send both the racers and the attacks several feet behind her.
She could only dodge the racers and attacks once at a given time. And her strategy was to gain the upper hand ahead of the others. That way she'd only have to dodge one or two of them.
And they were all off.
Getting used to the kart was a bit of a struggle because it was much more heavy and less slim than her Pink Lightning. But she was a fast learner. She used all of its features wisely.
Even if they were new and much more fancy, they still took time to recharge.
"Coming through!" She shouted as she passed the first five. There was another feature added by Jubileena that was a canon shooting out large cherries. She got at least three of her rival racers, but the other two were still in.
That was okay. She was trying to catch up to the more aggressive ones. When Taffyta accidentally used one of her attacks on Nougetsia, she actually felt bad about it.
"Sorry!" She yelled at the little snow racer.
In response, Nougetsia just smiled and waved at her.
Up Birthday Cake Boulevard, she had to shift the kart into its highest gear and push the gas pedal all the way to the bottom. But her multi-colored kart sped past them all. She saw a Sweet Seeker heading her way and she was about to use the magic touch of her new glitch.
But then hesitated and instead swerved the kart.
The vehicle almost spun out of control but she managed. On Soft Serve Summit, she took the newly crafted shortcut Ralph made that took her through the mountain and inside the rock candy caves that were illuminated with glowing gems.
Taffyta was almost distracted by the exotic scenery around her.
"You're going to lose, Taffyta!" Gloyd shouted from behind. His candy corn kart was coming up fast.
Taffyta looked at the big, obvious red button on the control panel. And when she pushed it, a massive hammer popped out and smashed the front of Gloyd's kart.
"No fair!" Gloyd whined.
"I thought you said you liked my new style!" Taffyta laughed.
Finally, she was approaching the finish line, where she could see Rancis at the front and Candlehead lagging behind. Taffyta saw that she wouldn't have been able to pass Rancis unless she made a huge leap with her kart in front of him.
Taffyta sped past Candlehead, who was cheering her on as she normally did. She made her way towards Rancis and the whole entire world seemed to still for the next five seconds.
The front of her kart was positioned towards the back of his, and she reached out with her arm. The tip of her finger sparked. She could feel that every pixel of her being was fired up with anticipation and excitement. The first few times she'd done it, it was a bit of a painful experience. It still felt like tiny needles poking into her arm whenever she'd done it, because her body glitched along with the objects, and the pixels fell apart and came back together in the same second.
But after a while, it seemed almost like second nature. She was still a little iffy, because the success of her glitching usually depended on her confidence. But she remembered a bit of advice given by her parents about trusting in her own abilities.
...
"If I doubted myself whenever I fired at a cy-bug, I probably wouldn't be able to hit 'em." Tamora told her as she stood beside the pink racer and her kart. "My aim becomes all wonky and my head's not in the game. I'll be unbalanced like a three-legged stool holding a heavy stack of phone books. If you want to do it, you have to believe that you can."
"Yeah, trust in your own noggin, Taffy!" Felix said. "As corny as it sounds, if you believe you can use this new power move, then it'll be as easy as pie!"
"Okay..." Taffyta bit her lip, started the engine, and drove off on the track while three of the remaining fourteen racers took turns racing with her.
At the end of it, she was successful two out of the four times she'd used her glitch.
...
And at the end of the road, where the finish line seemed only a few inches from her position, she breathed in deeply. She told herself that if she didn't do it this time, she'd still be in the race. That it didn't define her if she'd made a mistake.
That she could be a good leader regardless of her racing record. And her parents still cared about her even if she wasn't the top-scorer on the racing board. She'd overcome her animosity towards Ralph for letting Vanellope stay, and accepted that the previous leader left for her own personal reasons and not because of the way Taffyta used to treat her.
And the rest of the racers never backed out of giving her a hand. They had never called each other a family before, but now it felt like they couldn't have been anything else.
She never thought anyone could care for her for other reasons than being a good racer. She had been flawed, spoiled, cruel, and self-centered. But now it felt like she couldn't have called herself any of those things anymore. Taffyta was something else. New and improved, like her kart.
All of her insecurities flowed out of her like a river and once she'd touched the taillight of Rancis's kart, he was teleported behind her.
She opened her eyes - not realizing that she'd closed them - and realized that she was the first one to cross the finish line.
"I did it..." She breathed in complete disbelief. "I did it!"
Candlehead and Rancis hopped out of their karts and ran over to her.
"Congrats!" Rancis said, giving her a playful punch.
"That was awesome!" Candlehead said.
"That's my little girl!" Felix shouted from the bleachers, tossing his hat in the air and whooping.
"Good job, Taffy!" Tamora said.
Taffyta was pleased and turned to each of her fellow racers and said, "I couldn't have done it with all of you guys. This win is for all fifteen of us!"
Later that night, the family was waiting for a call from Vanellope. Ralph came over to the Fix-It's apartment with his Buzztube cell phone and sat in the center of all seventeen of them. They were all chattering anxiously, and the one who couldn't stop bouncing in her seat and shaking her leg was Taffyta. She couldn't wait to tell Vanellope about the day's events.
"Oh, here we go!" Ralph said. "I'm receiving a collect call from President Pee-Wee."
Vanellope's hollographic figure appeared in Ralph's hand.
"Hi, everybody!"
They all synchronously greeted her with enthusiastic voices. And they exchanged stories about Vanellope's adventures and mishaps from the World Wide Web, about how she was able to race all over the world and new maps from different regions were added frequently. She said she was calling from the other side of the world from California.
"I hope that game isn't too dangerous, Vanellope!" Felix said from the kitchen as he was pulling a freshly baked pie out of the oven.
"Relax, Hammer-Time, I know my way around these streets like the back of my hand!"
"And I hope they remember to feed you, young lady!" Tamora said, honestly surprising everyone else in the room with her maternal words. "We don't want you looking scrawnier than a walking stick!"
"Well, at the GCS we've got over here, they actually have a Tacotime game. I stop by there every chance I get! But enough about me, tell me about all of you guys!"
They each talked about the kinds of adventures they'd had since her departure. About Taffyta being elected the new leader, which didn't seem to surprise Vanellope at all, the great Halloween-styled maze that Gloyd set up, Nougetsia's newfound love for fixing, Candlhead's misadventure with Jubileena and Citrusella back at Hero's Duty, and the new customization of Taffyta's kart.
But they hadn't told Vanellope about the interference with the game's database. They didn't want to worry her and make her feel like she needed to come back too soon.
"Jeepers, sounds like you guys had quite the adventure while I was gone." Vanellope's tone wasn't sad, but it wasn't too happy either.
"Well the next time you visit, we'll have an even cooler adventure!" Jubileena said, standing up from the couch.
Vanellope's figure lit up. "Yeah, yeah, that's a great idea! I'll bring some Internet mischief here!"
"Hey, no funny business from the web, kid." Ralph said. "We've had enough trouble from that place to last us another six years."
Vanellope rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Admiral Underpants!"
After a while, Ralph took the device to have a conversation on the side and Vanellope requested to speak with Taffyta one-on-one. Taffyta walked over, took the communicator, and went up to the roof. She enjoyed watching the view of the arcade from there. One time, she accompanied Ralph while he spent an evening gathering his thoughts. It seemed to be a nice place to clear her head and put things into perspective.
"So, does President Pee-Wee like life on the Internet better than the arcade?" Taffyta asked.
Vanellope shrugged. "Eh, it's okay. The game's cool, but I still miss all of you boogerheads, and Felix, and Calhoun. And Ralph. I bet you were all torn up about me being gone, Taff."
"Psht, are you kidding me? You were a royal pain in my behind, princess. I was totally celebrating you being out of my hair, finally."
Vanellope smirked and lowered her eyes. Taffyta sighed. She knew she couldn't keep a secret from her friend in the minty sweater.
"Alright, fine. To be honest, I was a little irked when you decided to up and ditch the town."
"Don't sweat it, pinky, I was totally miserable the first couple of days when I left home. Nobody here trash talks like the way we used to."
Taffyta nodded. "Yeah, my shade is the only good shade around here, princess. But you are happy to be there, right?
"Yeah, definitely! It's been a really cool and invigorating experience. I feel like I've found my place."
Taffyta pursed her lip out in a pout. "You won't forget about us, right?"
Vanellope smiled wide. "How could I ever forget my own family? Look, I've left the nest, but a little bird like me remembers to fly on home every once in a while."
Taffyta wasn't about to tell her about the code incident, but she didn't feel like keeping it to herself. She'd seen the disasters that unfolded when she decided to keep information from her people.
"I actually did something pretty stupid to get that kart customization."
"Oh?"
She told her about the entire ordeal and watched Vanellope's reaction carefully. And her brown eyes enlarged and shrunk and her head lowered, like she was in deep contemplation. Taffyta hoped she wasn't going to sugarcoat anything she was about to say.
"Yeesh, you're almost as bad as we were when we escaped to the web." Vanellope said after a short silence. "How'd you come up with a scheme like that?"
"Well, I saw you do it. Glitching all over the place, I mean." Taffyta shrugged. "I thought I could do the same."
"Well, I give you props for trying. But next time, use that brain of yours a little harder. Don't pull a 'Ralph'."
Taffyta nodded. "Dully noted."
"Well, listen, I better get off this thing before the sun comes up. Let me say 'bye' to everyone before I go."
"Okay. Goodnight, Princess Pee-Wee."
Once she handed the device back to Ralph, he asked her how it went.
"It was good. Thanks again, Ralph." And gave him a nice hug around his large arm.
Later that night, all the kids were tucked into their beds at the Fix-It's place. Hugs and kissed were exchanged and and Taffyta once again thanked all three of the adults.
Just for being there and by being as supportive as they had been.
"You're going to do great, tomorrow, Taffyta." Tamora said as she laid the pink blanket on her small body.
"I think so, too."
Felix came over with his hat in his hand and gave her a peck on the forehead. "We're so proud of you, sugar."
And Taffyta pulled the both of them into a tight hug. "I love you guys."
"We love you, too."
Tamora stood up, and said quietly, "That goes for the rest of you kiddos. If you kids need anything, we won't be too far."
...
After Ralph said goodnight and left, Tamora and Felix were sitting on the couch, not feeling tired enough to sleep just yet. Her hand was gently touching his and they were staring up at the ceiling, sighing contentedly.
"I always thought that raising kids was all rainbows and smiles and happiness all the time." Felix murmured dreamily.
"Turns out, it's a lot more complicated than that." Tamora responded in a low and relaxed tone. "Just like us."
Felix turned on his side to face her, admiring how the yellow glow of the lamp light on the side reflected off of her skin. He noticed the tiredness in her eyes started dissipating since themselves and the kids learned to get used to each other.
And she seemed happier.
"I'd do it all over again." Felix told her. "From the beginning, when we were just getting to know each other." He smoothed his thumb over the top of her hand. "How about you, Lady Love?"
"A thousand times, darling." Tamora told him. "I didn't realize how much those kids needed us, and just how much I needed them." Her eyes lowered. "I always thought that I didn't have the code to raise those little munchkins. All I ever knew was killing bugs and looking for comfort in the people around me. But there's a difference between seeking for it and being able to give it."
"I know, Tammy." Felix said. "I'm sorry it was such a struggle."
Tamora smiled at him. "Don't be. It was you and the others that made it easier for me."
"I'm glad Taffyta's happy. And Crumbelina, and Candlehead, and Nougetsia... all of them like being here. And there's no better feeling than that."
"And we will be there for them 'til the very end, my sweet."
Felix beamed. "I love you, Tammy."
"And I love you too, Fix-It."
They shared a short but tender kiss and decided to stay on the couch for just a little longer. They weren't ready for this little embrace to end just yet. And they were grateful that all of the struggles and conflicts eventually worked themselves out. But it wasn't as if they didn't have any doubt. Yes, they did feel overwhelmed and like it was more than they could have handled.
But seeing the results of all of their efforts made it worthwhile. The smiles that they put on those candy kids, after opening themselves and their homes to them. It felt like such an accomplishment.
And they wouldn't have had it any other way.
THE END.