Chapter 2:
Banoffee de Fairikaik: Hello, hello! And yes. I have two siblings of my own and am uncomfortably familiar with Shift's predicament. Writing the TurboTime Bros is like therapy, let me tell you.
And there needs to be MORE best friend AUs with Turbo and Felix; THERE ISN'T ENOUGH! I am very happy that I could restore your faith in humanity, haha.
You would not believe how happy reading your comment has made me. Had a smile on my face the whole day. Lucky for you, I was almost done with this chapter! To be honest I hit a bit of a roadblock with this one; still don't like how it turned out, too much telling and not enoughing showing. If that makes any sense?
I would also like to thank you for favoriting my story.
I hope you and any other reader enjoy this chapter, despite its flaws.
Disclaimer: I do not own Wreck-it Ralph, nor any of its characters.
This fiction is an AU and not to be considered canon.
The handyman stared at the tiny rail carts sitting innocently in front of him. It had been a few hours now since the arcade had closed and only about ten minutes since the Nicelanders had, as they believed, a "great idea".
Felix should explore beyond their familiar surroundings.
The fixer looked behind him and at the small group of NPCs that watched him with curious trepidation. One of them had enough courage to urge him with a wave.
"Well." Felix inhaled. "...Here we go."
The playable character took a seat. For a minute everything was calm and still. Then the carts moved, startling the handyman.
"Oh! Oh, ha. This- this isn't too bad. I'm sure I have nothing to worry about. Might even make friends." He tried to reassure himself.
The journey to the end of the tracks was rather short. Which honestly suited the fixer's frazzled nerves just fine. With a quick glance at the rather empty, but clean, waiting room he found himself in, Felix leaped out of the tiny rail cart. He hopped on over to the only other opening and the sight he found on the other end awed him.
To start, the place he moved into was absolutely gigantic and filled to the brim with activity! A diversity of beings walked this way and that, both big and small. All of them going about their business, not paying any sort of attention to their new stranger.
Felix, himself, was slowly moving in to join them until a jarring set of beeps startled him.
"Hello, sir." A being made out of blue light appeared out of thin air beside him; the handyman shouted in surprise leaping back. The blue being didn't seem concerned or surprised, his eyes locked into his clipboard. "For security reasons I'd like you to state your name, the game you come from, and your function within said game. Preferably within that order."
The man almost sounded sleep-deprived to the fixer.
Felix adjusted his hat nervously, his anxiety getting a hold of him.
"W-well, howdy. I'm Fix-it Felix Jr., sir, from the game, Fix-it Felix Jr! I am the resident handyman that fixes the Niceland Apartments and, I suppose, any messes that Wreck-it Ralph creates." The blue man hummed and write something down.
"Alright, and this… "Wreck-it Ralph" you speak of, is he your bad guy?"
""Bad guy", sir?" Felix gaped in surprise. Sure, Ralph was angry, but he wasn't bad. At least, the fixer didn't think so.
The blue man sighed.
"Is he your games antagonist? Does he harass, destroy, or even kill?" The handyman bit his lip.
"Well… during our gameplay he did the first two, but I don't know if the last one would even count—"
"Wreck-it Ralph: Bad Guy." The man spoke as he wrote it down.
"I wouldn't really call him bad, honest! Ya' see—"
"Mr. Fix-it. I don't mean to interrupt, but it's only a game classification. You would be classified as your game's "Good Guy" and namesake; while Mr. Wreck-it is your game's "Bad Guy", understand?" The man finally looked up at the fixer and gave him a small, tired smile.
"So, his "Bad Guy" status is only labeling his job in gameplay? That's it?" Felix asked seriously with concern.
"It's supposed to be, but unfortunately it's extended beyond that in recent years." The security program's smile dropped.
This put questions in the handyman's mind that were currently left unanswered as the blue man pushed on.
"Before wrapping things up, do you have anything to declare?"
"Why, yes. May I get your name, kind sir?" Felix crosses his arms in a playfully serious manner. "And also the game you come from and your function."
The blue man blinked, before relaxing from his stiff posture and giving a quiet chuckle. The clipboard was slid under an arm.
"Some humor I see. I suppose an introduction is in order. I am the Surge Protector of the arcade; most have come to call me Surge. I don't have a game, because this here station technically is me."
"Wow." Felix looked over the station in a completely new light.
"Yep, and my function is to protect you and all the other games and game characters."
"That is a very big responsibility you have."
"It is. And a hard one to boot." Surge suddenly looked tired again. "There are many that don't like me, because of my rules and regulations. They either don't understand or care that everything is for their safety. It also doesn't help that I have a hard time talking to people"
"I don't know if this will do any good, but I'd be more than happy to help you if you ever need it." Felix patted his shoulder.
The Surge gave the handyman an unidentifiable look. Felix almost thought he saw a flicker of recognition and a hint of sadness, but it was gone too soon before he could truly tell.
"Thank you, Mr. Fix-it. I just might hold you up on that offer, but right now I think you should go ahead and get a feel for your new home."
They shook hands and the fixer was off to do just that. He left behind a touched security monitor.
"Fix-it Felix Jr., huh?"
Suge felt that, if he was anything like his parents were, then this arcade was going to get better. Litwak's needed a good change.
Characters veered left and right, some even vaulting over anything that blocked them from getting out of the way of the small little fuming racer. Everyone by now knew to stay out of the way of an angered Turbo.
All except one, apparently.
The lead racer, used to the others of the arcade knowing their place, wasn't paying any attention to anything around him; lost in his thoughts when he bumped into something. Or rather, someone.
Both fell onto the floor.
"Jiminy-Jaminy..."
When Turbo looked up to snap at whoever ran into him, his face went slack.
No… it couldn't be.
The racer's eyes narrowed.
No, it wasn't.
However, the unfamiliar game character that ran into him looked the spitting image of his recently deceased mentor.
A son?
It didn't matter.
"And just what is the big idea?!" The playable racer snarled, jumping to his feet and stomping forward. He ignored the crowd that was forming around them as he lifted the handyman up by the collar.
"Oh, I'm very sorry, sir! I wasn't looking where I was going." The fixer blushed and made an effort to push away from the racer's grip.
Turbo let him and watched as the slightly taller character dusted off his shirt.
"You're darn right you weren't!" The feisty driver didn't acknowledge the fact that he also hadn't been paying attention. He was the lead character to the most important game in the arcade and therefore was exempt from the blame.
At least, that was what he told himself.
"And you better watch yourself next time, 'cause I won't let you off so easily again." The crowd around them murmured, then shifted to look as if they were agreeing with the little racer, but otherwise did nothing else. Involving themselves more than necessary was just potential to be yelled at and ostracized themselves.
The handyman was shocked at all the unkind faces.
He opened himself to try and fix the situation, but Turbo beat him to the punch. Slamming shoulders with the handyman as he passed.
"See ya, loser." The racer yelled behind him. The crowd dispersed, seeing that the show was over.
That short call to attention only made Turbo's mood even more fowl than before. He just wanted to be left alone; he'd been wanting to be left alone a lot more recently.
Crowd-pleasing wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Especially when the only reason people came wasn't because they liked him. It was so that they could get the chance to give themselves more "popularity" within Game Central society's eyes.
Empty places with empty faces.
It wasn't always like that, though.
He turned his eyes to the empty plug-in next to Turbotime and halted, nearly causing those behind him to run into him. An ache and a pang of loss reverberated through him as he noticed that a new game had been plugged in.
Fix-it Felix Jr.
His gaze focused behind him, in the direction of his run in with —he was sure— the lead character to that game. He huffed and went back to getting to his destination. It had been only a few months since they were unplugged.
It was amazing how quickly the arcade forgot such good people.
He shoved back everything that had to do with his old mentor and his game. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.
Turbo growled at some 8-bit toads from Super Mario Bros and didn't stop to watch the little NPCs scurry away as he stomped his way into the train station for Burgertime.
Finally, he was one train-trip away from moping in his little dark corner booth. And once there, moping he did.
"Hey, you okay there, dude?"
Felix turned his head away from the dispersing, judgemental crowd to search for the source of the voice.
Right in front of him were two identical racers that looked extremely similar to the one that had ran into him. The only differences were their slightly taller height and the fact that their suits were blue and white; as opposed to the other's red and white.
The racer that spoke stepped closer, concern in his eyes.
"We saw what happened. Sorry about that. Our little brother can be a real pain when he wants to be."
"Oh, um…" The handyman hesitated, trying to push down the humiliation and confusion from what had happened. He made an effort to smile. "Thank you for your concern! But I think i should head off. Woul- wouldn't want the others in my game to worry."
The identical racers shared a look.
"Nah, man, it wouldn't be very tubular of us to leave a pal hangin' like that." The other racer asserted.
Felix took notice that this one, unlike the other, had scratches and dents marring his helmet; his clothes wrinkled without a care.
The one that had spoken to him first was the complete opposite, clothes ironed and helmet shining in the light.
The fixer was snapped out of his thoughts as the racers came up to each of side of him and throwing their arms around his shoulders. No doubt a friendlier effort to keep him from running off.
"We know what you need! A nice, cold root beer from Tappers." Felix felt like he didn't have a say in the matter as they began to lead him off. These two were rather forward, weren't they?
"...and then he crashed into the stands with this, like, screech!"
The group of three burst out with laughter as the story finished. Normally, Felix wasn't much for finding any pain amusing, but his new friends —Shift and Gears, he learned their names were— seemed to know just how to push the right buttons to make him crack up.
It helped that they constantly reassured him that the person in question was always okay at the end. Boy, were they quite the rascals!
"But don't worry, 'Lix! Li'l Turbutt merely regenerated and was well enough to chase our sorry tailpipes."
The fixer smiled at Gears, who had been the one telling the story. Despite the gruff exterior, he was honestly a total softy like his twin.
He just had a harder time showing it.
"Man, fellas, I wish I had some crazy stories of my own, but my game's just been plugged in!"
They nodded in understanding with their signature grins.
"To be honest, we were actually on our way to welcome your game. Which was what we did for the other two." Shift admitted, waving down Tapper for more rootbeer. "It was on our way when we saw what had happened between you and our baby bro."
The handyman's shoulders drooped at the reminder.
"I wasn't watchin' where I was goin'. Maybe if I had—"
"Oh, nuh-uh!" The grumpier twin interrupted, frowning. "Little twerp totally ran into you. If it had been me he ran into I'd've punched him!"
At the alarmed look on his new friend's face, the gruff racer's eyes widened.
"O-or, at least, made him apologize." He rubbed the back of his neck and gave the fixer a reassuring glance.
"I have an idea, guys!" Shift snapped his fingers, his face lighting up.
"Well, that's dangerous." Gears rolled his eyes at his brother.
The calmer twin reached around Felix to give his brother a light shove.
"Okay, so it's like you said, Turbo should say sorry." The sensible twin gestured for the other two to lean in. "But let's be honest, he won't. So, we guilt trip him."
"I don't know, guys. Turbo doesn't seem like someone who feels guilt." Felix felt concerned.
The twins rolled their eyes and gave him amused looks.
"I suppose at first glance he would seem that way. But you forget, he's our brother and we know how he works." Shift winked at the still skeptical gaze of his friend. "Trust me when I say that he isn't that far gone. He's just…" His smile faltered as he trailed off.
Gears sighed.
"Turbo hasn't been himself for a few months now. I mean, he's always been full of it, but…" The grumpy racer shrugged. "Lately its been getting out of control. It definitely doesn't help that everyone in this stinkin' arcade just agrees with everything he does; so that they can be more 'popular' and have more "admirers"."
Gears glared down into his half-finished root beer. Felix frowned.
"It never used to be that way, though." The calmer twin swirled his drink with his straw, a pained smile adorning his face. "Ever since this whole 'Lead Character Council' thing began, this place has been getting bad."
"Lead Character Council?" The fixer tilted his head.
"Yeah, the LCC. After the original Fix-it Felix got unplugged, someone had the grand idea of making up a council of lead characters. The hierarchy being set up on how popular you are with the games and your peers." Shift snorted. "As if "popularity" is synonymous with "wisdom"."
"That doesn't sound like a sound basis for leadin'." The handyman's brows furrowed.
"Oh, it's not." Gears agreed.
Then it hit Felix.
"Wait. Did you say the "original Fix-it Felix"? My Pa?"
The twins chuckled.
"Well, you see. When this arcade first opened, the game Fix-it Felix —your father's game— was among the first to be plugged in and played." Shift leaned back in his chair. "Your dad at the time was kind of the head of the whole arcade. Your mom was a huge help in running the place too."
"We only got to be at the finish line of their rein, unfortunately. We only knew them for a year before they were unplugged." Gears shrugged. "But from what we hear, they were the golden years of the arcade. Those two, while normally given the final say, would go out of their way to listen to what all in the arcade had to say in concern to problems and changes to life in Game Central."
"What… What caused my parents to be unplugged?" Felix took off his hat and nervously played with the brim.
"Due to outdated graphics and unchallenging gameplay, they weren't popular with the games anymore." The gruff racer was bitter. "Unplugged them in the middle of open hours. No one made it."
The fixer's throat felt dry, despite all the soda he had just drank. The calmer racer patted his back comfortingly.
"To set this conversation back on track, the Fix-its are no longer around. Because of that, there needed to be someone in charge. The LCC was thought up and run by the most popular lead characters. Turbotime, our game, is currently the most popular."
"Which would mean he's head of the Council and has final say?" Felix perked up at that.
"Well…no" Shift shook his head. "It only means he has more say than the rest, but ultimately they are supposed to all have at least some say within the decisions."
"So, if you get into his "good graces", than your concerns are more likely to be heard." Gears clarified for his brother.
"That's a lot of stress on someone." Felix realized, forgiveness filling his heartbar for the feisty little racer. No wonder he was always ready to bite the head off of anybody he interacted with.
"And add in that our own game has only been plugged in for about four months and he's only technically programmed to be nineteen years old…" The calmer racer trailed off.
"He's practically a kid! How old are you two?!" The fixer gasped.
"We're programmed twenty-one. And to be fair, Turbo can act much older than his age and usually makes pretty good decisions!" Shift stiffened his shoulders defensively. "He's been acting out lately, because of little time given to mourn the Fix-its and all the added duties beyond what he should have."
Felix gave him a baffled look at the mention of his family.
"They were like parents to us." The grumpier racer admitted with a shrug. "Took the three of us under their wings, Turbo especially."
"Guess that makes us brothers." The sensible racer chuckled, before freezing up. "Uh, sorry! That was a little bold of me to assume—!"
"Not at all, brother!" Felix lightly punched his shoulder.
The twins grinned.
"Now, if you'll excuse me," He got up and adjusted his hat in his head, "I've got a friendship to make."
And with that said, the handyman left. He had a good feeling things were gonna get better. Afterall, nothing could stop a Fix-it once they've got their mind set to repair something!
Gears watched the little fixer until he was out of sight, before turning to his brother.
"Ten coins on Turbo causing both he and Felix to get kicked out of Burgertime."
"Twenty coins on Felix somehow handling the situation and convincing little bro to at least give him a chance." Shift countered confidently.
"You have too much hope for T seeing reason, ya'know that?"
"I think Junior will be a good influence on him, is all. I mean, his parents were."
"... Okay, you're on."
A/N: Alright, so this is a bit of a "set up" chapter. You all shall be learning more about the arcade as Felix, and sometimes the T-Time brothers, do.
I hope the LCC wasn't confusing? It shouldn't be around too long, anyway. The arcade is a bit unbalanced right now, since the social hierarchy they had since they were first opened is no longer in place. I'm trying to make the whole situation feel unbalanced along with it.
Don't worry, if anybody can fix it, it's Felix!
I would also like to apologize in advance, as I have no idea when the next chapter will come out. While in search of my archived ideas for this story, I came to realize that this is old enough that I don't have a proper outline for it yet. Terrible!
I made this during the time I was trying out using Voice Memos to talk about my story ideas, instead of writing them down. I had heard it helped a lot of writers to do that, but… not me, ha. So, I am going to take some time to make some proper structure for the chapters to come. I'm hopeful it shouldn't take too long.
Optional Question(s):
1. If you transported into Game Central Station, which game would you like to game-jump into? (just don't Go Turbo)
2. If you had to choose, which power-up would you consume?
a. A Sugar Rush Cube
b. A Mario Bros 1-Up 'Shroom
c. A Pair of Pac-Man Cherries
3. Do you have anything to declare?