A/N

Hey guys! As promised, here is a new update for this story! I know, it's about time, right? I can't believe it's been like a year and a half since I've added any chapters to this. I hope you all can forgive me, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter! I definitely wanna see this story through, and I've got a lot more storyline planned out. I'm going to see how this new chapter is received and what the views and feedback is like. If everything is positive and views and reviews pick up some, I'm just gonna keep writing and adding more chapters on to this story. However, if I don't get many views from this or much of a reception then I'm thinking of removing it and then re-publishing it. That way I can add it on to the site as a new story, and publish the first chapter. I would probably publish one a week and try to write more chapters to stay ahead of the updates. That's only if I don't feel like it's given a good chance, which would be my own fault for letting it go without updating it for so long. Anyway, thanks for reading, and enjoy!

Chapter 16

Within a few minutes, their whole group was filling off of the train and into a large open space. Vanellope stared in awe at her surroundings. "Woah…" She murmured, "I remember how it felt the first time I saw the station. This place is even more different."

Ralph glanced down at her with a small smirk of amusement. He couldn't help but chuckle a little at the sight of the snarky racer rendered speechless at slackjaw. Though he would admit, she had good reason to be that way.

The entire room around them almost seemed to glow. The floor was tiled with shiny, reflective jet black tiles and both the walls and the ceiling gleamed a bright bold blue. When they cast their eyes to the surface above them, it almost seemed to extend into an endless blue abyss.

"Is that what the ocean looks like?" Vanellope wondered aloud. Her words dripped with wonder, and as Ralph stared down at the mystified young woman, he couldn't help but feel endeared at the awestruck nature of her attitude.

"Something like that," he responded. He took a step forward and gently placed his hand on the small of her back. He almost didn't notice when she shivered slightly at his touch. She tore her gaze away from the ceiling and looked at him quizzically. "Come on," he continued, gesturing with his chin towards Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead. "They're getting ahead of us."

As the two of them followed suit several feet behind the others, Vanellope continued to search the room with her eyes. She realized that this very large room was even vaster than it was at first glance. Each side seemed to never end, and there was a seemingly endless line of tall, pale blue doors lining either side.

Above each door was a neon green sign lettered with the title of the game or folder. She noticed that above most of the doors, a smaller nameplate resided beneath the sign which read "File Folder." As they walked down the hall towards the doors marked "EZ Livin" she realized some of the doors had thick black bars extending all the way across them, with some sort of sensor in the middle. It seemed as if the bars were keeping the doors from being opened.

Soon enough, they made it to the doors, and she felt a vat of excitement bubbling up inside her. "What happens when we open them?" She asked, moving forward to clutch on to Taffyta's arm.

The blonde turned her head to look at her with a smile. "You'll see, Princess."

Vanellope gulped, feeling a hint of nervousness creep into her head. Ralph could see the worry written all over her face. "It's okay," he whispered, laying a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "Trust me, there's absolutely nothing to worry about."

She looked back up at him and saw the concern glimmering in his eyes. She gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Stinkbrain," she whispered back.

"Alright!" Taffyta exclaimed. "Everyone ready?" She grinned mischievously at Rancis and he looked away with a blush, bashfully scratching his head.

When everyone else around her shared glances and nodded, she finally reached toward the doors and gave them a hefty push.

Within a second of their opening, all Vanellope saw was a blinding flash of white light. She instinctively brought her arm up to shield her eyes, but in an instant she felt a strange, almost gravitational pull towards the opening as streams of code quickly flew from her body.

She glanced over at Ralph and her eyes widened at what she saw. She could see his limbs and features stretching as his own code was sucked beyond the entrance. He gave her one last confident smile before her vision disappeared in a flash of white and blue.

Within a few seconds, her eyesight returned to normal and she found herself catapaulting onto the ground.

All she saw were flashes of brown and green as she tumbled unceremoniously over the floor.

"Ughhh…." she scrunched her eyes tight and grasped her head, letting out a long groan as she pushed herself up onto her knees.

"It's alright," she heard the familiar voice of her blonde friend say, "I'm pretty sure everyone has a bit of a rough landing their first time around." As she slowly and painfully blinked her eyes open, they gradually adjusted to the light and she made out the dark shape of Taffyta bending over in front of her. After a few seconds, she could make out the details and colors of her surroundings, and noticed the hand that was outstretched towards her.

She begrudgingly reached forward and grasped Taffyta's outstretched arm, pulling herself upward and into a standing position. She looked around, still blinking, to see all four of her friends standing around her.

She noticed Ralph standing in the back, arms crossed, with a cocky smirk on his face.

She immediately felt her cheeks darken. "What are you smiling at?" she barked, hastily brushing dirt and grass off her dress. "I'm sure you fell over the first time you came here too!"

Her four friends all shared knowing glances.

"Maybe," Ralph responded. "But I certainly know I didn't tumble over like a wheel or lay there groaning for so long."

She heard Taffyta let out a quiet snort and could see Rancis trying his best to repress his laughter. Even Candlehead was giggling a little bit into her hands.

Her face darkened even more, and Ralph's smile only grew. "Whatever," she huffed, turning around and crossing her arms. "Let's just go to the stupid beach or whatever."

"Yes, your majesty," Ralph snarkily replied, walking past her and giving her a mock bow from his waist. She simply rolled her eyes and began walking.

As the five of them walked down the dirt trail leading towards the shore, Vanellope began to take in the scenery.

She looked around her, mentally absorbing everything she saw. Either side of the path was covered with colorful, lush greenery. There were small, bright and dark green shrubs, vibrant green grass, beautiful multicolored flowers, and palm trees of all sizes.

She couldn't help but let a smile cross her face as she breathed in the fresh, fragrant air. This is so much different from Sugar Rush.

She looked ahead towards the ocean, and almost immediately a soft gasp forced its way out of her mouth.

Ralph edged his way closer to her and gently nudged her arm with his. "I know, it's breathtaking, isn't it?"

"I've never seen anything like it," she breathed.

A dark blue expanse of beautiful, reflective water stretched out from the shore into a shimmering abyss that seemed to go on forever. Dotted across the pale white sands of the beach were what seemed to be many spirited beachgoers, playing in the water and running around on the sand.

"Just wait till we get close." She looked up at him and gave him a bashful smile.

"It's beautiful," she admitted. He smiled warmly back down at her. "Thanks for coming with me, Stinkbrain."

He chuckled. "Of course, Vanellope." Her cheeks warmed up at the sound of her name. "Although I have to say I still prefer it when you call me Ralph."

She turned her head to hide the flush on her skin. "Yeah, well, maybe I'm still angry at you for making fun of me, fartbreath," she gruffed.

He laughed boisterously. "You? Angry at me? Come on now, we both know that isn't even possible."

She rolled her eyes but couldn't contain the smile that crawled onto her features. She lightly shoved Ralph's arm with her hand. "Don't let it go to your head, you big oaf," she responded, "But I guess you're not entirely wrong."

Meanwhile, behind them, the other three racers were chatting quietly and giggling.

"Guys, guys," Rancis gasped, "I've come up with another idea."

"What is it?" Taffyta prodded. "Is it something to do with Ralph and Vanellope?"

"Well you see," he started, "Just before sunset, we convince them to come with us to explore the jungle, right? Well, instead of going in with them, which could risk us getting lost, we tell them we're going to pick up some food or something, and give them fake directions for somewhere to meet us. Somewhere off the marked trails. Then, we leave them for a few hours, and if they haven't found their way out by the time it gets dark, we'll ask for assistance finding them from the search and rescue team."

"EZ Livin' has a search and rescue team?" Candlehead inquired curiously.

"Yes they do," rancis replied. "I found that out the last time me and Taff were here and I just now remembered it."

At the sound of her nickname, Taffyta's cheeks turned a pale shade of pink. "Yeah, well, I sure hope your idea works," she responded gruffly. "I just hope they actually get lost and don't find their way out in a matter of an hour or something like that."

"Oh, don't worry," Rancis remarked. "These jungles are even more confusing than the forests of Sugar Rush."

"Okay," Candlehead responded slowly. "I guess our plan is a go then?" The three of them all looked at each other and nodded.

Rancis was the first one to open his mouth.

"Operation Set-Up Ralph and Vanellope is a go."

As the five of them made their way to the beach, Vanellope took note of everything new around her. More beachgoers than she could count were milling around on the shore, chatting and laughing and having a good time. Many of them had drinks in hand or picnic baskets.

As she looked around some more, she noticed several small food and drink stands lined up along the stand, as well as a few souvenir and supply stores for all your beachy needs.

"Okay," Taffyta began as they all clustered together at the edge of the sand. They automatically circled up and she looked at Ralph and Vanellope. You two go and find somewhere for us to sit." She handed her beach bag over to Ralph and he took it with an eye roll. "There's six beach towels in there. One each for us to dry off and then one more to lay on the ground."

Vanellope snorted. "No wonder you brought such a massive bag. Jeez, before the update that thing would have been the size of us."

Ralph looked at her and shook his head. "Nah, shortie, probably bigger. In fact, it's almost the size of you now." He held it up in front of her to compare.

"Hey!" She protested, smacking it away from him, eliciting a loud chortle from the large wrecker. "Is not!"

"We'll be back," Candlehead interrupted. "We're gonna go get drinks for everybody. What do you guys want?"

"Ooh! I'll have, um...well." Vanellope scrunched her brow in contemplation. "Exactly what kind of drinks do they have here?"

Taffyta let out a loud laugh. "Oh, Van, I can't. She doubled over, clutching her sides with her arms.

The dark haired racer frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "What's so funny?"

"They just sell normal drinks," Candlehead answered. "Don't worry, there's nothing weird or special here. It's not like Sugar Rush, where there's about a million different super sweet concoctions you can come up with."

"Oh, okay," she replied, feeling slightly disappointed. "Well, just get me a lemonade then."

"I'll have a water," Ralph piped up, giving an amused glance to the cast down brunette.

Taffyta was just recovering from her laughing bout, with the help of Rancis, and she stood up straight, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Oh Van, still so clueless," she teased, giving her best friend a smirk.

Vanellope rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. She couldn't keep a light blush from crawling across her face. Am I really clueless? Does Ralph think so?

"Come on, Taffyta, knock it off," Rancis eased. "She's only been to two other games in the arcade, after all."

Taffyta rolled her eyes and looked away. She seemed to feel a little flustered at Rancis's remark. "I know. I know, I was just kidding around. Anyway, you two go pick a spot and we'll be right back."

The three of them turned and hurried away, leaving Vanellope and Ralph to stand there alone awkwardly.

After a few moments of silence, Ralph spoke up. "Well, I guess we should go find somewhere," he prodded. Vanellope simply turned and nodded and they began walking closer to the shore.

"Over there looks good," she announced, pointing with her finger towards a relatively empty spot on the sand further down the beach. "It's not too far away, and with you being the massive oaf you are, there's no way they could lose us."

He gave her a glance with narrow eyes, smiling when he noticed the small smirk on her face. There's the old Vanellope I know and love.

"Ouch, kid. Ouch."

"Hey!" She protested, turning and grabbing his arm, her face turning bright red. Her eyebrows angled down as she glared at him playfully. "Are you going to ever stop calling me a kid?!"

He shrugged. "I don't know," he shot back with a grin, "Maybe if you stop acting like one."

"Aghhhhh!" With no warning, a clump of sand flew through the air and rained down over his face.

"Pfftt, blah!" He scrunched his eyes closed and rubbed them furiously, spitting the grainy substance out of his mouth. All he could hear was the sound of Vanellope's raucous laughter.

"That's it!" He yelled, finally opening his eyes and charging towards her.

"Ahhhh!" Her eyes widened and she began sprinting away from him.

He charged after her, his huge feet sending large quantities of white sand hurling through the air.

"You might be small and fast!" He yelled out. "But I can take much larger strides than you!"

Clutching onto the beach bag as tightly as he could, he lurched himself further and careened after her in a relentless pursuit.

He could hear her shrill and out of breath laughter softly over the currents of air rushing past his ears, and could see her long black locks of hair swaying gracefully behind her back as she continued running towards the spot she had scoped out.

Within a few seconds, his large legs were working in his favor, and he was quickly gaining way. In a matter of moments, he was only a few paces behind her, grinning as widely as humanly possible.

She glanced over her shoulder for a second and screeched. "No!"

She turned away again and pushed herself to run even faster.

It was too late.

In an instant, he was reaching out massive arms and slipping them under her legs, pulling her towards his chest, She let out a small yelp, quickly reaching with her arms to clutch onto the neckline of his shirt.

He stood there for a few moments, nearly out of breath, his chest heaving up and down as he tried to regain it.

She took in heavy gasps of air and looked up at him. Beads of sweat were forming at her hairline, and they both stayed silent for a few seconds, simply staring at each other as they tried to take back their composure.

Her face quickly heated up and filled with a dark rosy color, as did his. At first, he wasn't sure what to do.

Then he noticed they were standing in the area she had pointed out to him earlier, and an idea sparked in his mind.

She let out a sharp squeak as he slung her over one shoulder and used his free hand to yank out one of the towels from the beach bag and drop the bag onto the ground. As fast as he could, he laid the towel out flat on the ground, trying to ignore the pounding of her small fists against his back.

It's a good thing she's bigger now, or else she'd be able to squirm out of my grip.

He plopped her down on the towel as gently as he could, but she let out a yelp and rubbed her rear, glaring up at him. "Hey!" She proclaimed. "That hurt my-" Before she could finish her sentence, he pushed her down on her back.

For a brief moment, her eyes widened as he loomed above her, and her heart thrummed in her chest louder than it ever had in her life.

But soon that moment was over, and he grabbed the edge of the towel, pulling it over her and beginning to roll her up inside of the fabric.

"Hey! Stinkbrain!" He could faintly hear the sound of her muffled protests as he finished rolling her up and held onto the other end of the towel with his hand.

She squirmed and wriggled uselessly, trying with no avail to free herself from the makeshift cocoon she now found herself trapped in.

He watched with a satisfied smirk, placing both knees on the ground and keeping her pinned with one arm while the other rested easily on his hip.

"Let me out!" He heard her yell.

"Not until I hear a 'pretty please'," he teased.

"I swear, you big hunkering old bafoon, let me gooooooo!"

He chuckled to himself. "Hmm, with that attitude, I may just have to keep you in here even longer. Now if you wanna get out, you have to say…" He paused, tapping his chin with a finger in contemplation.

"You have to say 'pretty please most awesome and amazing Mr. Ralph, greatest wrecker of all time and most handsome man."

Vanellope felt her cheeks darken immensely at the very last addition. "Come on," she groaned. "Really?" She stopped struggling. "Won't you please just let me out?"

"Not until you say those words," he chimed. "No ma'am."

"Ughhh…." She let out a deep sigh before taking a deep breath and beginning. "Pretty please...most awesome and a-amazing Mr. Ralph...greatest wrecker of all time a-and," she paused for a few moments.

"And?"

She blushed furiously.

"U-uh, most h-handsome man!" She gulped as she let out the final words. Finally, she felt his hand pull away and she immediately rolled herself out of the towel. As soon as it was flat, she stared up at him with an intense stare.

His smirk fell away as he saw the angry glint in her eyes and mischievous smile on her face. "Uh, Vanellope?"

In a flash, she leapt forward with all her might and slammed all of her weight into his chest.

"Oof!" He didn't expect it, but the force of the impact sent him falling backwards into the sand.

When he opened his eyes, he saw directly into hers. Her hands were pressed into his shoulders, and she was holding herself up on top of him, her legs pressed into his hips. She gave him a victorious smirk before realizing the compromising position they were in. Her brown eyes widened to twice her size and her mouth gaped open slightly.

Ralph felt his face flush intensely as they stared silently at one another. For some strange reason, he couldn't seem to tear his stare away from her's. He gulped, and found his gaze travelling down to her slightly parted lips.

His heart started beating faster in faster in his chest and he looked back up to see her eyes staring down at his lips too. They quickly moved to meet his stare and he noticed the bright rosy flush darkening her cheeks.

He hesitantly reached a hand up to gently brush a loose strand of her behind her ear. As his fingers rubbed against her cheek, she looked away and bit her lip. He felt as if all of his resolve was slipping away, lost in the sight of the beautiful Sugar Rush racer now laying on top of him.

"R-Ralph," she managed to squeeze his name out of her throat, feeling her arms begin to shake slightly as the sound of her heart thudding roared in her own ears. "I-I feel like my head is going to explode."

He inhaled sharply at her words, and placed the hand he was brushing her hair back with behind her head. "W-we should probably get up," he choked out, remembering where they were.

He glanced to the side to see the rest of their friends standing at the edge of the sand, drinks in hand, seemingly looking for them. He could make out Taffyta, hand above her eyes to shield the sun, turning in all directions.

Hastily, they both scrambled upright, neither of them making a sound as they stood up and brushed loose sand off of their clothes. They refused to make eye contact in the process, both of them still flustered by their most recent encounter.

Soon enough, the other three racers were making their way towards them. "There you are!" Taffyta exclaimed. She looked around at the spot they chose. "This looks pretty good." She handed Vanellope a lemonade and Rancis stepped forward to give Ralph his water.

The five of them settled down on the towel together, which was surprisingly big enough to even accommodate Ralph.

For a few minutes, they quietly sipped at their drinks and stared at the water.

"Wow," Vanellope whispered. "It's even more beautiful up close." Her friends shared glances and smiled, and Candlehead scooted closer to her.

"It really is," she agreed. "It's my first time seeing it too. Isn't it insane? There's nothing like this in Sugar Rush. I mean, we have our chocolate lakes and ponds, but it's not quite the same."

Vanellope nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's true," she noted. "I can't believe I haven't been her before." She looked over at Ralph with determination in her eyes. "I wanna explore more of the arcade," she announced. "I wanna see what all is out there."

"Well," he said slowly. "We still haven't been to Hero's Duty yet. I suppose we could always take Calhoun up on her offer. I don't know about any of the other games though. I wouldn't want to interfere with anything."

Taffyta shrugged. "Just don't go during the game day."

Vanellope turned and looked at her. "You guys could come with us too!" Her eyes flashed and she grinned broadly. "It would be so fun!"

"I suppose I could take you to see the Pacman game," Ralph added. "I still go to those Bad Anon meetings there. Maybe...maybe you could come with me to one."

"Bad Anon?" Taffyta questioned, letting out a snort. "What kind of dorky thing is that?"

Ralph rolled his eyes at her. "Hush, short stop," he barked. "You're the queen of dorks. Who else walks around with a lollipop in her mouth all the time?"

Her cheeks flushed and she let out a 'hmpf!', crossing her arms.

The other four laughed in amusement, and they all continued in playful banter for a few more minutes.

"Well," Vanellope announced, standing up. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm ready to go swim."