(20 Years Ago)

Milk rain poured down on a three story house that was painted in brown, white, and gold theme. Dirt had turned to sticky chocolate mud as puddles pooled onto the floor. Each of the four upper and lower windows were blacked out and devoid of life. At the back of the house there sat a garage which opened for a white coffee mug shaped kart. The driver of the kart then sped off as the garage door closed behind them. However, before the door could fully close, a jawbreaker was shot at the gears of the door by the figure,

Sparks flew and smoke billowed from the door as the hard candy damaged the gears and made them stop in their tracks. "Perfect," A figure said and, with glee in their eye, the individual snuck under the garage door and began to search the house for what they desired most. And, with great ease and swiftness, they found what they had been looking for. As a series of clicks echoed through the hallway which was followed by the door creaking open. "Finally! I can't believe he has five locks on every single….Whoa!"

Awe soon killed off any complaints that they had as they flicked on the switch to the room they had just entered and walked down the steps. Glowing spherical bottles containing potions, powders, and ointments hung from ropes attached to the ceiling. Shelves of bottled and preserved ingredients ran up and down the white painted walls. The floor was covered in a black shag carpet. And, at the center of the room, a white lidded cauldron sat with two side tables on each side of it.

"Wow, not a bad set up. Good thing I kept tabs on Shaman, he really is useful," The figure said, as their muddy boots dirtied the carpet under their feet. "But, for now, I will have to stick to sneaking in under his nose. Later, I will ensure his devotion and assistance when comes to love his future queen," And, with a satisfied smirk stretching across their lips, the figure took off their hood to reveal the face of Vanellope von Schweetz. "Thankfully, at this point, Shaman made my job easy. Knowing him and his OCD, Shaman should have everything organized in a way a five year old could navigate."

The glitch stated as she pulled out a crumbled up list of ingredients and read the labels under each shelf. After that she grabbed the labeled ingredients on her list and placed them in her jacket pocket. "And, that should do it, now I have everything I need," Then, with that goal achieved, the glitch curiously eyed a notebook on one of the tables. "Either this is a diary or a book of cures that Shaman has made over the years. Oh well, it won't hurt to take it." And, as excitement gleamed in her eye, the glitch took the book and left the house of the reclusive Shaman.

Or, at least, that what she planned to do. Instead she froze in shock at the sight of Shaman standing in the doorway. His body shaking in a mixture of fear and anxiety. All while he held a Ruger Vaquero revolver in his trembling grasp. "T-Take those shoes off and get out of my house," Shaman stammered, his eyes flickering from Vanellope's muddy boots to his soiled carpet. But, the glitch didn't comply, instead Vanellope smirked at the man before glitching behind him. "Wha-What!? Where is—"

"Right behind you," Vanellope whispered, then before the other could respond the glitch pushed Shaman down the stairs. And, as she watched the man hit the ground head first, and momentarily pass out the glitch clicked her tongue. "Just great, I don't have time to deal with him right now and I can't keep him hostage on tonight of all nights. Not even Shaman would miss the games anniversary party. Well, let's hope that the guy has some amnesia potion or something, I can't have him remembering that he found me in his home."

The living room was bustling with activity as the male and female racers talked with one another and ate their breakfast. The morning sun beaming through the curtained windows of Lodhi's home. Shaman and Simon were talking animatidly about something as they stared eagerly at the numbers they had scored the following night. All while Sebastian nervously listened to the two talk, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Kit, an NPC that had stayed over, cuddled up with Fudge who giggled happily in return. And Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead were debating over which Mario Kart characters were the best racers.

Lodhi had to admit he was very pleased on how the night had turned out. And, by the looks of it, romance was starting to bloom amongst a couple of the racers. I have to admit, though, I am surprised that Fudge found herself a potential partner. Let alone an NPC of all things. But, given how shy and scared she's been, I can't bring myself to care too much. I'm just glad she's getting out of her shell a bit and Shaman's appeared to branch out as well. Lodhi thought, as he turned his attention back to Akio, Swizzle, and Phipps who had been talking about new kart designs for the last ten minutes.

"So, speaking of karts, are you going to implement any crazy designs we see at the Daredevil Derby?" Phipps asked, as he chuckled at the look of excitement that appeared in the others eyes,

"Of course I am! I've wanted to go for ages! I'm going to milk this opportunity for all it's worth!" Swizzle cheered, his body nearly vibrating thanks to the sheer joy that pumped through his veins. For years he had saved up as much spare money he could so he could finally get to this day. Refusing any attempts of help from the other racers out of sheer stubbornness to prove he could do it. And now, he had, and Swizzle could say that he'd never felt more elated and proud of himself then he did right now. "Thanks again for agreeing to come Phipps! I tried asking the others but nobody was all that interested."

"Ha! No problem, I'll admit I've been curious as to what you see in the whole daredevil thing. So this is a great opportunity to learn more!" Phipps replied, while thanking the programmers that Swizzle had mistakenly bought a second ticket. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to get a ticket for the Daredevil Derby, regardless of his plentiful income.

"Ah right, I forgot about your trip. How long is it supposed to last again?" The blueish-grey eyed man questioned, before putting a forkful of pancakes in his mouth.

"For about a month. We're gonna leave today before 2 pm and we should be back on the 1st before midnight," The green eyed man said, and as the men continued the conversation; Lodhi smiled. A night of partying, followed by a nice breakfast, and chat with his family and friends was truly a great way to start his weekend. And, he honestly couldn't wait to enjoy his two days off, since it would undoubtedly involve some post-anniversary partying and drinking.

"Hey Lodhi! Do you know where the remote is?" Annie called out, with Lodhi quick to tell his sibling that the remote was in the kitchen. And, following a quick trek to the scullery, Annie grabbed the remote and hand it to her sister. But, as the sisters flipped through the channels, they furrowed their brows. Quickly realizing that a breaking news broadcast had replaced all the usual problems. "Hey guys! Shut up! You need to see this!"

Lodhi and his guests immediately complied at this request. The room going silent as they all turned their attention to the broadcast. And while their eyes widened and took in the sight before them the room previously happy atmosphere turned to ice. On the television there sat a very annoyed King Candy and the one and only Vanellope. "It's the glitch!" Rancis shrieked, his voice shaking in anger and fear, and as everyone else began to riot or panic Lodhi furrowed his brow.

"What in the world is she doing?" The scientist questioned, with a bad feeling slowly building in his gut.