A/N: Hello everyone! I'm back with another short story! This time, I tackled a different genre, which was really interesting to write. Hope you enjoy!
The cold wind blew gently across the night sky in the game of Fix-it Felix Junior. Square-shaped stars of many colours floated above the main apartment building where the Nicelanders lived. It was even more windy on the rooftop. Usually, this was where the wrecker would be during any gameplay, smashing down on the structure with his large fists while a young repairman in a blue cap would attempt to fix all the damage as best as he could. That was basically the gist of their game. However, the arcade was closed now, and the wrecker wasn't the one on the rooftop this time.
Within the peace and quiet, a soft weary sigh escaped into the air. It came from a very young raven-haired girl who sat on top of the building. Her knees were up to her chest while her arms were wrapped around them. Her chin rested on her knees and a sorrowful look was plastered on her face. As if her ponytail mirrored her emotion, it drooped from her hair while her eyes stayed fixed on a pink arcade cabinet in the distance through the large screen ahead of her.
But it was not just any arcade cabinet. That cabinet was the place that once had a game. A candy racing game known as Sugar Rush, which was one of the most popular games in the whole arcade. However, its time in the spotlight had now vanished, ever since its plug was pulled.
That was where this girl used to live. Her home, but it wasn't just hers. It was the home of her friends and subjects. Her entire kingdom, snatched away from her, with just a pull of a plug.
And because of that, all the residents of the game were homeless. Unfortunately, the child can still clearly remember the pain she felt when everyone watched in fear as the title above their game's entrance disappeared. One memory in particular she recalled was that one candy corn citizen she carried. The NPC had a frown on her face, staying quiet for most of the time. Neither did she scream, cry, nor looked scared. It was as if the citizen was too traumatized by the experience to show any emotion, and that was one of the things that really hit the vanilla racer hard in the chest.
All the recollections of the candy people's reactions constantly appeared in her head as she kept on staring at the powerless arcade game that now had an orange 'out of order' sign stuck to its screen. Not even the image of the sad game cabinet on the paper was close to how she and the residents felt at this time.
But being homeless was not the only cause of her melancholic state. The thought of how they lost the game also kept pounding in her head, like a throbbing headache. She couldn't help but think about how all of this could have been avoided.
Don't fight the player.
That was the number one, most important and crucial rule for every arcade game. No matter what, game characters must never act against the player, especially if they are the ones being controlled by the gamers themselves. Obviously, humans have no knowledge about the characters having a mind of their own. And if their eyes catch anything out of line, it's game over for that coded world.
But this sorrowful girl, the leader of the game, the ruler...the president. The last person anyone would expect to rebel against this vital rule. This was what had been on the racer's mind since she came up here. She couldn't help but feel as if this was all her fault. If only she hadn't tried the new track her best friend made for her. Even if she at least followed the players guide back onto the original track, she and the others would have still had their home. But you can't turn back time. The wheel was broken and the unplugging had already happened. Solving problems always seemed easy for the girl, but this one, she couldn't fix.
Another cool breeze travelled through her hair, causing her bangs to do a small woeful dance. The ruler, well, former ruler now, sat alone in the silence, allowing her thoughts to race through her mind.
Race. Like how she once did in the now lost game.
Suddenly, a sound of faint clanking slowly emerged from the ladder behind her. Assuming it was the wrecker, who was also her best friend coming to see her, she didn't bother to turn around. However, these noises sounded lighter than his, even when they were getting louder.
"There you are!" shouted a slightly irritated and young feminine voice.
The seated girl moved slightly in surprised, but still remained in her position.
"I've been looking all over the game for you!"
She hugged her knees tighter.
"Everyone's by Mr. Felix waiting for you! We're going to start figuring out where we're... all..."
Silence then filled the atmosphere. The owner of the voice observed the sight before her for a while. Her leader, who was in an aquamarine hoodie, brown skirt and striped leggings, was sitting on the edge of the roof, facing the screen of the game. She then realized what exactly the ruler was looking at.
A sigh then met the president's ears. "...going to live..." the familiar voice finish.
Not too long after, the raven-haired girl sensed the character making her way towards her spot, then taking a seat beside her. At the corner of her eyes, she saw pink and white leggings and shoes dangling over the edge.
The silence remained between the two children. Sadly, the president had no confidence to look at the other girl, who happened to be a fellow racer. Not just a racer, but her rival from their former game. She was one of the many people who were now homeless. But the girl's presence encouraged the shame and guilt to rise inside the ruler. Even though she was unsure if it were true, an aching pain laid heavy in her chest from the thought that everyone hated her for the state they were in now.
The racer with white and pink striped leggings, who had platinum blonde short hair, also wore a pink glittery dress, a jacket of the same colour, white gloves and a strawberry themed cap decorated with white sugar grains. She was twirling her pink lollipop in her hand, thinking of what to say in this somber moment. She had become so used to exchanging harmless insults, trash-talks and jokes with the person next to her, that she hadn't had the slightest clue on what to say now. Of course she hated the fact that her leader was depressed, but she didn't want to say anything that would upset her even more. She wasn't used to this kind of scenario. These types of situations were not her specialty unlike her close friend sitting beside her. Yes, they were friends. Best friends actually, despite the fact that rivalry was coded between them. That's where all their bickering emerged from. But the leader would always know when to joke around and when not to. So does the blonde racer, but the only difference between them was that the raven-haired one knows what to say to someone who's feeling down. Caring about others was obviously not the pink racer's thing before the reset, and unfortunately, it still isn't. But it's not like she didn't care though. She did, but not as much as the president. Plus, she's uncomfortable showing it towards someone. This lack of trait didn't bother her, however, but it would have really been useful right about now.
Some time had passed, but it seemed like for eternity to the strawberry racer. But not to the president, as her thoughts continued to yell loudly in her ears. None of them said a word at that point.
The blonde girl was still struggling to come up with something to say. She couldn't bear to see the president like this, not to mention that everyone downstairs was waiting for the two of them to return. Resting her lollipop on her lap, and with a bit of hesitation, she finally decided to speak up.
"Vanellope-"
"Am I a bad leader?"
The strange question caught her off guard. There was no way she could have said that. Could she?
"What?" the blonde racer asked to confirm if she heard her friend correctly.
Vanellope took a short while to repeat. "Am I..." she began again, taking a deep breath as if she was holding back tears. "...a bad...leader?" Vanellope turned to her rival, her brown eyes gaining the strength to look into the blue ones. Her mind had been telling herself how awful of a ruler she was, but strangely, part of her wanted to get a confirmation on it from someone.
Looking at her with a surprised expression, the strawberry racer began to wonder if this was even her friend. She knew Vanellope would never call herself that. Even in the game, she always told the others how lucky they were to have such a great president. But even though it seemed boastful, she wasn't lying. Truthfully, Vanellope is an amazing president, so why would she be doubting herself now?
The girl looked at the raven-haired racer for a while before responding. "Why would you ask that?"
Shifting her gaze back to her shoes, Vanellope breathed once again. "I..." her voice was somewhat shaky. "I...got our game...unplugg-"
"No you didn't," The rival quickly stopped her, placing a gloved hand on her shoulder. "Don't blame yourself for this."
"But I-"
"If it's anyone's fault, it's Ralph." the pink racer folded her arms along with a hint of vexation. "If it wasn't for him, we would have still had our game."
"No..." Vanellope started to get an uneasy feeling inside as she once again recalled the incident. "Y-you don't understand..."
"You're just taking the blame for him because he's your 'best friend'," the girl scoffed. "What kind of best friend would destroy their friend's gam-"
"Taffyta!"
The blonde girl quickly shut her mouth. She looked at the leader again and saw that she was glitching slightly with a mixed expression of anger and regret.
Vanellope blinked, realizing that her voice came out louder than intended. She quickly turned away from the other racer. "...S-sorry," she said, while her glitching continued.
Taffyta was not really offended by it, however. If anyone was the most affected by the loss of their home, it would be Vanellope. She didn't blame her for her feelings at all.
"Please don't blame Ralph," the leader spoke up again. "It really wasn't his fault."
Taffyta sighed, still unconvinced by her words. She knew Ralph had something to do with the event when she saw the both of them in the chocolate mud laughing. However, she knew another reason why Vanellope was acting like this.
"I know it's because you're the president, you want to put all the blame on yourself," Taffyta told her, catching the vanilla racer's attention.
Vanellope looked at her, feeling even worse since her friend didn't know the truth. "But I am the one to blame..." she paused for a moment as the memory about her and the player fighting over the wheel re-emerged. She closed her eyes for a short moment, trying to calm herself down before she lost control of her emotions. Her heart sank at the thought of Taffyta hating her after hearing her next few words. "I...broke the wheel."
The strawberry racer kept the same look, thinking that Vanellope was just taking the blame again. But before she could have objected, Vanellope began explaining.
"When I saw the new track Ralph made for me, I went off the course to try it. But then, the player wanted to go back on the main track. But I didn't want to because I was having too much fun and..." Vanellope stopped.
Taffyta listened to her words carefully. "Go on," she told her.
The ruler felt her face tighten. "...she turned the steering wheel to go back on the track...but...I went against it. I fought the player for the wheel, Taffyta..." she looked at her friend. "...and...that's how the wheel broke."
The blonde girl's eyes widened. She stared at Vanellope in shock. "...You...you fought the player?" She asked slowly. "Isn't that.."
Before she could have finished, she heard slight sobbing coming from the president, who averted her eyes away from her with tears slowly running down her face. It was a rare sight to see Vanellope cry, and it even shocked Taffyta a bit.
"I-I'm..." Vanellope choked out. "I'm so sorry...Because I did that...we lost our game. And because of that...we don't have a home anymore," she hid her face in her knees and silently wept.
Taffyta just watched her. No wonder Vanellope was feeling awful. Plus, being the leader who did that, she must have been feeling like the most rotten candy in the world. To be honest, although Vanellope was a great leader, the strawberry racer always thought she sometimes used to take her role a bit too lightly. There were some things Vanellope did that she thought was irresponsible of her, but the president never bothered about it even when Taffyta told her about them. But what she just heard would have taken the cake. However, for some reason, she wasn't angry. Actually, she wasn't angry at all at Vanellope.
Watching the ruler whimper in her knees, she softly spoke up. "Even if you are the one who broke the wheel," Taffyta began with no hint of anger in her tone. "It was still Ralph's fault for coming into our game during arcade hours and making that track...while a person was playing our game."
Vanellope looked up and turned her gaze to her, eyes still filled with water, and tears constantly running down her now bright pink cheeks from crying. "But..."
"No buts," Taffyta demanded as she scooted closer to her friend, bringing her hands up to the president's face to wipe away her tears. Doing that reminded her of the times Vanellope did the exact same thing to her whenever she cried. "Stop trying to contradict what I'm saying. If Ralph hadn't come, none of this would have happened." She brought her hands back to herself. "You never were a bad leader. You have always been a great one up to this day."
The vanilla racer stared at her for a moment with teary eyes. "How am I a great leader now?" She asked softly.
"Well," Taffyta didn't have to think much for this. "When our game was about to be unplugged and we were all running out, I stopped at the entrance, looking for you." Now in a more relaxed mood, the blonde girl leaned back a bit with her hands supporting her weight. "I remember seeing you at the bottom of the rainbow bridge, making sure every single person was getting out. Every time Ralph was trying to get you to leave, you always kept going back when you saw others still behind."
Vanellope also remembered that moment. Ralph was extremely worried for her because she was reluctant to leave unless everyone was out safely. She hadn't even realized she was doing it since the moment was all a blur now that she thought about it. Prioritizing others in her game was a subconscious action of her.
Taffyta continued. "To be honest, if Ralph wasn't there, I don't think you would have made it," she wrapped her arms around her stomach, feeling an uneasy pain at the thought of Vanellope dying with the game. She wasn't really that fond of Ralph, but now, she was thankful that he was there to get her out in time.
Vanellope then realized that the girl's perspective of the occurrence was different to hers. While Taffyta thought about the leader sacrificing herself to save others, Vanellope's mind only remained on the fact that all this was her fault in the first place
However, even though the words of her rival made her feel a bit better, she still forced herself to believe that she was the cause of all this. And Taffyta knew this from the way Vanellope sunk deep in her thoughts again like before.
"See," the strawberry racer quickly said to distract Vanellope. "You are a great leader. Of course there were other times when you proved that, but this one...tops them all."
The president sighed as she recalled all the other things she did as a leader. Times when she motivated racers to never give up when they felt discouraged, helping out candy citizens with even the smallest problems, and occasionally assisting candy workers with their jobs. She even remembered that one time when the racers stepped out into Game Central Station for the first time, since King Candy forbade them to during his reign. That was the day they were invited to Felix and Calhoun's wedding. She held hands with those who were anxious and scared, but their fear didn't take too long to vanish. The memory lightened the vanilla racer's heart a bit.
Taffyta smiled on the inside, seeing the president's face looking less depressed than before. "Yes, we're all sad that we lost our game," she said, "but we would have been worse if we lost you."
Her last sentence evoked a warm feeling inside. "So...you guys don't hate me?" Vanellope asked with a spark of hope.
"Of course we don't," Taffyta assured her. "We'll never hate you."
The dreadful weight from before felt lighter on the president's shoulder. All those thoughts about her being a horrible person began to simmer down, and she felt like she was able to breathe again.
Vanellope also noticed that her friend hadn't backed up after she came close to wipe away her tears. She felt a sense of comfort from this, which was what she really needed right now. Before, she was always the one to comfort others, but she rarely ever received it herself, since the chance of her being sad was almost one in a million.
The two girls stared back at their former home for a while. The sun was now setting in the outside world, illuminating the arcade with an orange hue. All the other games displayed their busy and colourful visuals on their screens. Some showed their title screens, while others had a gameplay preview. Their game was the only one with a black screen, sitting there and waiting to be taken away and scrapped down.
After a while, Vanellope broke the silence. "I'm still worried about what will happen to us now," she began. "If we're not racers anymore, what are we gonna do all day?"
Taffyta thought for a moment. "I don't know," she replied honestly. Then something hit. She forgot that the others were still waiting for them in Felix's apartment, and the two have been up on the rooftop for a while. "But we can go downstairs and find out," she nudged her, urging the girl to get up.
But Vanellope still didn't seem like she was going to move anytime soon. "I'm not the ruler of you guys anymore, Taffyta. The game's gone. Y'all can find homes without me," she said sadly.
Releasing a sigh, the strawberry racer placed a hand on her friend's arm. "Even if we're not in Sugar Rush anymore," Taffyta began without thinking. "You're still our president."
Vanellope remained physically unmoved to her words, but they still sunk deep within her mind.
Taffyta then took up her lollipop and stood up. "And even if, for some reason, you still think you're a bad leader, which I fully disagree with," she said pointing at her with her lollipop. "Being there for us now like how you have always been before, would make you more than a great leader."
The president's heart sank. She wants to go and make sure everyone's alright. She really does. But she felt as if she wasn't ready to see them yet. Her rival was the last person she wanted to face after the incident. She was one of the closest ones to her out of everyone in the game, but also one of the most mature ones too. She expected Taffyta to confront her in front of everyone and lash out. However, to Vanellope's surprise, she did not get angry with her at all, especially after she told her what really happened.
But the president still feared to face the others. Would they react the same way as Taffyta? Or would they be angry with her if she told them the truth.
On the other hand, Taffyta was waiting a bit, hoping that Vanellope would change her mind about coming. Honestly, the blonde girl would have literally dragged her fellow racer downstairs if she wasn't in this state. But she decided not to pressure her into coming, as it would only make her more reluctant.
When she realized the president wasn't budging, she gave up. "Well, I'm going on ahead," she sadly said. "You can come when you're ready," And with that, the strawberry racer left the vanilla one.
Hearing the girl make her way down the ladder, Vanellope began to ponder on everything Taffyta told her. Mixed feelings began growing inside. It was like the negative and positive emotions were fighting each other inside of her. It actually started to make her feel a bit queasy. Was this a homesickness feeling? Or was it guilt, and fear? Not to mention her concern for those of the candy game and her urge to go and see them. Vanellope buried her face her knees, feeling her eyes sting as tears began to flow again. She wanted to go, but she couldn't. It was all too confusing for her. But she hoped she can get over this depressed phase quickly, because her subjects and racers need her right now.
Taffyta was walking down the hallway of the Nicelanders' apartment building. Her lollipop rested in her mouth as her eyes glanced around the hall room. Cream square patterned walls silently stared back at her along with white doors that had golden numbers on them, identifying apartment rooms. Shifting her eyes to the brown carpet floor, she recalled her conversation with Vanellope. The heavy concern she had for the president grew bigger. That was the first time she has ever seen her so depressed. It was painful, as if she felt her friend's feelings as well, but she kept it inside. But what Taffyta still didn't understand was the fact that Vanellope thought she was a bad president.
The blonde racer finally stopped at one of the doors, which had a number 3 sign on it. This was the place where everyone was waiting by the mean time. After releasing a soft sigh, Taffyta reached up to the knob and opened the door. However, an unexpected sight caught her off guard when she entered.
In the apartment room, there was a small hallway entrance area. The living room was further inside to the extreme left, so no one would have really seen when she came in. Plus, the sound from when she softly opened the door was overshadowed by the adults talking.
But before she could have come in all the way inside, the sight she saw was the racers themselves, all waiting by the entrance for her, and also Vanellope's return.
From the front to the back, Taffyta saw Jubileena, Adorabeezle and Snowanna sitting on the left. Rancis, also on the same side, was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Opposite to him on the right of the hallway stood Crumbelina and Minty, who were also leaning against the wall, and then there were Swizzle and Gloyd, sitting on the floor, closer to the entrance. They all looked very tired, which was rare for the racers since sugar is constantly pumping through their veins. Was it because of the game being gone, that it affected their code? Or were they all drained from the stress and fear they had due to their game being unplugged?
Taffyta then also noticed someone lying down on the floor. It was Candlehead, taking a nap as she rested her head on Snowanna's lap. The sorbet themed racer had her hand on the younger one's shoulder while she seemed to be in a deep sleep.
Another thing Taffyta noticed was all the other racers having a gloomy appearance, and even though their colourful outfits still shined brightly, they seemed dull in her eyes. Honestly, the whole atmosphere seemed gloomy.
As soon as Taffyta entered, they all turned to her, as if they were eagerly waiting. All the racers' attention was on the blonde girl. But, she could have seen slight disappointment in their eyes when they didn't see their leader with her.
"Where's Vanellope?" Crumbelina asked softly, being careful to not wake up the sleeping racer. There was concern in her voice. All of them were concerned, but it wasn't because their game got unplugged or they were scared at the moment. They were all worried about Vanellope. The way she looked after the event. The fact that she was isolating herself away from everyone disturbed them.
Taffyta let out a weary sigh. "She...still isn't coming," she sadly told them. Even after all that, Taffyta knew Vanellope wasn't going to come down anytime soon. And by the time she does, the arcade may be open and everyone would have to go back to their games. "She said to go on without her."
All the racers' face turned even more sorrow than before. Good thing Candlehead wasn't awake to hear that news, or she would have been really upset. Taffyta then heard faint shaky breathing coming from the racers. It was like she walked from one sombre place to another, as if it mirrored her failed attempts to escape the feeling within herself as well.
"Poor Vannie," Jubileena muttered under her breath.
Everyone was sorry for their president. They knew how much she adored racing. They all did.
Minty then leaned off the wall. "So," she began, letting her hands fall sorrowfully at her sides. "What are we gonna do now?"
The room was filled with silence.
Taffyta brought her finger to her chin, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Let's just...figure out where we will all be staying for now. After that..." she paused and shrugged. "...I don't know..."
After a short moment, the ones sitting down stood up and the rest were making their way back to the living room, all feeling dispirited.
Snowanna then gently shook the birthday racer awake. Sleepy emerald eyes flickered opened, accompanied by a soft yawn. Everyone already left for the living room, and it was just Snowanna and Candlehead now, still sitting on the floor.
The candled racer stretched and looked around, only to see none of the other racers.
"Where is everyone? Did Vanellope come?" She asked with hope sparkling in her eyes.
Snowanna shook her head sadly.
Candlehead's face fell. Then, she quickly got up and headed for the door, only to be pulled back by the sorbet racer.
"Candlehead, stop."
"But I want to make sure she's okay!" the birthday themed racer told her, trying to get free of the other girl's grasp.
Snowanna then pulled the girl back towards her. Resting her hands on her shoulders, she looked straight into Candlehead's green eyes. "Vanellope needs to be alone for a while..."
"But..." Candlehead hiccupped. "What if she never wants to talk to us ever again?"
Snowwanna gently took a hold of her hand. "Don't worry, Candlehead. That will never happen. Vanellope will come back to us soon..." She then started to lead her away from the door. "...I hope."
A/N: I actually had this story idea for a really long time, probably for a year! So I finally gained the confidence to write it out :D. To be honest, everytime I watch the sequel, I always thought about how exactly Sugar Rush's wheel broke. If only Vanellope tried the track after arcade hours instead, Sugar Rush would not have been unplugged. I also took that idea of Calhoun's statement, "Never interfere with the first-person shooter", and applied it to all arcade games. I really think they would all have a similar rule like that, depending on what their game is about. So in regards to Sugar Rush, I really thought Vanellope would have known better to not fight the gamer for the wheel. I know she is young, but she is really mature for her age. But I guess that's to help drive the plot for the sequel.
Additionally, I also wondered if Vanellope ever felt guilty for fighting the player for the wheel. And I had the thought of Taffyta going to check on her instead of Ralph in my WIR universe. Hence why I included her as well.
Anyways, thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated! :)
