HEY-O EVERYBODY! You all thought this story was on hiatus, didn't ya? ;) Well it's not! The update got a bit delayed because… well short story: Phantom and I have been quite busy with real life issues so… sorry about that… BUT FEAR NOT dear readers! I haven't lost my muse yet, so there is A LOT of story to tell, I can guarantee you that!
In fact, I already know how the story is going to end! *Sniggers* The problem is how long it's gonna take to reach that end hehehehe. Oh this story is for the long run!
Anyways, here it is chapter 8! 8D ENJOY!
Original story by GND-KicaCris.
Revised and edited by The Phantom Soldier.
"Wreck-it Ralph" © Disney
Chapter 8: Game on!
Rain poured down the windows of Litwak's Family Fun Center the following afternoon. The old owner sighed in contemplation as he looked at the cloudy sky with a resigned frown; he had never liked rainy days at all, not because of the risks of having the usual power outages (he had learnt how to deal with them through the years by buying a tiny generator that maintained his consoles safe), but because those days always meant slow business days for the arcade since kids would usually stay in their homes instead of coming out. Of course he couldn't blame them, he would never want any of them to risk their well being just to come and play some silly games.
Turning over his shoulder he mentally counted the few visitors who had managed to come that day before the rain started. As usual, the largest concentration was focused around the Wii Console Modulator zone, as his newest and most modern addition, Super Smash Bros. Brawl, had pretty much captured the majority of the attention of his costumers the past three days. Glancing over the rest of the arcade he also counted three kids playing together on Hero's Duty: World Expansion, while a familiar pair of teenagers was apparently having a hard time on Sugar Rush Speedway 2. He reckoned around six more children scattered among the other cabinets as well.
His eyes then landed on a familiar figure sporting an oversized yellow rain slicker with hot pink rain boots playing Fix-it Felix Jr. 2, and a small warmhearted smile crept over his mouth once he recognized the child. It was the 'Moppet Girl', as he affectionately nicknamed her years ago, the only kid who despite the weather had still came to play her favorite video games. The kid was one of his favorite costumers, as she loved to play all the video games regardless of her gender and young age. He chuckled in amusement as he noticed the girl grunt in frustration after being again defeated by Litwak's favorite Bad-Guy. He then directed his eyes again to the weather and back at his wrist watch, wondering if it was best to close and send the kids home early that day.
Moppet Girl face palmed herself as she saw Felix 'death' stance blink at her repeatedly seconds before the infamous 'Game Over' title flashed mockingly at her. She sighed and glared daggers at the smugly non-pixelated face of Ralph, who was hanging effortlessly at the top the highest skyscraper of Nicetown very King Kong like. She then heard a light snigger behind her and noticed with a quizzical frown the familiar faces of her not so favorite teen duo who she still didn't know the names of.
"What so funny?" she asked them with a slightly annoyed tone as she adjusted her big glasses over her nose with her index finger.
"You still haven't been able to beat the game after two days. I thought you were good at the old version," the lankier teen sneered at her with a mocking smile.
She snorted at him and proceeded to search for another quarter in her pocket. "Well, it did get more difficult and besides I'm not interested in beating the game in a time record," she told them as she kept looking through her empty pockets.
"Have you guys had any luck with Sugar Rush 2?" she asked them with a smug grin, already knowing the answer since she had also noticed them play miserably that day too.
The teens quickly dropped their mocking expressions and furrowed their frowns at her. "Not yet!" the chubby and shorter one told her with a glare. "But we'll beat the game soon! Wanna know how?"
Moppet girl cocked an eyebrow quizzically at them as curiosity sparked in her eyes. They glanced around them as to make sure no one was looking, got closer to her and opened one of their dirty school back packs. The blond girl gasped as she noticed the lankier kid bring out what looked like a thick gaming magazine.
"With this," he told her as he handed her the magazine. She read through the many titles that were printed on the cover until her eyes focused on one in particular that flashily read 'Sugar Rush Speedway 2: Queen Chocolette Von Schweetz' locked race event!'.
She gaped at them with a scolding frown. "This is cheating!" she whispered at them in an accusatory tone.
The fat teen shushed her and gestured with his hands to keep her voice down. "Relax! There are no cheat codes in there! It only shows a walkthrough that teaches you how to unlock the final boss level."
"It's not our fault that the game got insanely difficult! Games are meant to be beaten anyways!" the taller one defended in equal whisper.
Moppet girl kept her frown. "It's still cheating! What's the fun of that?! You guys are telling me you can't handle a challenging game for once?!" She told them, arching an eyebrow in mockery.
They knit their eyebrows in a straight line in clear annoyance. "Shut it! Do you want to know how to beat Wreck-It Ralph or not?!" the skinnier one urged her to answer them as they heard Litwak approaching.
Her eyes grew wide as dinner plates and quickly shoved the magazine back to the teen. "NO!" She said in a normal tone of voice, scaring the teens and earning the attention of the old owner.
He frowned at the three. "What's the problem sweetheart? Are these ruffians bothering you?" he asked as he glanced at the problematic duo with his fist planted on his hips.
The three youngsters exchanged worried looks as Moppet Girl struggled with how to answer him. She decided to better not tell on them. "Uhm…no, everything is fine. They were just asking me if I wanted to play Hero's Duty with them, that's all," she lied earning disbelieving looks from the teens.
Litwak dropped his frown and smiled widely with relief as he trusted the little girl's judgment. "Well that's nice and all, but I'm afraid I'm closing the arcade early today because of the weather so you kids will have to resume this tomorrow," he said as he patted the shoulder of the taller teen who smiled awkwardly at him.
"Come on everybody, pick up your jackets and things, it's closing time," Litwak said in a booming voice, earning complaining whines from the remaining customers.
Everybody started to slowly leave as Moppet Girl and the duo looked at each other, sighing in relief.
"Thanks," they both said in unison as they started to walk to the front door with her at their side.
"Shut up," she barked, still clearly mad at them.
-0-0-0-
"Quitting time!" Felix shouted after having regenerated, dusting himself off and stretching his blue suspenders tight in place. He then yelped in surprise as Ralph landed heavily by his side, cracking the floor upon impact.
The short handyman frowned at his antagonist. "Ralph! The floor just got fixed! Come on!" he complained as he brought out his golden hammer to tap the floor and fix it again. He quickly rose again to his feet and put his hammer back on his belt.
Ralph scratched the back of his head, looking at Felix apologetically. "Sorry brother, I guess I haven't gotten used to my new weight yet," he said with a sheepish smile.
Felix instantly dropped his frown and returned to his usual cheerful demeanor. "It's all right. Do you have any idea what game Vanellope would like to play today?" he asked him as both started to walk together towards the entrance.
"Knowing the kid, she'll probably pick a competitive one for sure," Ralph said with a chuckle as he and his protagonist arrived at their little train station. "She won't miss the chance to compete with her sister in something besides racing." Ralph hoped this would be the case as he and Felix hopped into their new but still old-fashioned looking little train and departed to Game Central Station.
-0-0-0-
"Do we REALLY have to stay in the castle AGAIN?" Warhead complained as he and the rest of the Sour Racers followed the queen as she marched towards the castle's entrance.
The dark queen wrapped her white scarf around her neck and fixed her ponytail as they walked. "I did say that you'll get punished for having disobeyed me yesterday, didn't I? You're lucky I didn't throw you in the acid candy pit and watch you regenerate until I get bored. So suck it up!" She barked at them in annoyance without even looking back at their disappointed eyes.
"But it's so boring in here! We'll die from boredom!" Zoet complained with her sister pouting and nodding in agreement.
Bonbon Lola rolled her eyes at the silly complaints as she kept walking by the queen's side.
Chocolette half smiled knowingly as an idea formed in her mind. "Oh don't worry, you'll be greatly entertained. Your mission for today will be to help dear Bonbon Lola to clean the entire castle." She chuckled as she noticed Bonbon Lola's eyes grow wide in fear.
"WHAT?!" They all said in unison.
"You gotta be kidding me! We're not maids!" Razz growled as she skipped a few steps ahead until she reached the queen's side. "Come on your highness! Give us another mission! Send us to paint graffiti all over Sugar Rush Castle or maybe we could go and sabotage the Sugar Racers' karts! Anything!" Her tone was pleading, trying to invoke whatever glimpse of mercy her queen could have.
"Your majesty… I honestly don't think it is really necessary for them to help me. I-I can take care of the castle by myself," Lola also tried to reason with her, agreeing for the first time with the orange Sour Racer.
"Nonsense dearie! My castle is just so big and you're so… so… short," she said with an awkward smile. "You'll thank me later, I know!" With an elegant wave of her hands, she signaled that the conversation was closed as they reached the grand black doors of the entrance.
Lola and Razz exchanged frowning looks and sighed in defeat.
"Oui, your grace…"
"Fine!"
Chocolette smiled triumphantly as she glanced to all of them one last time before leaving. "Excellent! You'll have so much fun dearies! Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with my-"
And just as she opened the doors, the queen's eyes suddenly grew wide as she found a familiar tiny figure waiting for her on the other side.
"Vanellope?!" She squealed in surprise, dropping her smile as she looked at the grinning face of her sister with an eyebrow arched in confusion.
Bonbon Lola and the racers gasped in astonishment behind her as they took notice of the princess's presence.
"Hey sis! Hello you guys! Nice game today, huh?" the princess-made-president skidded cheerfully as she greeted them with a toothy smile.
Chocolette glanced at each side suspiciously before returning her gaze back at her tiny frame. "Did you come alone," she asked her doubtfully.
"Well not exactly, General Nabisco insisted on escorting me here to keep me safe or something so he's waiting right there behind that lollipop tree," Vanellope told her with her eyebrows knit in annoyance while pointing at a remote lollipop tree a few miles away. The General saluted her with a slight tip of his tall cake hat, while signaling her with two fingers that he was watching closely.
The queen snorted mockingly as she saluted the general back sarcastically.
"You must be Lola," Vanellope chirped behind one of the legs of her older sister as she looked at the advisor with her big shining hazel eyes. "Nice to meet you! Wow, you're so pink and round. Just like Sour Bill!"
The female majordomo smiled brightly at her. Tiny tears formed in the corner of her pink eyes. "Prin-princess…Oh mon dieu!... You've grown so much…" she stuttered to say with her hands on her mouth as she was overwhelmed with sudden melancholy.
Vanellope arched an eyebrow at her in confusion, tilting her head slightly. "What do you mean," she asked her without noticing the flustered expression drawn on the queen's face.
"Oh don't mind her," the queen quickly whirled her around and started to lead her out of the castle with a firm hand on her back. "Let's get going lil sis! We don't want to keep the others waiting any longer. Don't cause any trouble while I'm gone guys! Bye!"
"Oh okay, bye guys! I'll see you later!" Vanellope waved cheerfully while Chocolette grabbed her by the hand and pulled her a bit stronger as she started walking faster.
The Sour Racers waved slowly and confusedly at the princess as she disappeared in the distance with their queen.
-0-0-0-
Calhoun tapped her armored boot as she waited for the rest of the group in the middle of Game Central Station with a bored frown. She kept checking her digital watch eagerly even though only 15 minutes had passed since the arcade had closed, but then she had never been known for being patient. She shifted a little and cracked her neck to relax a bit, feeling her still sore muscles after the day's gaming. Her ears quickly caught the familiar sound of her husband's unmistakable hopping sound. A half knowing smile crept across her lips as she whirled around to face him and his antagonist.
"Good evening my dynamite gal," Felix chirped with his cheeks glowing vibrantly as he hopped up and pecked her cheek as usual. "How was your day?"
Calhoun chuckled as she playfully pushed his cap down over his eyes. "Tiresome. We finally met the new final boss of our game and I got to admit… I haven't had so much fun since Wreck-It here unleashed that cy-bug nightmare in Sugar Rush last year." She said smugly as Felix and Ralph looked at her with worried eyes.
"Final boss," Ralph repeated with an eyebrow cocked. "What does it look like?"
Calhoun was about to elaborate when she noticed the Von Schweetz sisters walking side by side through Game Central Station towards them. "We'll save it for later-Yo chipmunk! Queenie! Over here!" Calhoun whistled shrilly to them, earning glares from some characters who were passing near them.
Vanellope instantly grinned widely as she hurried her steps a bit just to glitch and appear perched at Ralph's neck. "Good evening, Stinkbrain," she giggled, hugging his neck.
Ralph chuckled as he hugged her back with one big hand. "Evening, president fartfeathers! Arriving fashionably late?" he joked as he set her down on the floor again, raising his fist for her to fist bump back.
She did as he gestured and then put her hands inside her hood's front pockets. "Yep, that's the royal code after all," she giggled as she glanced at her older sister from the corner of her eyes.
"Don't I get I hug too, big guy," Chocolette pouted, crossing her arms under her ample bust. "I'm going to be jealous now."
Ralph blushed and arched an eyebrow, as he stood up tall again. "What happened to our deal with the pet names?" he asked, ignoring her fake, but still cute complaint.
Chocolette dropped her pouty expression and smiled smugly at him, "I did go to the meeting yesterday, didn't I? AND I also said that I'll be going to the next meeting so the deal is officially over, sweetie." She patted his shoulder playfully, earning a frown from him though he swiftly replaced it with a smile.
"It figures much, sugar queen," he replied back coolly, crossing his arms too. Chocolette's eyes widened as her cheeks glowed slightly pink at Ralph's choice of pet name for her in such a confident manner. 'Is he flirting with me now?' she mentally questioned while raising a questioning brow at him.
Smiling knowingly, Felix cleared his throat to refocus the attention and Calhoun quickly stepped over into tonight's business. "Alright children, knock off the flirting competition! What's tonight's game plan, pipsqueak?" she said to Vanellope with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
Ralph and Chocolette dropped their smug expressions as both blinked questioningly at the younger Von Schweetz. Vanellope grinned wider, if that was even possible, looking mischievous.
"Ladies and gentlemen, for tonight's game jump destination, I've chosen…" she made a dramatic paused as she suddenly glitched behind both Fix-Its. They all turned around to look at Vanellope expectantly.
"Here," she said while opening her tiny arms widely, indicating a very familiar entrance port behind her.
Ralph, Felix and Calhoun gasped in shock while Chocolette read the game's title that was flashing above the port.
'Hero's Duty: World Expansion'
"Have you lost your mind, Vanellope?!" Ralph shouted at her in disbelief.
"Oh come on! Don't be such a diaper baby, it'll be fun!" She said as she jumped in excitement.
Felix fiddled with his fingers as he frowned in worry. "I-I don't think this is a good idea Vannie. Tammy did mention the cy-bugs were now much bigger and more dangerous than before," the handyman hero argued.
Now Chocolette frowned, intrigued. "What's this game's deal?" she asked out loud and the Core Four looked at her in surprise, remembering that she still wasn't completely informed about this game in particular.
"This is the game where I come from; It's a shooting game," Calhoun explained to her. "Short story: the planet got infested by these creatures called cy-bugs who act pretty much as viruses. They don't know they're in a game, all they know is eat, kill and multiply… quite fast and massively. They also become what they eat which is a pain in the behind especially if they eat a weapon. The whole point of the game is to kill them and obtain a medal at the top of a tall tower." She finished with a smirk as the queen looked quite impressed.
"Wow, okay that really sounds tough," Chocolette admitted as she glanced at the game's entrance again.
"These things turned Turbo into a giant mutated-virus-thing and almost destroyed Sugar Rush last year," Ralph told her with grudge and the queen raised both eyebrows at him.
"They can eat characters too?!" she exclaimed in shock as she looked at Calhoun questionably.
"Yeah and the character gets corrupted if they're from another game apparently," Tamora shrugged dismissively.
Chocolette frowned, averting her eyes to her young sister who still looked mischievous.
"It's not as bad as they say sis, trust me. Ralph did manage to win a medal here on his own after all and bad-guys aren't supposed to win medals," she said coyly with her hands in her hoodie's pockets again. "PLUS, I'm thinking we could do a friendly competition in here."
Her trick worked as both Calhoun and Chocolette cocked an eyebrow simultaneously, their competitive programs tingling. "How so sis," the dark queen asked with her eyes narrowed and a smirk drawn on her black lips.
Vanellope giggled and glitched to appear lying on Ralph's shoulder, supporting her face with her tiny hands while faking an innocent look. "Oh I don't know… uhmmm… how about 'Good-Guys vs. Bad-Guys'," she said softly while batting her eyelashes at Ralph in a mocking manner.
Ralph raised both eyebrows as he laughed heartily at the suggestion. "You're kidding right," he said, panting. "Your sister is such a comedian, Chocolette." He slightly nudged her as the queen chuckled with him. "That's such a bad idea, right guys?"
Just then a mischievous spark lit up Calhoun's eyes as an idea formed in her mind. She smirked devilishly as she also chuckled in amusement. "I think I have to agree with Wreck-It here, soldier. It really is a bad idea," she said as she faked a laugh, Felix looking up at her curiously.
'That laugh… what are you planning this time, honey?' Felix thought as he knew his wife's chuckles very well.
Tamora narrowed her eyes as she sniggered with her head raised. "Yeah, I mean, three good-guys against two bad-guys? It wouldn't be an honorable victory even for my liking." And with that statement she released her mind-blowing bomb.
Felix's eyes widened as Ralph and Chocolette's smiles dropped.
'Oh no!' The short handyman thought as he noticed both antagonists frown back at his wife in anger.
"Excuse me?" Ralph said incredulously, feeling his ego hurt.
Calhoun raised both eyebrows as she crossed her arms while leaning her hips to one side. "C'mon Wreck-It, you know you had luck when you snatched that medal the first time you game jumped in my game when nobody was looking. You don't really believe you two could have a chance competing against us, right?" she teased again, knowing very well the unspoken rule that said it was not wise to tamper with a bad-guy's pride, but she just knew she had to play dirty if she wanted them to agree with Vanellope's idea.
Ralph frowned deeply at her. He was very aware of the sergeant's plans but couldn't avoid the boiling sensation of his own anger rising. He remembered Clyde saying once to them that no matter how hard it seemed, they had to avoid letting their villains' programmed egos take control outside their games. He had to stay calm and focused.
"Sure you're strong and even more so now with that upgrade, and sure queenie here is a badass racer alright, but you guys are no fighters," she continued to rub salt into their wounded prides, much to Felix's distress.
Vanellope giggled as she noticed her sister uncross her arms while gritting her teeth. She and Ralph clenched their fists instinctively, glaring daggers at Calhoun.
"Really, I don't think you'll be able to handle it".
And so Sergeant Tamora Calhoun Fix-It threw her finishing knock out as both bad-guys' eyes widened in outrage.
"Tammy honey, I don't think-"
"You know what?" Felix suddenly heard his brother snarl threateningly at them. "Game on!" Ralph smirked uncharacteristically darkly at the Fix-Its and Vanellope, with Chocolette mimicking his expression too.
Vanellope jumped off Ralph's shoulder as she no longer couldn't take the competitive excitement hidden in her any longer. "Alright chumps, let's get this party started," she said as she marched proudly to the Hero's Duty gate, fist bumping in the air without looking back one bit. Calhoun, Ralph and Chocolette followed her closely, exchanging snorts while a competitive glint shown in all of their eyes.
Felix sighed as he too followed them a little bit behind with resignation written on his face. He mentally hoped that Tamora truly knew what she was doing.
-0-0-0-
"This is such a stupid idea! How did I let myself get into this?! Argh!" Ralph growled in complaint as he adjusted his boots.
After Calhoun had given them a quick tour over their new head quarters, she had given them a couple new suits of armor to choose to wear for their competition. Calhoun had explained to them that in their new upgraded version, their armor and weapons automatically changed and adapted to their codes and avatar structures, so Ralph was quite pleased to finally be able to wear an armored suit in which he actually felt more comfortable to walk in. Especially since he now was much taller and build up than most of Calhoun's soldiers, meaning that he was no longer able to fit in any of their own armors. They split into their groups and changed in separate locker rooms, with the girls changing in a separate place for obvious reasons.
Already fully dressed, minus the helmet, Ralph took a good look at himself in the only mirror of the locker room. His suit was mostly black with tiny red lights adorning each plate of armor, with a tag on one of this broad shoulders that clearly read "Wreck-It". His armor was heavy looking, much like the old Hero's Duty male armor model, only that this time it looked more rounded on the edges thanks to the game's newly enhanced graphics, and there were also some neon red line lights outlining most of the pieces of the armor. As part of his personal customization, his armor sported large sized gauntlets for his wrecking hands that were equipped with special iron knuckles protectors which, according to the Sergeant, were strong enough to allow him to knock and wreck any metallic surface. It was all nice, yes, but truth be told, he was happy not to be wearing Markowski's armor again.
"Well look at you! And here I thought there was no way you could look any more handsome." Ralph yelped as he recognized the playful voice of Chocolette Von Schweetz entering the locker room.
He whirled around and gaped at the sight of her. She walked slowly towards him, her armored heeled boots clacking on the cold metallic floor of the room. She was fully dressed in her own female armor model, very similar to Calhoun's only that it seemed less heavy looking and much lighter in comparison, probably due to their different body structures since Calhoun was much more built up than Chocolette. Just like Ralph's, her suit and armor were both black with some red lights also decorating her most vulnerable body parts. The lines of neon red lights scandalously outlined her wide provocative curves, which Ralph couldn't avoid staring at now that they were more exposed under the tight expandex suit that she was wearing. He had to admit, she actually looked way more provocative in that armor than in her usual tight black racing suit… especially without the skirt.
He quickly shook his head, shoving away his bad thoughts from his mind though his face's pixels refused to stop glowing red, as he heard her speak again.
Chocolette smirked knowingly as she put her helmet on a nearby silver chair and approached the mirror in which he was previously looking in to check out her own armor. "You look pretty badass in that armor. You should ask the Sarge to give it to you and wear it more often," she said as she brushed her black and white bangs from her forehead and proceed to readjust her crown and brush her tall curly ponytail locks with her fingers.
Ralph remained speechless as he bashfully stared at her back as she kept combing her hair. He couldn't help himself as his eyes wandered all over her curves until he caught eyes with her in her reflection. Her smirk widened as she turned around to look him in the face.
"Do you like what you see, Ralphie," she teased softly, though he did notice her cheeks blushing slightly.
Ralph growled, more to himself than to her, and quickly turned around as he looked for his helmet. Strangely, he suddenly felt hot and uncomfortable in his suit. Chocolette chuckled as she returned to brush her hair.
After finding his helmet inside the locker where his armor and suit had been stored, he timidly glanced back at her while still blushing. "Y-You… look good too," he admitted to her and now it was Chocolette's turn to blush brightly as her eyes widened in surprise without looking back at him. "A-are you sure that armor is… well… uhm, strong enough to protect you?" He stuttered, feeling for the first time in 30 years his programmed bad-guy instincts shamelessly pushing for him to look down her back but he kept his eyes glued on her long black and white hair.
Chocolette cleared her throat and forced her blush to disappear as a knowing smile appeared on her lips. She whirled around completely as she spoke. "My customization is much lighter because I'm supposed to be a faster runner I guess, though I don't know if I'll be able to do it in these heavy boots yet. My armor also came with these babies," she said as she opened her hands to reveal long neon red hologram claws on her gauntlets. "I don't know exactly what these will be useful for but I like them quite a lot. I might keep them if the Sergeant allows it." She said as she clenched her much tinier fist with excitement.
Just as Ralph was about to speak again, they both heard footsteps coming from the other side of the room and so they turned around to face one of Calhoun's soldiers. Ralph knit his eyebrows in a straight line as he recognized Markowski's face without his helmet.
He stopped a few inches away from them with a resigned sigh and an annoyed expression plastered on his frown. "Wreck-It, Von Schweetz…." He said as he checked out Chocolette's figure with a lecherous look and Ralph strangely felt a sudden boiling rage coming from his core, making him clench and dent the locker door that he was currently holding. "The sergeant is waiting for you in the command room. Follow me!" he ordered as he glanced at Ralph with disgust, turning around and walking back from where he came from without waiting for them to answer. Chocolette and Ralph exchanged frowns but said nothing. They picked up their helmets and followed him out of the room and through the long grey tunnel that led to the command room.
After walking for a few minutes they finally arrived at the center of the Head Quarters as two big metallic door opened to Markowski, revealing a huge green room filled with computers and soldiers running and speaking from one side to the other. There were a few men seated in chairs and talking to their ear mikes as they gave different commands and orders to what Ralph believed had to be soldiers making perimeter checks or something. There in the middle of that organized chaos, was the familiar tall figure of General Hologram, as the Hero's Duty soldiers liked to call him since he was programmed without name and was the one in charge of the whole game. Curiously enough he was indeed a hologram, as his entire body was translucent and glowing blue, but never the less he was still treated and respected as a real avatar and soldier as the rest of the characters inside the game.
He had his eyes glued on a big holographic image of the Hero's Duty planet, tiny green spots scattered all over its surface while three big glowing spots blinked in three different and separated zones of the globe. One of them glowed yellow while the other two were red and blue. His eyes scanned the whole structure as if he was looking for something in particular. Chocolette cocked an eyebrow as she looked at the general with curiosity, while Ralph stood tall at her side. Markowski made a military salute as he regarded the general. "Sir, Red Team is here, sir!" He shouted loudly and the general smiled as he turned to face them.
"Ah Wreck-It! Long time no see! Calhoun and Fix-It already explained to me about tonight's mission. A Good-Guys vs. Bad-Guys team competition in Hero's Duty! I've to admit that we are all pretty excited about the outcome of this event." The general told them in a friendly tone as he kept his arms crossed behind his back.
"Speak of the devil, Blue Team has arrived too," the holographic soldier said as the head quarter's doors opened again with Calhoun, Felix and Vanellope entering in slow motion.
Ralph and Chocolette narrowed their eyes as they watched them approach to the center of the command room. The three were sporting matching black suits and armors, just like Ralph and Chocolette, with the only difference that their body lights shown neon blue instead of red. Felix had his golden hammer and a small customized golden gun hanging on his belt, while Vanellope had holographic blue roller blades as boots on her feet as part of her personal armor modification. Calhoun's new dark blue armor looked the same, though Ralph did notice her trademark backpack already on her back with probably all her favorite guns packed. She smirked at them before averting her eyes to the General to salute him properly.
"General," she said with the proper military greeting. The general saluted her back with the same gesture. "Blue team is ready for the action."
Vanellope skidded eagerly towards her sister and Ralph, and both instantly dropped their glares to smile warmly at the young president. "Sis! Ralph! Look at you! You look so cool! Wow I like your gauntlets!" Vanellope jumped in excitement as she looked at their armor in curiosity.
"You look good too, princess cavity. I like the roller blades," Chocolette told her as she ruffled her sister's dirty bangs playfully, earning a happy giggle from her younger sister. Ralph chuckled as he enjoyed the royal siblings' brief show of affection, his smile growing wide as he found the view endearing and heartwarming.
Felix approached them too as he left Calhoun talking with the general. "Wow brother hehehe, you actually look terrifying in that suit," the short hero bashfully complimented him. "Are you guys ready? I'm still wary about this idea."
"Relax my dear pint-sized husband. As long as you're on my team there is nothing to worry about," Tamora smirked as she patted Felix's shoulder lovingly, and Ralph and Chocolette's glares returned.
"Alright people listen up," General Hologram bellowed, silencing the room and focusing the attention on him. "We have a team battle competition tonight so I'm going to quickly explain the situation to all of you. The teams will be teleported to two different and separate zones of the planet, and you'll begin your search for the Tower from there. Each team will have its own command team, which will inform them of any incoming cy-bug attacks on their proximities; this way we'll keep our eyes on you in case of any emergency." He looked at Felix to assure him that everything was under control. The fixer nodded in acceptance, looking a bit less nervous.
"The competition will only last two hours; the mission is simple: first team to either kill more cy-bugs or obtain the Medal of Heroes at the top of the Tower will be the winner," he said with a chuckle before continuing. "There will not be any direct combat between the teams. I understand that the competitive spirits will be extremely high considering the natures of both teams, but let's keep the passions under control. Understood?" He cast a stern glance at Calhoun who rolled her eyes in response.
"One last thing before you go… we have just recently discovered a quite unpleasant new addition to our game" the general said in a much more serious tone as he tapped a button of the console, making a blurred image of some sort of unknown creature appear where the image of the planet had been floating before. Both teams scrounged their eyes, not knowing what they were supposed to be looking at while Calhoun clearly glared at the thing.
"My apologies for the quality of the image but since we just met 'her' today briefly, we still haven't collected enough data related to 'her'. We call her: The Cy-bug Queen, and we believe this is the cy-bugs' leader and also mother. This creature is extremely dangerous and her whereabouts are still unknown to us. If by any chance you manage to encounter her, you must hide immediately and wait for further instructions but avoid engaging in any kind of fight with her at all cost. She is big enough to swallow Wreck-It entirely," the general finished in a lower tone making Ralph gulp in worry as Vanellope grasped at Chocolette's leg in slight fear.
Turning off the image again, General Hologram smiled broadly at them. "Since everything is clear now, what do you say we get down to business, shall we? Both teams go the teleport capsules!" he ordered and once again the whole room came alive as soldiers and technicians got prepared.
"Oh I almost forgot! Just a heads up, this game jumping event will be broadcast in Game Central Station as part of the Surge Protectors' security protocol. So stay pretty ladies!" he said as he winked at Calhoun, Chocolette and Vanellope who smiled sheepishly except for Tamora who just grunted in annoyance.
"Red Team's with Markwoski! Blue Team with Kohut! Prepare the coordinates for the teleportation!" the general shouted as both teams followed their respective assigned soldiers.
Ralph and Chocolette stopped in front of a large tube machine while Markowski tapped some buttons on the nearest console. "All right listen up, I'll be helping you guys in the red base. I cannot tell you where to go since that'll be cheating and stuff. I'll only warn you if there are cy-bugs incomings. The moment you step out of this tube, you'll have your own health bars activated; this way we'll be able to keep an eye on you and prevent you from having a game over if the situation gets out of hand." His tone held an 'I-don't really-care' quality to it.
Ralph rolled his eyes as Chocolette frowned at the soldier, not liking his attitude. "Geez thanks for the support pal," Ralph sarcastically said as Markowski turned to look at him with an annoyed frown.
"You'd feel the same way if you were in my place. I don't like to play for the losing team," he barked at them as he signaled them to enter to the tube.
They both entered reluctantly with deep frowns. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Ralph growled at him in anger.
Markowski smirked as he threw them their backpacks with their equipped riffles and guns. "You're the bad-guys, which means the odds aren't in your favor," he said as he tapped a button and a blinding green light covered them before either of the two could say anything else.
-0-0-0-
Hohohoho something very exciting is about to happen!
Chapter 9 is finished and is already getting edited by Phantom but you guys will have to wait a bit since it's really, REALLY long (31 pages long to be exactly) so please be patient with me.
The wait will be worth it, I swear!
And as usual, don't forget to visit my DA account (GND-KicaCris) and my Tumblr page (KicaCris) for new art related to this story. Also, I'm taking drawing requests related to "Sugar Queen" as drawing practice since my illustration finals are taking away most of my drawing energies and I need some WIR inspirational ideas to keep me from entering into the dreadful artist block of doom. So if you guys would like to see any specific scene or character (s), don't hesitate on asking me to draw it! I won't promise that I'll draw every single request, but I'll give my best into pleasing you.
Please don't forget to leave a review! Maybe that will helps us to get encouraged into updating faster ;) ;) ;)