GND-KicaCris: Heyoooo dear readers! We're so sorry for this belated update but alas, better late than never, right? And just before the year ends! Woohoo!

The Phantom Soldier: *lights off a mortar* That's right folks. We are extremely sorry this took so long, but you know how the holiday season runs things ragged. Still, sorry about the long delayed update.

GND-KicaCris: Yeah but the wait is officially over! Please enjoy this new cute chapter of "Sugar Queen" and brace yourself for what is about to come after!

The Phantom Soldier: *scratches daVinci's beard* Indeed so. Most indeededly. Oh! And thank you to all of our wonderful readers for making the previous chapter the most viewed one! XD

GND-KicaCris: XD yeah! We did not expect that at all! Hohohoho you'll have more chapters like that soon enough!

The Phantom Soldier: So now, without further ado, please help us ring in the New Year with this latest chapter!

GND-KicaCris: Enjoy! And happy new year 2014!

Original Story by GND-KicaCris

Co-written and edited by The Phantom Soldier

"Wreck-it Ralph" © Disney

Chapter 14:

Not all surprises are welcome

It was early morning in Fix-It Felix Jr. and the city of Nicetown was slowly starting to come alive with the many NPC citizens preparing for their daily gaming routines. The streets were full of Nicelanders, driving in their small cars and walking down the avenues towards their homes and workplaces, with bright eager smiles drawn on their chubby faces, while the delicious aroma of Mary's new pie bakery engulfed the city, a signal that had become familiar to all the residents of Fix-it Felix Jr., telling them the time for the first quarter alert was close at hand.

Regardless of all these signals, there was one particular character that didn't seem ready to start the day just yet. And, funny enough, it was none other than the protagonist of the aforementioned game. It wasn't that he wasn't already fully dressed in his overalls, yellow shirt, blue jeans, yellow gloves and his blue cap, no. Nor that he wasn't already equipped with his tool belt and trusty magic golden hammer. The short handyman was physically ready as always, but his mind was another story.

Like most of the heroes in the arcade, Felix was known for being an extremely patient fellow. It usually took a lot to make him panic. Nothing could truly make him lose his 'cool', not even the most dangerous situations, no sir!

Unless, of course, it involved the resident bad-guy of his game, who was once again REALLY late for their first quarter alert.

"Okay, Felix just breath in, breath out…there's nothing to worry about, Ralph is probably still asleep yes, that's all hahaha," he chanted to himself as he walked in circles in front of the Nicetown entrance with a worried frown.

"Felix…"

"Bowser's parties are known for being pretty wild… I'm sure he had a wonderful time with the Queen," he continued, oblivious to the familiar voice calling his name.

"Felix…"

"He's probably on his way here I bet…Oh golly what if he didn't have a good time?!"

"Felix…"

"What if something happened to him?! After all, most of the arcade's villains went to that party and Ralph is not exactly a people person…"

"Felix!"

"I should have offered to escort them home after the party…"

"FELIX!"

"WHAT?!" The short handyman finally snapped out. Startled, he looked down at the source of the nagging voice. It was Gene, already dressed in his new executive white suit with his white 'Nicetown Mayor' ribbon already hanging on his torso, looking up at him with a cocked eyebrow and his mustache wrinkled in annoyance.

"Good morning to you too, Felix," Gene smirked up at him in amusement, already aware of what was probably troubling the hero at such an early hour.

"Oh! Gene! Hahaha Good morning! I didn't mean to…" he began but Gene gestured him to stop his incoming apology with a wave of his hand.

"It's okay Felix, I understand. Have you gone to check on Ralph at his shack?" the new mayor asked him, with his hands gripping the collar of his white jacket.

The short hero blinked silently at him in stunned realization. Why on earth hadn't he thought of doing that in the first place?! "I-I…no, I haven't! Oh my land! Thank you Gene! I'll do that right away!" he cheerfully said and sprinted right towards the town's outskirts.

Gene shook his head and shouted after him, "We still have 30 minutes left so make sure he's ready!"

The short handyman ran all the way while mentally praying that the wrecker was at his home. Reaching the top of the cliff, he saw Ralph's humble shack in the distance and smiled in relief. He ran and hopped a few times until he finally landed at the front door of his villain's home.

"Please be here," he mumbled as he rang the door bell first; he waited for a long minute but he got no answer. He rang the bell two more times, but still the door remained closed.

Frowning worriedly, Felix began to knock on the door. "Ralph, it's 8:30am, time to wake up! You don't want to be late, AGAIN," he shouted in a friendly but anxious tone. The short hero pressed his ear against the door to try to listen for any kind of movement, but the house was completely silent.

"Ralph? Ralph come on! Wake up already!" he shouted again and banged the door with more urgency.

His panic level rose rapidly. "RALPH! BROTHER WAKE UP!" He shouted and after banging for the third time, the door cracked open slightly.

Felix yelped immediately, noticing that the door wasn't locked. "Huh? It's open?" he wondered aloud and tentatively opened the door wider. Peeking inside he noticed that Ralph's shack was still dark and no signal of movement or sound could be perceived.

"Ralph?" he called but received no answer. His eyes then bugged when a horrible realization suddenly hit him like falling bricks. "…oh no…no, no, no, no!" he began and quickly rushed towards the bedroom.

His worries were confirmed as he opened the door and discovered the room completely empty with the bed still fully made.

"...no…" Felix gripped his head with both of his gloved hands, sweating heavily and panicking. "Oh my land…no…not this again! Where could he be?!" he began to ramble again while walking in circles.

"Could it be he's still at the party?! No, that can't be!" he bit the tip of his fingers nervously while still walking back and forth at the bedroom's entrance.

"No, Bowser will know best. He's a veteran and very responsible!" he tried to calm himself down.

"But then again, it was a rave…what if things got out of hand?!" he panicked again.

"No, no. Ralph's one of the strongest villains out there, he must be fine," he reassured himself.

"But what if he got into a fight with another strong villain?!"

"Oh my land, oh my land, what should I do?!"

The short hero was so immersed in his own panic attack that he almost didn't notice the familiar sound of heavy footsteps entering the shack.

"What the-? Somebody broke into my house?!" Ralph's raspy morning voice pricked Felix's ears, and the short handyman's face brightened up instantly with relief.

"RALPH!" Felix chirped and hurried to the front door.

"Oh thank goodness you're…" he started and just when his eyes landed on his figure, the famous hero of Fix-It Felix Jr. froze in shock.

"Here?" he finished while arching both eyebrows in confusion and surprise. The wrecker was still dressed in the same clothes he wore for the party last night…except for the fact that he was shirtless and his black boots were in his hands, wearing only his brown jeans and black leather jacket, and his spiky auburn hair was messier than usual. He was also breathing rapidly, with tiny drops of sweat rolling down his face, looking like he had just finished a marathon.

Ralph smiled sheepishly at his protagonist, avoiding eye contact at all cost and scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Hey uh…Felix, good morning," he stammered with glowing cheeks as the handyman kept looking at him strangely.

Felix scrunched his eyes at him. "Ralph? Are you just arriving from the party?" he asked him with suspicion.

Ralph quickly passed by him and headed straight to his bedroom. "Not really," he quickly half answered him and mentally prayed to the programmers that the hero would let the subject slide.

"What happened to your shirt and boots?" he heard Felix ask from the hallway while he changed into his work clothes. The wrecker froze and frantically forced his brain to come up with an answer.

"I… forgot them?" he answered quietly but honestly.

Ralph didn't hear him say anything else for a long minute. Just when he thought Felix would let it go, he sighed deeply with relief. His relief was quickly shattered when the handyman's voice interrupted the pregnant silence once again.

"Where?" Felix asked and Ralph could have sworn he could sense the hero scowling.

It was his turn to take another long minute to answer him back this time. "Sugar Rush," he said with a nervous smile while stepping out of his bedroom, already fully dressed for the workday.

Felix crossed his arms over his chest and looked up at him with a judging frown. "Did you spend the night in Sugar Rush?"

"Yes," he said quietly and he couldn't help smiling dreamily at the events of the previous night.

"Ralph!" Felix suddenly snapped at him with wide eyes. "You! You didn't sleep at Sugar Rush Castle, did you?!" he pointed at him with an accusatory finger.

The wrecker hurried towards the door and desperately tried to change the subject. "C'mon Felix! We're gonna be late!" he called over his shoulder.

"Ralph!" the handyman rushed after him, hopping high to land just in front of him, blocking his path and closing the door. "Where did you spend the night, specifically?" he inquired with a parenting tone.

Ralph stopped and looked down at the hero with guilty eyes. He REALLY didn't want to go through this with him. Why couldn't he be a little bit less 'brotherly' with him?! Why couldn't he just be like a few years ago when Felix acted oblivious and careless about the Wrecker's whereabouts? He blinked at him for two minutes and finally sighed in resignation. It was no use to try and keep hiding the whole truth from him. He was his friend now and he truly cared for his wellbeing, but Felix, good old fashioned Felix, was certainly not going to approve of his late night adventure.

"Alright, alright, I'll tell ya about the whole thing! Just don't judge!" he warned him with his massive index finger.

Felix calmed down, trying to remain neutral, already sensing where the conversation was going. "Alright," he simply said.

"Well, I'm not gonna tell you the whole thing of course, no way…how about you ask me a question and I quickly answer you with a simple 'yes' or 'no'?" he proposed.

"Okay," Felix agreed, arching an eyebrow.

"Fire away!" Ralph told him with both his hands on his hips.

"Did you spend the night in Sugar Rush?"

"Yes."

"Did you sleep at Sugar Rush Castle?"

"No."

"Did you sleep at Black Cola Castle?"

Ralph took a few seconds to answer him.

"…Yes…"

Felix went silent, his eyes going wide as dinner plates.

"Did they give you a room?"

"…Yes…"

"Did you sleep alone?"

"FELIX! Why are you asking me that! You're not my father for Kojima's sake!" Ralph barked with his cheeks on fire.

"OH MY LAND RALPH!" Felix quickly deduced without pushing any more questions, his gloved hands covering his mouth. "You…you…and the Queen…?!" he stammered with his own cheeks glowing knowingly.

Ralph simply looked away but couldn't help himself as the corner of his mouth curled into a proud smirk.

-0-0-0-

(An hour before…)

'Something's not right,' was Ralph's first thought. Despite just beginning to wake up, he could tell that something was off. For one thing, the bed felt unusually comfortable and large. For another, he felt a soft weight lying on his arm. And lastly, he could sense that he wasn't wearing his usual sleeping attire, or any attire for that matter. When he put all of these things together, he slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was still in Queen Chocolette Von Schweetz's bedroom, and the Dark Queen herself was still sleeping soundly against him, her ebony and ivory hair flowing all round her. And, much to Ralph's approval and embarrassment, she was still delightfully naked.

He blinked a few times and glanced all around him, noticing the programed sun of Sugar Rush already shining timidly through the windows' curtains, illuminating the black and white bedroom with a warm hue. 'Oh Konami…my head,' he mentally complained, rubbing his face and hair with his free hand in frustration. Flashbacks of last night's "fun" came back to him while he gently shifted under the bed's sheets, feeling each and every muscle of his body cringe in complaint. 'Did all that really happen?'

Ralph gently stretched his back in order to loosen himself up. As he did so, he felt a gentle stirring against his arm followed by a coo of approval. When he looked down, he smiled as he saw the queen nuzzling closer to him, mumbling little things.

"...Five minutes more Lola..." he heard her mumble with a cute pout while she snuggled. The Wrecker chuckled lowly while finding her unconscious form too adorable for her character. He kept watching her for a while until her eyes started to flutter open, frowning slightly in blind confusion.

She let out a small yelp of surprise as she felt a massive hand pull her close, but when she looked up she gave an amused huff at having been woken up by her favorite guy.

Reaching over with a thick finger, he brushed off her bang while she yawned against his chest. "Good...morning," she said hoarsely with a sleepy smile. Her back was facing the window and the sunlight outlined the curves of her naked waist, while her long, wavy hair cascaded randomly all over her shoulders and the mattress. "Am I still dreaming?" she suddenly questioned with her eyes closed again.

Ralph gently pulled her onto him, wrapping his arms around her as he nuzzled her head. "If this is a dream, I don't wanna wake up ever again," he said as his hands glided up and down her back, massaging it ever so gently.

She hummed a low purr of satisfaction and reflexively nuzzled him back. Chocolette opened her eyes a bit and smiled broadly at him. Her emerald eyes were shining warmly and there were honey glows on her cheeks. "First time I've woken up this nicely," she chuckled while sneaking her legs around his and tangling them together.

"That makes two of us," he breathed back, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed against his and the sensation of her legs wrapping around his. This truly was a joyous moment in Ralph's mind, waking up in a comfortable bed with a beautiful woman, being able to enjoy the sunrise rather than resent it. Yes, everything was nigh perfect.

"I could definitely get used to this," she said while crossing her arms over his chest and supporting her chin above them, smiling cockily with that familiar flirtatious glint in her vibrant green eyes. "Though I wouldn't say the same about this awful headache that I'm having," she admitted while rubbing for a moment her temples. "You are actually much more comfortable to sleep on than my bed."

"And you're a much better cover than that tattered blanket I've been using," he replied, keeping her pressed against him. His own headache was starting to fade, but the room had taken to spinning ever so subtly so he decided to refocus his attention back on Chocolette.

"Really? But I barely cover you," she chuckled, and to make her point, she encircled her arms around his neck and lay fully over him, snuggling as much as she could, "unintentionally" brushing her chest over his. "See? I don't think I can keep you warm like this," she said, grinning like a fox.

Ralph, not to be outdone, laid his hand over her plush backside appreciatively. "I think you cover plenty, Sugar Queen," he said, enjoying the sound of her going 'eep' when he gave it a playful pat.

The queen blushed even more but her grin didn't lower one bit. "Oh, so you don't need me to give you a 'Raise the flag' to encourage you," she joked and teasingly pecked his cheek in fun.

Ralph grinned back at her. "Only if you're sure I don't have to give you a Cherry Popper in return," he chuckled, nuzzling the nape of her neck.

Chocolette giggled in delight. "Uhmmm I think I still have traces of the last one I had so..." she said innocently while curling her finger around one of his spiky locks.

Ralph leaned into her touch, enjoying the feeling of her smooth hand running along his face. It was such a comforting sensation that he wished fervently that it'd never end.

The dark queen snickered as she felt his 'morning phenomenon' against her thighs. "Well looks like someone is already 'hungry'," she teased, rising a bit to look at his reddened face with a smug grin. Her nose was just an inch away from his.

"'Hungry' is putting it loosely," he breathed against her through his nose, mildly conscious of the fact that his breath probably wasn't the freshest at the moment. He pulled her ever closer, slowly closing the gaps between their lips...

"MORNING SUNSHINE! It's game day!" Razz's voice suddenly blasted from the now opened doors of the room, startling both villains.

-0-0-0-

(Five minutes before)

"Oh sweet mother of milkshakes…my head," Razz groaned as she shook her head to try and clear the lingering mists of the alcoholic fog clouding her mind. Looking around her, she saw the rest of the Sours doing the same thing. They had been roused from their collective drunken slumber by Bonbon Lola, who had mercifully taken the time to reset them from Black Cola Castle's code room in order to lessen any hangovers they might have woken up with. But that didn't mean they were entirely free and clear of the price attached to the previous night's fun.

As their headaches started to lessen, Lola took pity on them once more, arriving back in their barracks with a tray full of her special hot cocoa, a thick and delicious concoction that perked the Queen's minions right up to full health. It was just as Razz was finishing her mug that she noticed how pleasantly quiet it was.

"Hey, anyone seen the boss?" she asked, scanning her partners as she peered over the rim of her mug. Five heads shaking 'no' was the answer she received, and that gave the leader of the Sour Racer's pause for concern. Queen Chocolette was notorious for waking up her minions in extremely surprising and often times life-threatening ways. The fact that she hadn't taken advantage of their drunkenness was something that was more worrying than calming.

"Maybe the Queen's still asleep," said Warhead, stirring his cocoa with his finger before plunking the digit into his mouth and savoring the delicious flavor. "I mean, she was goin' toe-to-toe with three other bosses last night." The rest of the Sours shook their heads in agreement at his assessment, figuring that Chocolette had to be doing worse than they were.

Razz's eyes suddenly lit up with a mischievous glint. "Y'know," she began, tapping her finger against her chin in thought, "we should really go wake her up." The rest of the Sours looked at her incredulously, wondering if the orange-haired racer had suddenly gone mad. But Razz pressed on. "After all, it can't be too long before the arcade opens, and she'd be angrier at us for not waking her up, wouldn't she?"

Five sets of eyes suddenly went wide in comprehension. They all realized they were in trouble either way, so they may as well take the route that would give them more fun. Finishing their cocoa, the six racers left their barracks and walked through the halls of Black Cola Castle wearing matching devious grins. When they reached the door to the Queen's bedchambers, Razz held up a hand for all of them to stay put. Her comrades stood back, holding back giggles with bit lips and pressed fists.

Razz straightened herself up, took a deep breath, and pushed the doors open with all of her might…

-0-0-0-

(Back to the Ralph'story's present)

The orange sour racer walked straight towards the canopy bed, unaware of what the drapery was hiding. "The sky is awake, so you're awake," she began with a cheesy, sarcastic tone.

"Come on now, don't make me bring Lola in here," the racer chuckled knowingly and was about to make another mocking comment just as she reached the bed and opened the curtains wide.

"Boss?-HOLY SKITTLES!" she screamed to the top of her lungs.

"AAAAAAHHH!" Both villains shouted in shock with Chocolette jumping off of Ralph clumsily in reflex to cover herself with the blankets of the bed, while the leader of the Sour Racers blushed madly and covered her face in shame.

Hearing the screams from the hallway, the other five minions came rushing into the bedroom, ready to defend their monarch from any intruder or foe that might be molesting her, oblivious to what they were about to face.

"WHERE'S THE-oh my!" Rocko paled upon entering the room with the rest of his comrades and immediately covered his eyes in embarrassment.

"My eyes! My eyes!" the twins echoed while covering each other's eyes, just as Warhead stared stupefied and Franknerd lowered his goggles to see more clearly.

"I'm gonna need my brain code rebooted again," the green afro racer mumbled in disbelief.

"Your majesty, I'm so sorry-"

"GET OUT!" Chocolette shrieked furiously with her eyes dangerously glowing neon green while gripping the sheets against her chest with her whole face glowing red.

"BEAT IT BEFORE I THUMP YER SKULLS!" Ralph bellowed at them, fuming and looking terrifyingly mad.

The six racers gasped and paled even more. "Run…run…RUN FOR YOUR LIVES DUDES!" Warhead yelled as he rapidly turned around and began to dash away.

"SCRAM YA FOOLS!" Ralph yelled more severely, making the remaining five racers stumble over each other as they all ran away from the room as fast as their legs could carry them.

"I'm never gonna get that mental image out of my brain!" Rocko said as he cried manly tears while pulling Franknerd from his vest collar who was too stupefied to run on his own.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the twins kept screaming as they all ran through the hallways.

"SHUT IT AND RUN FASTER!" Razz ordered them, running much faster than the others.

"MY EYES! IT BURNS!" Warhead echoed, sweating frantically in fear.

Bonbon Lola, who had been casually dusting a few halls away from the Queen's wing, watched the six evil racers run for their dear lives down the corridor. "Oh mon dieu, what did zey do now?" she wondered aloud with a worried frown.

Back in the bedroom, Ralph settled back down on the bed and laid back, wrapping an arm around Chocolette. "You really gotta get a lock for that door".

Chocolette crossed her arms and snuggled closer to him with an angry frown. "Remind me to fry them later in the acid candy pit. That will teach them to knock before opening the door."

Ralph was just about to fall asleep again when what Razz had said about it being morning registered in his brain. "OH SWEET MUTHA HUBBARD!" he shouted. He rocketed out of the bed and started throwing his brown jeans and leather jacket on, completely forgetting he had a shirt when he came in.

Chocolette fell over his pillow with a hard thud. This morning was turning sour for her. "RALPH!" she barked in complaint, pouting cutely.

Ralph took a moment to stop pulling his gloves on and leaned over to give her an apologetic kiss on the cheek. "Sorry Chocolette, but I gotta get to work!" he told her.

She frowned at him. "I'm not gonna accept that as an apology," she said with her arms crossed over her nude chest and turning her head away stubbornly.

Ralph stopped in his tracks and looked at her, taking in her angry expression. Slowly, he kneeled down on one knee and looked into her eyes, offering her a goofy smile. "Forgive me, fair Queen. Your errant knight is once again guilty of acting and speaking before giving any thought at all," he gallantly but comically said with exaggerated romanticism.

The queen couldn't help herself as she chuckled at him in utter fun. "I hate you for being so handsome," she admitted with blushing cheeks and a sexy smirk. "Give me a real kiss and I'll forgive you!"

"Yes ma'am!" Ralph grinned widely and standing on his feet again, he leaned in eagerly and let his lips meet Chocolette's in a passion filled kiss.

She smiled into his mouth and deepened the kiss but quickly let him go. "You better get back here immediately after the arcade closes to finish the job, mister!" she ordered him with a mischievous smile.

He bowed at the waist with one arm held across his chest "Yes, your highness," he said before giving her one last kiss. The wrecker then grabbed his boots and hightailed it out of the palace and SugarRush as fast as he could.

-0-0-0-

"And that's why I'm a bit late…" Ralph finished his story, his face completely red and an annoyed frown plastered on his features. They were both standing under the city's entrance, waiting for their game's intro to start playing.

Felix gaped at his antagonist, his jaw almost hitting the floor with his cheeks burning furiously, his eyes big as plates, and his arms hanging limply on each side. "…Oh my land…" he said for the tenth time that morning. He pressed his hand against his forehead, trying to clear his mind of the images. "Did you at least have fun at the party?

Ralph smiled like he was the king of the arcade. "More fun than the time I helped Vanellope clog the Maple River with a dam made of waffles," he said with a chuckle. "Well, at least until that creepy Ganon-idiot-whatever showed up and nearly ruined the party."

Felix's breath caught in his throat. "Ganon?" he repeated fearfully. "As in Lord Ganondorf from Zelda?"

"Yeah, that's the bum," Ralph replied with a scowl. "Bowser tossed him out like yesterday's trash so it was only a minor hiccup to the festivities."

Felix wanted to know more, but he had a more immediate question concerning Ralph's date on his mind. "But-but Ralph! What about your plan? Is the Queen trustworthy then? Vanellope is safe from her?" he asked him in a concerned tone.

Ralph smirked confidentially at him, crossing his arms over his barrel chest. "Yeah, Chocolette is fine. Wicked, but fine enough," he said the last part with a knowing chuckle. "I don't think she's really a threat to the kid," he finished while looking up at the console's screen, noticing the lights of the arcade coming on.

The handyman fidgeted with his fingers and bit his lip with uncertainty. "Well…if you say so brother…I guess I should congratulate you, right? For you and…Chocolette," he said, smiling sheepishly at Ralph. "I'm happy for you…" But Ralph didn't miss the note of disapproval in his tone.

"Don't be such a 'nelly' Felix. We're just…fooling around; We aren't 'in love' or anything like that yet…we just like each other's codes A LOT," the wrecker said with a blushing smirk. "And there is still a lot of her that I still need to decode."

Felix giggled lowly upon noticing the infamous 'honey glows' in Ralph's cheeks. 'Oh brother, I don't think you know what you've gotten yourself into,' he thought. He then decided to change the topic when remembering what Ralph had told him about Ganondorf's sudden appearance at the party. "So…about Ganondorf, Ralph-" he started but soon enough, the two saw the incoming shadow of their first gamer approaching their console.

"Let's leave that for after work," the wrecker said as he dashed towards the woods at full speed, just as Felix adjusted his cap and raised his trademark golden hammer proudly with the game's theme music already playing in the background.

-0-0-0-

"Oh man Razz! The boss is going to kill ya FOR REALZ this time! I mean, ya would die today and you WON'T REGENERATE for sure," Warhead's muffled voiced echoed from under the green hood of his jet kart.

The six Sour Racers were in Black Cola Castle's main garage, located in the East Wing of Black Cola Castle. Much more than a simple garage, it was kept high off the ground to prevent any chance of the Sugar Racers tampering with the vehicles and actually looked more like a hangar, including an airstrip and an open view to the vast stretches of Sugar Rush's Lollipop Plains below the other side of the tall frozen black cola walls of the castle. They were all tuning up and getting their iconic monstrous racing karts ready for the day's races.

"Shut your face Warhead!" Razz barked at the green-afro racer with a licorice screwdriver aimed directly at his nose. "How was I s'posed to know the Wreckin' Man spent the night getting' funky with the Queen?!"

Warhead raised both of his hands in defense. "Hey! Hey be cool Tangerine!" he argued with a nervous smile.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She spat in his face, the orange racer's a mask of pure, seething rage, pressing the screwdriver against Warhead's nose.

"To be fair," Rocko's voice suddenly interrupted the quarrel as he jumped off of his Mexican candy-skull monster truck and cleaned his hands off with a dirty piece of cloth, "It was your idea to wake the Queen, Razz."

Warhead smiled and gave a thumbs-up to the red racer for his very timely intervention.

Razz saw this from the corner of her eyes and glared daggers at him. "Well if I get beaten today," she started as she turned around and walked towards her three wheeled kart with a calm tone, "then don'cha be surprised if, by 'accident', I drag you down with me." She leaned against her vehicle with her arms crossed, a smug grin etched on her face.

Rocko, Franknerd and the Twizzler twins giggled in amusement as Warhead frowned. He was about to give one of his crass remarks when the sound of heels click-clacking against the pavement alerted them to their sovereign's approach.

"What's so funny now?" The voice of Dark Queen Chocolette Von Schweetz resonated through the hangar, making them all spin around to face her with fear in their neon colored eyes. The queen was already fully dressed in her black racing suit with her hair perfectly combed in her trademark, tall, bi-colored twisted ponytail. She had both hands planted on her hips and had a serious expression on her beautiful but threatening eyes, but didn't seem as mad as one would have expected her to be.

Razz lost her balance on her kart for a second but quickly straightened up and pretended to be checking the data feed on her vehicle's monitor. "N-nothing your majesty…good morning!" she stuttered with a fake smile and sweat drops running down her forehead. The rest of the racers did the same as her and proceeded to continue tuning up their respective vehicles in utter silence.

Chocolette huffed and walked straight towards the open area of the hangar, with all fearful eyes on her. None dared to say anything to her, afraid that anything could make her snap and do something drastic to them right there and then. And yes, not even the temptation to comment about her sly funny way of walking could encourage their brains to speak up.

The queen stopped a few inches away from the tall wall, crossing her arms behind her back as she looked over the vast lands of the Sugar Rush Kingdom with her piercing, lime-green eyes. The wind immediately started to blow softly around her, making her long curly ponytail flow smoothly in sync. The Sour Racers blinked silently and exchanged glances with each other in confusion, as they could all notice that there was something different with their 'boss'. She was oddly silent but somehow, even with her back at them, they could all feel that she was…happy.

"You're all lucky I'm in such a good mood today…or else I'm afraid we would have started the first game of the day without any mini bosses," she suddenly said with a chuckle, startling them even more.

"That's good…to know!" the twins timidly whispered, their bangs covering their non-tattooed eyes in uncertainty.

Chocolette looked at them over her shoulder, grinning widely as she found their expressions of complete and utter terror incredibly amusing. "Relax already! Are you planning on letting the gamers see you with that look of fear in your eyes?!" she barked at them with a grin still curled at the corners of her black lips.

"No-No! Your grace!" they all said in unison, shaking their heads and shoulders to shrug off their discomfort and move on with their daily routines.

"Wow…we better make sure Wreck-It stays for the night more often…I've never seen her in this good a mood ever," Rocko whispered to Warhead, who sniggered in agreement with him, only to be silenced again by a sharp smack on the back of their heads courtesy of Razz.

"Hey!"

"You two don't know when to shut it, do you?!" she whispered through clenched teeth as they all approached their queen with precaution, forming a semi circle behind her.

"Alright listen up!" she said, turning around to face them with her hands again on her hips. "Today's game plan will be the same as yesterday but with a few modifications. Bonbon Lola is already on the watchtower with the magical candy crystal ball, ready to inform us about any particular unexpected event that could happen during game play; you will be able to communicate with her with the lollipop earplugs I gave to you the first day we got plugged in. I want you all to remember our follow up procedure in case we have a 'code black licorice' on the run… first of all, Razz-" the queen began to explain their usual modus operandi in detail, but the Sour Racers' minds had already drifted to other more disturbing thoughts…well, "disturbing" at least in their point of view.

'Oh man, what is she doing?! Is she doing that on purpose?'

'Stay calm Warhead, don't say anything…don't dare to say anything!'

'She's glowing so much – it's ridiculous!'

'That smile is freaking me out'

'…creepy…'

'Razz please say something! Make her stop!'

"Uhm boss?" And on cue with their thoughts, the orange Sour Racer finally decided to intervene for the sake of everyone's sanity.

The dark queen arched an eyebrow at the rude interruption. "What NOW, Razz?" she asked her with her patience running thin. She was starting to wonder if it was in her program to constantly make rude interruptions to her or if it was just a recurring joke for the tanned racer.

Razz took a few seconds to reconsider having, once again, cut her queen off so abruptly but steeling her courage she cleared her throat and spoke up about what everyone was thinking. "Boss…are you feeling okay? You seem…well, you're…" she began to babble.

Chocolette looked at her with both of her thin eyebrows furrowed in a straight line, "What?!" she barked at her again.

"You'reblushingandsmilingtoomuch! There! I said it!" Razz finally spat the words that were eating away at them inside and everybody nodded with her in agreement while smiling nervously at their monarch.

Chocolette blinked in confusion. "Wait-what? What are you babbling about now? I'm not smiling!" she said, completely oblivious to her own lopsided smile.

The six minions looked at her incredulously, arching their eyebrows and wrinkling their foreheads in slight amusement. "Boss…you're doing it now," Rocko insisted with a low chuckle.

"Glowing…so much glowing…" Chocolette managed to catch from Franknerd's usual gibberish way of speak as he lowered his spiral goggles to look at her with his neon blue eyes as big as plates.

"What-no! Stop saying so much nonsense!" she said though her reddened cheeks blushed even more furiously.

"It's getting – worse," the Twizzler twins agreed with knowing half-smiles.

"You're freaking us out, boss. Please stop it!" Warhead said warily with his shoulders shrugged.

"Shut up! I'm not-"

"M'lady," Bonbon Lola's voice suddenly resonated through their earplugs, her voice sounding oddly excited. "We have a visitor."

And just then they all heard an unfamiliar blaring sound of a honk coming from outside the walls.

"Good morning residents of Black Cola Castle!" came the unmistakable voice of Vanellope Von Schweetz, echoing faintly from outside the castle.

Chocolette turned around with a confused expression as the Sour Racers arched their eyebrows in surprise. She walked towards the edge of the tall wall. Looking down, she found the grinning figure of her antagonist and younger sister on her weird looking kart.

"Vanellope?" she questioned as the candy president stood up on her seat and looked up at her with her big hazel eyes.

"The one and only! Good morning big sis! Ready for another exciting game day?" Vanellope yelled with her hands cupping her mouth to increase the volume of her voice; She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Uhm yeah I guess…what are you doing here this early? Shouldn't you be checking on the rest of the sugar brats?" the queen wondered as the Sour Racers popped their heads one by one over the wall to look down at the candy princess in curiosity.

Vanellope glitched up to the rampart in front of Chocolette. The smile she wore and the glint of mischief in her eyes gave Chocolette the feeling she was staring into the face of Satan herself. "I just wanted to come check on my big sis after the party she attended last night," she said with a voice so sugary it made Chocolette's teeth hurt. But her tone also had an "I-know-a-secret" tint to it.

The Sour Racers gasped in horror at seeing the princess boldly stepping into the castle without thinking. Chocolette's eyes went wide in horror too but tried to remain calm. "That-tha's nice, I guess but you shouldn't have! We had a great night. Now be a good lil' sister and glitch back to your kart before you get us all in trouble" she quickly said with a wary smile while turning Vanellope by her shoulders and signaling her to jump back down to her vehicle.

The little candy president just glitched behind Chocolette and kept smiling. "Oh I'll get there in time, sis," she said, her voice as oily as the Crisco that kept their karts' engines lubricated. "Just as soon as you tell me what happened AFTER the party."

The Sours Racers paled even more and immediately formed a line behind Vanellope, blocking her path. Chocolette sweated heavily at her risky maneuvers. "What are you talking about, sis? Come here now, we all just went to sleep after the party," she forced her fake smile another notch, making her look slightly scary even.

Vanellope shook her head in a faux unbelieving way. "Lying to your little sister. Shame on you Chocolette," Vanellope said, her eyes still alight with devious intent. "Did you really think I wouldn't notice Ralph blazing out of here this morning? Kinda hard to miss the plume of sugar dust he sent flying behind him. Making Ralph late for his game? Tsk, tsk, tsk." She wagged her tiny finger at Chocolette, adding further tension to the scene.

Chocolette's breathing suddenly stopped and she went even paler than normal. She had seen him! She had seen Ralph leave the game! She mentally cursed her bad luck and desperately tried to come up with a reasonable explanation, without giving unnecessary non-child-approved facts too. Meanwhile, the evil racers suddenly dropped their defensive stances and looked at their monarch with amused curiosity.

"Oh! You saw him? Hahaha," Chocolette laughed nervously, "Yeah silly old wrecker! He spent the night here at the castle." She answered her simply without any further explanation, praying to the programmers that her answer would satisfy her sister's inquisition.

Vanellope put her hands on her tiny hips, tapping her foot against the jawbreaker and cola stone battlement. "Uh huh," she said, sounding completely unconvinced. Chocolette and the Sour Racers stood there sweating, all of them wondering how such a tiny girl could make them this nervous. They all felt like they were being roasted over one of Bowser's lava pits. "What I wanna know is, why didn't you invite me over?"

The silence that followed the question was deafening. Of all the things Chocolette figured Vanellope was going to ask, that certainly wasn't one of them. "Uhmmmm... What?" was the most intelligent response Chocolette could formulate. Her mind was set racing, wondering who had explained the "Plugs & Sockets" to Vanellope and how she was going to make them sincerely regret their decisions to teach her about such things. But right now she had a very awkward situation to diffuse. "Listen Vannie, I just..."

"DON'T YOU 'VANNIE' ME!" Vanellope shouted, leveling an accusatory finger at her older sister. Her little outburst set the Queen and her racers back on their heels, all of them wondering where she was drawing her ferocity from. "YOU AND RALPH HAD A PAJAMA PARTY AND YOU DIDN'T INVITE ME!"

For a long silent minute, the queen and her racers just blinked at the accusatory form of their tiny princess in a speechless stare. Finally, after having their brains restarted, the Sour Racers started to giggle and chuckle quietly, with their hands covering their mouths in a futile attempt to be discrete. Chocolette dropped her smile and frowned in annoyance, though feeling a HUGE sense of relief. "A pajama party you say?" she repeated with her eyes closed, trying to quell her boiling impatience.

"That's right!" Vanellope huffed indignantly, pouting cutely and looking up at her sister. "I can't believe you and Stinkbrain could have a sleepover without me! It's not fair!" She stomped her little foot in outrage, throwing a very controlled temper tantrum. "We could've played games and talked about racing and made fun of Ralph all night!"

"More like a pajama party without pajamas," Razz whispered to Warhead and the six again sniggered as quietly as they could. The queen, however, didn't miss it one bit, and immediately glared daggers at them. "Why sis, it was pretty late and Ralph insisted on not waking you up for such nonsense," she lied to her.

"Hmmmph," Vanellope kept pouting, looking away from her sister. "Still not fair. And it's not nonsense."

"Right, right, now that you know the truth, turn over those boots of yours and get off of my wall before I start to really get mad at you!" she playfully scolded her, though she was actually being serious with her for once.

Vanellope suddenly realized her position and remembered the stupid rule in their game that forbade her from actually entering her sister's castle until some magical macguffin or another happened. Frowning very much like Chocolette, the little candy president glitched and appeared again down on her kart. Just when the shadow of a relieved smile started to appear on the queen's lips, her sister's voice surprised her again. "Oh! I almost forgot! How about if tonight you, me and Ralph do something together?"

Chocolette rolled her eyes as her bad code screamed in her mind 'NO! NO WAY!' repeatedly. After last night's event, the only thing she wished to do was to spend more time with Ralph ALONE. "I don't know sis..." she started while thinking of a good believable excuse.

"Aw come ooooooon," Vanellope whined. "You two got to go on your big bad-guys only date! I can be bad too! Last week I left peanut butter and taffy on Taffyta's seat! It would be fun! My castle is fun too!"

That got Chocolette's and her racers attention, "Your castle you said?" she inquired with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah, MY castle," she shouted happily. "Y'know, the big white one over that way? And I'll admit the less cool looking one if that helps!"

The Sour Racers went silent, and looked at their powerful boss with intense curiosity. They could see the engines working in their dark leader's mind as the shadow of a smirk started to curl on her black plump lips. Her emerald eyes glittered knowingly, as the dark voice of her bad code whispered 'go for it' into her brain. "Oh...well that sounds like fun...are you sure Nabisco will be okay with this," she asked her innocently.

"Pffftt... Like I listen to Cap'n Crunch and his ideas," Vanellope said gleefully. "Of course you can come over. My palace, my rules! So are you gonna come or not?"

The evil minions smirked darkly at their queen just as she tapped her chin and pretended to consider the offer. "Uhmmmm, well if you can convince Ralph to join us, then I don't see a real reason to not accept your offer, dear little sister," she playfully said with a bat of her eyelashes and a waving gesture of her hand.

Vanellope cheered loudly, nearly glitching right back up to give Chocolette a hug. But she knew she was running out of time and had to get back. "Alright sis! I'll see you after the arcade closes and after I get Ralph!"

Chocolette waved goodbye elegantly at her sister, grinning darkly as her kart sped away and disappeared into the Lollipop Plains. Bonbon Lola, who had seen the whole thing from her spot in the tall watchtower of Black Cola Castle, sighed deeply and contacted the queen through the crystal ball. "Your majesty...please don't."

Ignoring Lola's lowly plea, the queen turned over shoulder and smirked to her racers, "This day is getting better with each passing minute," she said darkly as the Sour Racers chuckled in agreement.

-0-0-0-

"Stupid rain!" Moppet Girl complained as she struggled, running down the street under the wind and heavy rain.

It was Friday after school and the fifth consecutive stormy day of the week. After finishing her math exam that afternoon, the blond girl had rushed out of her classroom at full speed towards her favorite local arcade, praying to the almighty video game gods for the arcade to not be too crowed that day. Fridays and Saturdays were known for being the busiest days for Litwak's Family Fun Center, as the many kids and teenagers liked to meet there after such a stressful week of school and part time jobs, and Moppet Girl usually liked to be early those days at the Arcade since she wasn't fond of long waiting lines.

Clad in her oversized yellow rain slicker and hot pink rain boots, Moppet Girl finally spotted the big flashy billboard of Litwak's Arcade in the distance with a relieved smile. Quickening her pace, the young girl jumped over a few small puddles of water and finally reached the double glass doors.

"Please don't be crowded, please don't be crowded," she chanted lowly just as she opened the doors. Holding her breath in anticipation, she walked inside and immediately grinned triumphantly upon noticing the still quiet empty arcade. There were a few kids scattered all over the place and of course a major crowded point around the Wii Modulator Zone, but for the kind of day, Moppet Girl saw the place as if it was paradise.

"Oh, there you are dearie! I thought you weren't gonna make it today!" Litwak's greeting voice startled from her trance.

She looked up at the old man with a kind smile. "Good afternoon Mr. Litwak! I'm starting to think this rain is never going to end," she told him with her frown furrowed, looking at the windows in annoyance.

The old owner adjusted his glasses and also looked outside the store. "Yep, worst storm we've had in years. Thank goodness we're equipped with some powerful back-up generators for these kind of days, or else all the high scores would have been lost in the power outages," he chuckled wisely.

"But don't waste your time with the babblings of this old man, go and have fun while the lines are still short. This is a very unusual Friday." he said while he snapped a few quarters from his belt for her.

Moppet Girl took her slicker off and hung it on the entrance's rack, pulling out a few bucks from her pockets to pay her usual fee.

Litwak handed her the quarters and took the money with a kind smile. "Thank you, young lady. Now if you're planning on playing with good old Felix and Ralph, I suggest you go and leave your quarter there while a few younger kids finish playing with them first. They may take a while since they seem very enthusiastic and their mother paid quite a pretty penny to keep them busy while she's doing some grocery shopping. Boy, what do these parents think, that this is some kind of-"

"Mr. Litwak!"

The old owner cut his babblings with Moppet Girl, as a much younger kid approached him with a concerned frown. The boy was sporting a green t-shirt with a golden triple triangle insignia on its front, and was also wearing a flipped black cap on his greasy jet-black hair.

Litwak blinked down at the young customer. "What's the trouble young man?" he said with a kind smile.

The kid sniffed and looked up at him with a pout. "There's a problem in the Wii Zone" he complained with big puppy dog eyes.

Moppet Girl arched both eyebrows in surprise as Litwak scratched his head in thought. "Uh? That's a first," he said with curiosity.

Glancing back at the girl at his side, he smiled apologetically at her. "Duty calls! Go and have your fun sweetheart," he waved at her and walked with the boy towards the Wii Zone.

Moppet Girl blinked silently but then shrugged and walked towards the Fix-It Felix Jr. 2 console was. Just as Litwak had told her, there was a pair of young kids playing excitedly. She smiled and decided to do as suggested and left a couple of quarters on the controls. "I call next turn," she said cheerfully, earning deathly glares from the two rascals.

She smiled warily and backed off as far away from them as she could, feeling chills running down her spine at the terrifying glares of the supposedly "innocent" kids. 'No wonder the mother left them here with so many quarters,' she thought in amusement.

"Yo! Moppet Girl!" she suddenly heard. Knitting her eyebrows in an annoyed line and recognizing the squeaky teenage voice in an instant, she turned around and came face to face with none other than the infamous teenage duo that, oddly enough, hadn't stopped pestering her the entire week.

"Hey…you," she greeted them neutrally.

The teen duo snickered at her. "I suggest you forget about Fix-It Felix Jr. for today, those two brats are famous for never leaving a game until their mother comes to pick them up," the lankier one told her.

"Yeah, they're pretty scary too," the chubbier one commented as Moppet Girl turned over her shoulder to watch both kids smashing wildly at the buttons and joysticks of the console while laughing manically.

She grimaced and turned around again to face both teens. "I just hope they don't break the game".

"Don't sweat over it, why don't you come with us and play Sugar Rush 2 instead?" the tallest one suddenly said to her with a mischievous but inviting grin on his greasy face.

Moppet Girl went wide eyed in surprise. "You want to play Sugar Rush…with me?" she questioned with emphasis on the 'me' part. Never before had these two allowed anybody else to play a video game with them, much less someone of her age, so it was expected for her to feel suspicious.

The fat teen rolled his eyes largely at her. "Just take it as our way of saying 'thanks' for saving our behinds from Litwak the other day," he said with a dismissive shrug.

She arched both eyebrows in realization. "Oh, I see." But then a flashback of other day's events came back to her. "Wait a minute…this is about you beating the final boss level of Sugar Rush, isn't it? I refuse to be part of your cheating!"

The tall teenager raised both hands in defense. "Oh no! No, no! Nothing like that, feisty pants! There are no cheat codes involved, I guarantee ya. We don't even have the magazine with us anyway!" He proved his statement by turning around and showing her that he didn't even carry his backpack with him today. She also noticed the same with the other teen.

"Uhmmm well alright…I guess it's fair and since I can't really play Fix-"

"GREAT! Come on now! There's no one in the line!" they both tugged her by her shoulders and started to lead her away and towards the Sugar Rush 2 consoles.

-0-0-0-

"Why can't I choose Vanellope again?" Moppet Girl complained from her seat in the second console of Sugar Rush. The teenagers had oddly and emphatically insisted on her using a different character while the chubby one used the main character of the game instead.

"Because I'm using her, Moppet Girl! Come on, it's gonna be really boring if we all use the same character," he said while rolling his eyes.

She frowned deeply at him. "But it's not fair! I KNOW you know how to use her 'teleporting' ability! You'll have an advantage over me!" she argued and crossed her arms in determination without picking a character yet.

The taller teen, who remained standing off to the side, frowned in a straight, annoyed line at her. "Look, someone HAS to be Vanellope in this race, and he did choose her first, so chill already and choose another character instead of using a recolor, geez!" He said but Moppet Girl didn't show any sign of accepting the deal yet.

"How about if I promise not to use the 'cheat' to pass any of the top four positions? Would that be fair enough for you?" The chubby one suddenly offered her, surprising Moppet Girl completely.

"That...actually sounds fair enough I guess," she said, uncrossing her arms and turning around to face the character selection screen again. "But I'm calling her next race!" She declared while picking Taffyta.

"Sure, sure," both teens said quietly, exchanging knowing glances with each other.

"Oh I almost forgot!" The lanky teen suddenly said as he leaned over to the menu's controls and selected the Grand Prix Gauntlet option on the screen. "You're playing on the 'Hard' level." As he spoke, the racers appeared at the starting line.

"Whatever," she simply said with a shrug and roll of her eyes.

-0-0-0-

Chocolette stood tall and confident atop the wall of Black Cola Castle as another race was about to begin. The six Sour Racers had already left the castle to their respective hiding positions in the tracks while she remained on guard in her own spot at her castle.

"M'lady, one of ze gamers has chosen ze princess in zis race and…it seems zey've chosen to play ze Sugar Rush Grand Prix Gauntlet," Lola informed her through her earplug with a hint of concern in her voice.

The dark queen frowned slightly but didn't lose her focus on the far away starting line. "So they want to play in 'Hard Mode' do they?" she said with a smoldering, lopsided smile.

"Very well then. You heard her fools! You know what to do!" she suddenly said loudly, speaking to her Sour Racers. "I don't care about the other gamer but get my sister out of the race before she reaches the Ice Cream Mountains, got it?"

"Yes ma'am!" The six voices echoed in her earplug with enthusiasm. She smirked proudly as the voice of the JumboTron roared "GO!" all over the land and the thunderous sound of engines could be heard even from her castle.

-0-0-0-

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