Original story by GND-KicaCris
Co-written and Edited by The Phantom Soldier
Wreck-It Ralph (c) Walt Disney Animation
Chapter 19: A Game of Two Sisters
"Well...looks like there's a lot of work to do here," Chocolette said as her finger brushed off the dust on the counter of the barstool while Ralph helped the great Koopa King climb the balcony. "When you said the place needed some 'work', you weren't exaggerating." She then punctuated her statement by playfully blowing the dust towards her younger sister who coughed in annoyance.
"Jimminy Jamminy! Look at this place! Just a week ago we were having a party for our 31th anniversary and now...it looks unrecognizable," Felix said sadly as he put the sofa cushions back in their places.
"It doesn't look so bad," Tamora said as she let her body fall backwards, landing softly on the nearest sofa while producing a bigger cloud of dust. She coughed right away, trying to wave the dust away. "Maybe some good cleaning…"
Sorceress floated higher in the air. "Allow me to help."
Sorceress's hands began to glow blue and the wind blew strongly. She made dust dance around and swirl until it was all off of the floor, furniture and walls. The blue elf then waved it all out of the balcony, almost knocking Bowser off of his balance, and the room was cleaned instantly.
"That's my girl, always being a doll," Bowser laughed as he dusted himself off. "You better do something with the stairs in the future Ralph, if you want me to visit you often that is."
Ralph chuckled alongside his old friend. "We'll figure out the fine detailing later Bowser," he said with a laugh. "For right now, I know there's a big comfy couch up there with your name written all over it."
"Mod help me how I need it after all this ruckus," Bowser took his seat next to Calhoun's sofa, sitting heavily and making the wooden floor creak under his weight. He sighed in relief. "Ah yeah, much better."
Clyde floated closer to him, looking apologetic. "Bowser, I know you're probably too tired to want to talk about it again... but-" The members of Bad Anon came closer and surrounded him, their faces still reflecting a mixture of anger, frustration and worry.
"I know, I know," Boswer said shortly, his eyes closed. He straightened himself up and looked seriously at everyone around him. "Take a seat folks...you don't want to be standing while hearing the news."
Ralph settled down on the floor, Chocolette quickly cuddling up next to him while Vanellope perched on Ralph's shoulder, waiting to hear the story that was coming.
Felix took his seat next to his wife while the rest of the Bad Anon took the stools around the bar.
Bowser waited until everyone was sitting and then proceeded to explain. "Listen very carefully my friends. What I'm about to tell you is extremely serious and perhaps...perhaps the situation has gotten even worse by now but..." he stopped himself, not sure how to deliver the news he had just learned.
Sorceress sat on his shoulder and rubbed his shell. "Bowser dear...whatever's happening...if it's so bad as it seems then I think we deserve to know," she told him softly.
Slowly and subtly, Chocolette placed her tiny hand in Ralph's larger one. Ralph simply closed his hand around it, the two sitting there in mutual support.
Bowser took a deep breath and began to speak lowly. "Alright...this is what I know and what I've heard...until I get to speak with Mario this is not fully and utterly confirmed so you don't get to share this information with anyone, and I want to stress on the ANYONE part, do you understand?" he looked at the crowd with a menacing frown.
All around him, bad-guys, good-guys and soldiers alike nodded their heads as they let the gravity of his words sink in.
A minute of complete silence engulfed them as the Koopa King took his time to announce his next words...
"Link is missing".
"Who?" Chocolette said in confusion.
"WHAT?!" Felix reacted with panic at the news as everyone gasped loudly.
"Keep it down Fix-It!" Bowser scolded him lowly.
"Are you talking about the hero elf?" Clyde asked uncertainly.
Bowser nodded as he looked at the floor with concern.
"No wonder the princesses were so nervous," Dr. Robotnik said with his arms crossed.
"Would somebody please give me an explanation?" Chocolette barked annoyingly in the middle of the collective mumbling.
"I second that!" Vanellope said with her hand raised.
Calhoun's soldiers suddenly stood up and made a solemnly military salute. "Link, also known as 'The Hero of Time' and many other titles, is one of the most legendary and powerful heroes of the arcade," Kohut explained from the corner with a spark of utter adoration on his eyes. "He's the bravest, most heroic, loyal, unbeatable-"
"Formidable!" said Markowski.
"Don't forget unwavering too!" another soldier also shouted.
"Yeah and also-"
"Alright ladies, enough dreamin' about your 'hero'," Calhoun snapped.
"Yes Sarge," they answered in unison.
Chocolette arched an eyebrow. "So, he's a hero I presume," she joked and looked at Ralph.
"Uhmmm I think I've heard of him...the bimbos always swooned over him," Vanellope said while scratching her head. "I don't think he has ever come to this side of the arcade though."
"Isn't he that little pointy-eared one?" Ralph asked, scratching his head slightly. "Always being followed around by a blue dot and getting angry because people keep thinking he's a woman?"
Bowser laughed out loud at the memory. "Yeah that one...the poor lad," he chuckled as he brushed off a laughing tear.
"But where could elf hero be?" Zangief wondered worriedly. "He always made sure to keep people of NES Central safe."
"Yeah...he was pretty nice with everyone...among all the heroes, he was the most tranquil...none had a bone to pick with him," Satin pondered while scratching his chin.
"Well except-"
"Ganondorf," Felix put two and two together and Calhoun went wide eyed.
"You don't think-"
"It's too early to make assumptions," Bowser suddenly said with finality.
"That creep again?" Ralph felt his anger rise as Chocolette's hand tried to grab more of his.
"Bowser, you have to admit that this could clearly be-," Clyde began but was again interrupted.
"No!" Bowser stood up from the sofa. "We're not going to point fingers at anyone without further proof. I know Ganondorf has made some questionable choices in the past, but he's also one of us and the last thing we need to do is to act like the princesses who just tried to pull the same thing to us in the first place. We. Are. Not. Doing. That."
"But old man!" Chocolette stood up too. "We do have proof! He kinda spilled the beans at your party a few nights back." The Dark Queen just couldn't believe the old bad-guy and his insistence on protecting the obvious culprit.
"That proves nothing!" Bowser barked back.
Chocolette scowled. "You said yourself that you underestimated him before and paid the price! How is that different from now?"
Bowser sighed heavily and looked sadly at the queen. "Listen...I know this is a very serious matter but let's not jump to conclusions just yet...I'll personally investigate the matter but in the mean time, I want you all to stay calm and to not comment on anything about it until everything gets clarified. We need to stick together in this and not tell anyone wrong information. The last thing we need is for bad-guys also going after fellow bad-guys." He heavily on the sofa as he finished.
Clyde sighed and nodded. "You're right my friend, this clearly needs more investigation. Even if Ganondorf is indeed the one behind Link's disappearance, there could be more people involved on this."
Bowser nodded and sweated even more. "Yeah…there could be," he mumbled lowly, feeling a knot forming in his stomach.
"So what's the elf-boy missing got to do with the prissy princesses' panties pulled part ways past panic?" Vanellope asked.
Bowser blew hot hair from his dragon nostrils. "He hasn't showed up on our roster for the past three days and the players have noticed...Peach told me Mario is already conducting a search with Sonic and I'm pretty sure the whole crew of Super Smash must be also helping them."
The giant turtle dragon rubbed his temples with stress. "I really hope all this turns to be nothing and for the boy to be found safe and sound before Litwak returns from his vacations."
The last piece of information surprised the Core Four.
"Wait, Litwak is going on vacation?" Calhoun asked with surprise.
"Yes," Bowser said tiredly. "Every now and again he likes to take some time off to give kids a chance to go outside and play. So during that time we're all left to our own devices."
"Oh!" Ralph suddenly remembered it. "I completely forgot about that! So this means we have the whole week for ourselves!" He smiled largely at Chocolette and Vanellope.
"It's enough time to find the elf boy," M. Bison said with his deep voice. "Maybe we should help the heroes find him. That way we take the princesses off our backs."
"Zangief agrees with Comrade Bison!" Zangief cheered.
"I don't think we should interfere," Dr. Robotnik suddenly said. "Bowser just said it, we don't need villains going after villains. It wouldn't look good for our reputation either."
Everyone mumbled in agreement with him.
"Well maybe you can't help but me and my men can! Right ladies?" Calhoun's soldiers grinned as they looked at their CO, nodding their affirmation.
Bowser raised his hand to stop her. "Let's leave it to Mario and the others for now. If we are lucky enough, they'll solve this quickly and quietly without the whole arcade ever knowing."
"We can only hope," Ralph sighed, pulling Chocolette closer to him as a measure of comfort. "I say we lay low unless everything goes completely pear-shaped. Though I suggest we keep a close eye on whoever comes in and out of our respective games."
Felix nodded solemnly at Ralph's assertion. He didn't want to have to close off the game's borders, but he was firmly against anyone coming in and trying to lock down any character who didn't deserve it.
"Anyway! What are the plans for the week then?!" Vanellope suddenly chirped with excitement between Ralph and Chocolette, changing the conversation topic for once. "There's so much we could do in a whole week!" Her grin looked wide enough to split her face.
"Yeah...so much we could do..." Chocolette rolled her eyes largely as she sensed any future dating plans with Ralph were being sabotaged by her younger sibling.
Ralph could sense his queen's mounting ire and sought to calm her down with gentle rubs of her back with his large hand. When Chocolette looked over at him, he offered a mirthful smile. "Don't worry Sugar Queen. We've got all the time in the world."
"Comrade Bison, as much as I wish to help friend Ralph and Czarina Chocolette with redecoration of fancy bourgeois penthouse, Zangief thinks we should check on our own game before something happens, da?" the Soviet street fighter posited.
M. Bison growled in agreement. "You have a point there."
"Permission to perform recon around the perimeter, Sargent?" Kohut questioned Calhoun with a serious frown.
"Granted," she said with a huff, not liking the situation at all.
"I should probably do the same with the ghosts," Clyde said. "Pacman and the Missus will probably side with us and I should bring them up to speed as well."
Bowser nodded solemnly. "I know it's still early, but let's call it a night then. Don't hesitate on reporting anything fishy if you manage to spy anything off. I'll stay in Ralph's game tonight and tomorrow I'll see if I can find Mario and put a stop to this Princesses Council madness," he grumbled.
The members of Bad Anon stood up and gave their good byes to Bowser and the residents of Fix-It Felix.
"If you'll pardon me, Ralph, I think I'll make myself comfortable on one of the lower floors," Bowser said tiredly.
Ralph rapidly stood up and smiled apprehensively. "Sure thing old timer! Let me get you some covers and pillows," he offered.
Sorceress floated over Bowser' shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll go back to my game and make sure everything is well. I'll come by tomorrow to visit you," she said as she smiled cutely at him.
Felix looked over at Ralph with a tired smile. "I think my lady and I will also return home for now Ralph," he said. "It has been a long morning for everyone."
Tamora approached Felix and ruffled his cap. "I kinda wanted to stay and chat a bit but I agree with my little pint-sized husband. It has been a long day for all of us. But before going..." the tall blond sergeant walked towards Chocolette and smirked at her smugly.
The Queen arched an eyebrow at her in confusion as Calhoun extended an open hand to her. "You kicked butt today, queenie. You have my respect now."
Chocolette blinked silently for a second but soon smirked back, offering her own hand and shook it with the taller woman. "I know, right?" she chuckled confidently.
Ralph smiled proudly at the display between the two. He was still proud of Chocolette for so many reasons, but perhaps most of all he was proud of her for defending her little sister.
As their hand shake ended, the sergeant looked at Ralph with a secret smile. "This one is a keeper Wreck-It," she said as she turned on her heels and walked towards the doors. "You better not mess things up again." She chuckled as she grabbed Felix by his shirt collar.
"She's right brother! I'll see you tomorrow! Good night everyone," the handyman waved good bye with his legs hanging loosely in the air as his wife carried him out of the apartment.
With the departure of the Fix-Its, the penthouse was deserted save for Ralph, Chocolette and Vanellope. It was Chocolette who broke the silence first.
"Well, that was nice...I think," she said with an awkward smile.
"My heroine!" Vanellope teased with big shining eyes and large batting eye lashes.
Chocolette growled down at her and threw a dusty cushion at her. "Shut your mouth, midget."
"Who you callin' midget, Amazon?" Vanellope retorted. "I may be 'slightly' shorter, but that just means I can move faster than you can... Ms. Big-booty!"
Chocolette fumed and growled down at her furiously. "What did you just say?!" as she moved to grab her.
Vanellope glitched away before her sister could grab her, reappearing on the other side of the room. "My apologies, sis," she crooned. "I meant to say QUEEN Big-booty. "
"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DEAD!" The Queen growled and glitched after her.
Ralph could only watch as the woman he'd become so enamored with give chase to her sister around the spacious penthouse, torn between sighing and laughing.
"Alright you two knock it off! I don't need you to make this place more of a mess than it already is!" Ralph chuckled as he easily caught Vanellope by her hood in one of her glitches.
As Chocolette lunged to grab hold of the now immobilized princess, Ralph's other hand latched onto her, effectively keeping her from murdering her little sister. Despite the two of them struggling against his grasp, it was no good. For some reason, neither of them could ever glitch their way out of Wreck-It Ralph's iron grip.
"Alright you two, save your pillow fight for when you get back to Sugar Rush," he said firmly. "You're both in MY castle now and I'll have no fighting here."
After another good hour of sibling fighting, Ralph finally managed to calm things down between the Von Schweetz sisters and soon enough the three of them managed to clean a fair bit of the place. Luckily, there was quite a large bed in the main room of the pent house, big enough for the Wrecker and Chocolette to share.
But not big enough for him, Chocolette, and Vanellope.
"You two can take the couch," Vanellope chimed.
Ralph could clearly see the pulsing vein on his Queen's forehead, as she stood still with her shoulders rigid and her frown furrowed in annoyance.
"Vanellope," Ralph said with a drone. "It's been a long day. Why don't you go plan a race course through Bricklyn while your sister and I rest for a while?"
The young princess suddenly went puppy-dog eyed. "Are you kicking me out, Ralph?" she said with a sad and quivering voice.
Before she could start the waterworks and before her sister could blurt out a "YES," Ralph, having learned how to handle his best friend, offered an apologetic smile. "Nothing at all like that. I just figured you'd wanna check out the racing potential of my new 'kingdom,' but hey, if you don't think you can handle it..."
"Whoa, whoa, hold your horses there!" She glitched and appeared on his shoulder/ "Racing potential? You'll need to fill me in more about this, pal" she said incredulously.
Chocolette watched in awe as Ralph turned his head to address her little sister and started talking, looking like he knew all of her psychological weak spots.
"You have great skills as a track racer kid, but you're dealing with a laid out city grid with tight corners and obstacles everywhere. If you can figure out how to race through a place like Bricklyn without hitting anything, people might finally start admitting that you're one of the best racers in the arcade."
Ralph dutifully ignored the "hmmph" he heard behind him.
Vanellope's eyes grew large in awe but then her smile faltered. "But-but I didn't bring my kart!" She exclaimed in anguish.
"And we don't have a set course yet," Ralph replied. "That's why I need you to get out there and start planning one. If you feel you can anyway..."
"Ooooooooh," Vanellope tapped her chin with a smug smile. "I see. Well of course I, the Great Racer President Vanellope Von Schweetz of Sugar Rush-"
Chocolette snorted loudly at that.
Ralph spun around and fixed her with a rare glare that actually quieted the queen down.
The queen covered her mocking smirk with her hand and kept silent.
"-can certainly design the greatest, most AWESOME racing course this arcade has ever seen!" She announced with her index finger extended in the air.
"That's what I like to hear!" the wrecker cheered. "Now get out there and show that you mean it!"
"Alright, I'll go. But you better not do anything funny while I'm out. If I find my bed full of pixelated hearts I swear I'll throw up my breakfast, lunch and dinner all over you, Ralph! And I mean it! I'll be right back!" And so she marched towards the door with determination.
When she had made her way out the door, Ralph turned to his queen with a chuckle. "See?" He said with a triumphant grin. "You just gotta know how to handle her."
Chocolette stood with her arms crossed and an eyebrow arched. "Do I have to remind you that she will eventually return?" her voice was full of sarcasm and annoyance.
Ralph made a show of checking his wrist for a nonexistent watch. "The wrecked cars throughout the streets should keep her busy for a while. I'm betting the urge to race will get the better of her and she'll try to Frankenstein something together."
She blew off her bang. "Forgive me for being skeptical, but I have zero hopes for this...'date' to get any better...at least I got the chance to kick some princesses behind today," she said as she walked towards the bed, sat down on the edge and began to unzip her black leather boots.
Ralph grinned at her. "So things got a little derailed. We'll have plenty of time to make up for it over the week. All else fails, the Sarge can help us distract her."
A black leather jacket flew towards his face and obscured his vision. "Whatever, I just know you owe me big time for this fiasco, big guy," she said as she laid down on the bed, wearing a purple tank top and her black leather pants.
Ralph settled heavily onto the bed and began massaging her back once more. "I'll gladly reward my queen for her patience, if she'll permit me."
Chocolette closed her eyes and smirked. "You may," she said regally.
Ralph allowed his fingers to start working his queen's strained muscles more and more, applying just the right amount of force to make her mew happily.
But instead of helping, Chocolette only felt tenser with each massage. "Ralph...Ralph stop, stop it." She suddenly pushed his fingers away from her back, startling him a bit.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asked her with worry.
Chocolette sighed and tried her best to calm down, "No...I'm just too tense tonight...this whole day has overcharged my bad code a bit much, I think." She was having difficulty to stay calm indeed.
Ralph moved his hand lower so that it rested against her back, waiting for her as she chose her words. In truth, he had a feeling she knew what she was referring to. Ever since they had left GCS, his own code felt like it'd been charged with lightning: overloaded and ready to unleash upon something. He couldn't quite place it, but it felt like a more focused version of when he had destroyed the cake at the anniversary party.
"Don't misunderstand me: it felt incredibly awesome to have put those prissy princesses in their places but somehow I'm still so angry," she said she brushed away some sweat off her forehead. "Plus, my sister will probably return any minute so we can't really risk having her find us having 'fun', now can we?" She chuckled sourly.
The wrecker rubbed her back gently, trying to soothe her. "I know, I know," he sighed. He was disappointed too, but he couldn't let her disappointment get the better of her. "I'm angry at those snobs too, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't take a bit of pride in slamming those two blockheads against the wall. As for your sister, I think you're going to have an even harder time getting her to leave you alone."
"Argh! Ralph, you're not improving my mood!" She growled to the ceiling in an overdramatic way, earning a chuckle from him.
"It's the truth, Sugar Queen," he said with a laugh. "After what she saw you do today, she has to think you're the coolest character in the entire arcade. Maybe even more than me."
That made her smirk with arrogance. "Well she better! And wait until I giver her that ride tomorrow...she'll adore me for sure," she grinned darkly, relishing on her secret evil plot.
"She already adores you," he grinned. "YOU, on the other hand, just need to let her in. Yes, she can be a pest but she means well and she refuses to give up on someone she cares about."
Her grin faded instantly. "But she cares TOO much!" She pouted stubbornly. "I'm the bad-guy for crying out loud!" For some reason, a notion came to her mind. "How did you and Hammer Guy get to be...'brothers'?" She said the word mockingly.
Ralph cupped his chin at that. He'd never given it much thought before. "To be honest, I think it's just part of his vocabulary. I mean, I think he's a good friend and all, but I don't think we're actually related... I think." He had a slight tint of worry to his tone. "Well aside from the obvious height differences..."
She turned around to look at him better, tapping her chin with her index finger a smirking teasingly. "I think you guys have the same bulgy nose," she poked his to prove her point.
"We do not!" Ralph defended, covering his nose with his oversized hand to protect it.
"Yes you do," she giggled, but then went wide eyed. "What if...nah he couldn't be..." She blushed and began to chuckle.
"I don't even want to know what you're thinking," he sighed, but his mind already had a hunch where her head was at.
"Well you know what they say about short guys," she quickly jumped out of bed and sprinted towards the bar. "And I don't think Sarge is with him just for his charming speeches." She laughed loudly.
Ralph couldn't help but press his palm against his face, trying to shake those images from his mind. As a distraction, he realized that he'd have to upgrade the penthouse quite a bit to make it more comfortable for himself and Chocolette. After all, his queen was much taller than the average Nicelanders, and it wouldn't due to have her bending over everything to reach...not that he'd mind.
"Please tell me there is something to drink here...I better have something before-"
"RALPH YOU WON'T BELIVE WHAT I FOUND!" Vanellope came zapping through the door with the happiest smile possible.
"Never mind," Chocolette sighed in defeat, and with that she sentenced the day as over.
-0-0-0-
The night faded and soon it was morning again, with the sun shinning brightly as summer finally arrived. There was no sign of movement inside of the arcade, except for one solely lanky figure, who kept passing by between the cabinets to make sure all wires and plugs were perfectly and safety connected to their back up generators.
"I know I should probably unplug you all but the kids could get angry at me if they find their records erased," Litwak mumbled, dressed in a Hawaiian themed shirt, beige kakis and sandals.
He then glanced over the wide space that belonged to the Wii emulator and frowned with worry, remembering the last few complaints he received from his hit game. "I should probably call for someone to check on it next week. This game has so many characters and yet everybody and their mother make a fuss for one character missing...must be a really popular fellow."
Shrugging he went to the front door and picked up his fishing hat.
"See ya in a week guys! Keep the arcade safe!" He shouted again to no one in particular.
-0-0-0-
"Did you see Wreck-It clock those two guys? I knew the guy was strong but he hammered them like railroad spikes!"
"Can't say they didn't have it comin'. Acting like the princess council's lap dogs like that. It's disgusting."
"Yeah, and where do those broads get off anyway? I've been in this arcade 15 years now, and I've never once seen a problem with the bad-guys. Sure they get a little rowdy now and then, but who doesn't?"
Tapper sat behind one of his bartops, waiting, cleaning and listening. He'd already heard several accounts of what had happened out in GCS, and he could tell things weren't looking good.
From what he had heard, the Princess Council had tried to do something very stupid by trying to politely force all bad-guys back into their games and when that didn't work, they were set to try and force them in. Tapper had never had a problem with bad-guys any more than he'd had with good-guys. The way he saw it, they were all characters in the same arcade and they all had to work together. He always kept his port open for any character who needed a stiff drink and a friendly smile.
But several decades in the arcade had given Tapper the ability to feel when something was wrong, and right now the atmosphere was charged like a thunderstorm, just waiting to break.
'The last time things felt this bad,' he thought, 'was just before the violence almost boiled over and the peace deal was struck. But this feels different, and the Princess Council may have just shot any chance at peace square in the kneecaps.'
Even as he continued listening to the various mutterings of all of the characters in his bar, Tapper subtly looked beneath his bartop and eyed something he wished he would never have to use: a weapon that had been given to him by the Surge Protectors years ago which could freeze a character's code in case they got to rowdy in his bar, regardless of whether the character was a good-guy or a bad-guy. He didn't like keeping it under the bar, but he was getting the very sick feeling in his stomach that he would have to use it before long.
"Gotta say though," one character began. "Wreck-It Ralph has gotta be either the luckiest or the unluckiest guy in the whole arcade. Imagine, an old timer like him bagging that cool as ice sugar queen!"
Tapper heard that and a slight smile formed beneath his moustache. 'So Ralph apologized to the queen. Good for him.'
"Well I'm just glad she stood up for her little sister," someone else said. "Those NES princesses think they run this joint when they don't even live in here! I think that Queen lady should be our new rep over here. Those princesses wouldn't cross her in their wildest dreams!"
"Here, here!" cheered a few more characters.
Tapper was concerned about the rising ire taking hold in the arcade, but he was at least happy that Ralph's girlfriend was making progress. He picked up another glass and resumed his polishing. 'Now if all this other mess will just blow over.'
-0-0-0-
The bright light of the sun shone through the console of Fix-It Felix Jr. 2, as Wreck-It Ralph began to awaken, groaning in pain at the annoying light.
"Drapes...I'm gonna need some drapes..." he mumbled as he turned over his side to avoid the warm rays of the sun. He curled his arm, looking for the form of his beloved girlfriend but to his surprise his large hand found cold sheets and an empty bedside.
"Chocolette?" he blinked confusedly until his eyes focused and confirmed that indeed his girlfriend was no longer sleeping by his side.
"Ah! Why does the sun shine so bright in your game?!" Vanellope groaned from the bed's end, completely wrapped in a blanket like a burrito.
Ralph raised himself up on his elbows and rubbed his eyes. "Kid, where is your sister?" he asked her hoarsely.
The youngest Von Schweetz poked her head out of her perfectly wrapped blanket and arched an eyebrow in confusion. "I was about to ask you the same...don't bad-guys hate to wake up early?" she looked at the empty space in curiosity.
"Chocolette?" Ralph said much louder, expecting to hear her reply from the kitchen. But again he received no answer. "Where did that woman go now?"
Upon lifting the sheets off himself, a piece of paper floated through the air.
Vanellope quickly grabbed it and found a message written in a perfect and beautiful cursive. "It's from my sister," she said as she scanned the contents.
"What's it say?" The wrecker walked around the bed and looked down at the little note in Vanellope's hands.
My dear Big Guy, I'm really sorry for running away like this. I intend to keep my promise to you so I went to the castle to make some preparations for today's..."lessons" -annoyed evil skull- . I'm only doing this because I expect some really good compensation later –winking skull-
"What does that mean?"
"NEVER MIND! Keep reading," Ralph quickly said with his face completely red.
I'll see you both around noon. P.S.: Please tell my sister to bring the Sugar Racers with her...I hope this works. Xoxo.
Ralph chuckled as Vanellope looked up at him with even more confusion reflected in her youthful features. "What is she talking about? What deal did you make with my sister?"
The older villain grinned back at her and ruffled her uncombed hair. "I convinced your sister to spend some quality time with you. She's going to teach you some racing tricks today." He stood up proudly, looking down at her with his fist pressing his side, very hero-like.
The princess's eyes grew large and stars sparkled in her irises. "NO WAY! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" she squealed.
Ralph could only grin at her incredulous enthusiasm. "Serious as a firecracker kiddo," he said with a smile. "It took a little bit of work but I got her to agree."
Vanellope began to jump all over the room. "OH BOY! OH BOY! OH BOY! THIS CAN'T BE REAL! JUST IMAGINE ALL THE COOL THINGS WE'LL DO TODAY!" she squealed with joy and excitement. "I don't know how you did it but Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She hugged his arm like a tick.
Ralph enjoyed her enthusiasm, watching as she bounced around like a rubber bullet. "Eh, nothing to it kid," he said. "I just want to see you both happy".
"THEN WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR?! LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" She glitched and changed to her usual clothes.
"Wait kid, we gotta have some breakfast-"
"NO TIME! RACING IS WAITING!"
"Vanellope calm down!" Ralph chuckled as the little racing princess kept zapping all over the apartment.
-0-0-0-
They quickly got themselves as ready as they could and proceeded to leave the pent house. The wrecker would have preferred to stay and began his refurnishing but he had his priorities defined with his best friend and evil girlfriend.
As Ralph jumped out of the balcony and joined Vanellope on the first floor, they found Bowser already awake and also standing on the streets.
"Good morning grandpa-BO! What are you doing awake so early?" Vanellope greeted him with a big grin.
"Grandpa-Bo?" Bower blushed in surprise and Ralph couldn't help himself as he let out a deep laugh.
"She really has a nickname for everyone. Are you leaving for your morning walk, old man?" Ralph asked him curiously.
Bowser cleared his throat and smiled. "No, I'm leaving to check on my Sapphire," he said as they began to walk through Bricklyn.
The wrecker frowned in disapproval while walking alongside of the older villain. "Bowser, I don't think it's safe for ya to leave yet. What if Peach's idiotic thugs are waiting for you at the end of my game's port?" he warned him.
Vanellope glitched and reappeared sitting on Bowser' shell. "He's right grandpa, you should stay here for a while. Sorceress can come here and visit you!" she insisted with an encouraging smile.
Bowser half smiled at them. "You kids shouldn't worry about me so much. I AM the most powerful bad guy in the arcade after all. I can take care of myself pretty well. I might be old but I'm still as powerful as the first day I was plugged in." He lifted a claw and ruffled Vanellope's dirty hair.
Vanellope and Ralph exchanged worried looks but the latter shrugged dismissively.
"Well alright, but if you don't get back after visiting Sorceress, Ralph will smash down every game until we find you!" Vanellope declared seriously with her arms crossed in determination.
"What?! No I won't do that kid!"
Bowser chuckled at the little princess's order. "Of course, m'lady!"
Soon enough the trio reached Nice Town and there they found the Fix-Its having breakfast at Mary's bakery. Felix was wearing his usual yellow shirt with blue denim overalls, but Calhoun was dressed casually for once, wearing military pants with a white tank top, black boots and her dog tags hanging from her neck.
"Good morning brother, Vanny-P, Sir Bowser!" Felix greeted them as he cleaned the crumbs of pie that were still on his lips. "Already enjoying the beginning of our holiday week?"
"Mornin'," the sergeant simply saluted them while drinking her black coffee.
Bowser grinned amusedly. "You really are Mario's cousin, jeez," he said.
"I thought bad-guys weren't morning people," Calhoun teased with a smug grin.
The wrecker was about to give her one of his usual comebacks when Vanellope jumped in. "We don't have time for chit-chat! There's a race awaiting!" she jumped from Bowser'a shell to Ralph's head and pulled his spiky hair.
"Ouch! Kid calm down already! Sugar Rush won't disappear any time soon," Ralph grumbled up at her.
Felix giggled at them. "Not for a long while, that's for sure. Why the hurry anyway?" he asked as he put down some golden coins on the table and stood up from his chair.
The racer princess blew her bangs with exasperation. "My sister is going to teach me her racing tricks today!" she told them.
The Fix-Its went wide eyed in disbelief. "You're kidding!" Calhoun stood up to look at her better.
"Na-ah!" Vanellope cheered. "Ralph made her promise to spend some time with me and she accepted so she's gonna teach me some of her racing tricks which are by the way completely BADASS and AWESOME!" She was breathless after explaining and punctuating her adoration for her older sister.
"Jimminy Jamminy!"
Calhoun grinned darkly. "Really? Well, we better get the front row seats for that show".
"Then stop gabbin' and LET'S GO! LET'S GO!" Vanellope demanded and pulled Ralph's hair again, making him growl in annoyance.
Bowser laughed loudly and patted Ralph' shoulder. "You kids go and have fun. I'll catch up with you later after visiting my blue elf of a girlfriend."
"Take some of my soldiers with you," Calhoun whistled and Kohut and three of his men stood up harshly from their tables with a military salute. "I know you're a tough guy but let's play it safe, at least for today."
"Thanks Sarge," Bowser bowed and the soldiers immediately began to march behind him.
"STOP TALKING AND LET'S MOVE PEOPLE!" Vanellope shouted as she pointed at the game's entrance with enthusiasm. The Core Four laughed and proceeded to the game's train station.
-0-0-0-
Some time later after making sure that Bowser was safe and sound at Sorceress's game, the Core Four began their trip towards Sugar Rush. After yesterday's commotion, Game Central Station was pretty calm and less crowded. Some characters still gave cautious glances at Ralph, but he didn't seem to pay much attention to that. The odd feeling he felt the day before was still there but somehow felt less intense.
Once inside the colorful candy racing game, Vanellope decided to change course and they all ended at Sugar Rush's Castle. There, Vanellope called the Sugar Racers to her presence. Chocolette had insisted on Vanellope bringing them with her after all, and the little candy president was eager to prove to her racers how awesome and totally not evil her sister REALLY was.
But nobody said it was going to be an easy task.
"No," Taffyta said nonchalantly.
"You gotta be kidding prez," Snowanna looked at her incredulously as the rest of the racers looked afraid and nervous behind the two girls. They were all gathered in the throne room of Sugar Rush's Castle, which thanks to Felix no longer looked like Vanellope's personal garage.
"Oh come on! She's not bad I swear! We'll be fine!" Vanellope stomped her boot insistently. "Tell 'em Ralphie!" She looked up at her best friend, begging him for help.
The wrecker sighed deeply. "Look kids, I know how things looked like last time…" He remembered clearly how he and Chocolette had gone at each other's throats during their fight and visibly cringed.
"It was bad, yes, but that's how we bad-guys tend to be when we let our anger loose," he chuckled nervously as Vanellope frowned at him as if telling him 'you're not helping at all, pal.'
"But everything is cool now," he continued, "and I can guarantee you that her majesty is not really evil. None of us really are anyway. She's just programmed to seem evil. She's pretty cool after you get to know her." He smiled as the Sugar Racers looked less nervous and more curious at his words.
"And if anything happens," Calhoun quickly drew out a laser pistol from her belt and smiled with confidence, "my husband and I will handle it for sure."
Felix nodded with a heroic smile and the younger racers whispered between each other.
Finally, Taffyta and Snowanna nodded in agreement and looked at Vanellope. "Alright, but you better not be wrong this time," Taffyta declared while discarding her sucker.
-0-0-0-
Meanwhile…in a very dark place…
The Gerudo King looked over the legions amassed before him, a sinister glint gleaming in the corners of his dark eyes. Truly, no army such as this had ever graced the fields of battle.
Were it possible, he could have sworn his cold heart was warmed with a sense of pride: pride in the villains who were allied with him, pride in the minions that now stood before him, waiting to charge into battle, and pride in his own devilish genius. Truly, the heroes of the arcade had no sense of what was soon to be heading their way.
His lieutenants bowed their heads before him, partly out of respect for his brilliant plans and partly out of outright fear of him. He allowed himself a smile as his eyes swept across the forces around him.
"Today," he bellowed so that all would hear him, "we begin our March towards a new world."
All was silent, not one game character daring to so much as breathe during the villain's speech.
"Today, we will set right an injustice that has plagued us for far too long. For three decades the so-called heroes and the useless princess council have kept us shackled with their rules, their discriminations, and their fears. They are afraid of us for we are the superior beings."
Turning to look behind himself, he took in the form of the elven boy, held in a cruciform with his body too weak to offer any resistance any further. The mad king's hand struck out and gripped the hero's jaws in a leaden grip that forced his eyes upward.
"And it is all thanks to the contributions of this fine young man," he said mockingly, "and his steadfast devotion to duty, that has given us the power we need to overrun our foes."
Burning hatred flared through the young hero's eyes even as the pain of his jaw being gripped so firmly caused him to flinch. He so desperately wanted to spit in the tyrant's face, but it was all for naught. He couldn't have attacked the king even if he had the strength.
He turned once more to face the army assembled before him. "All of you have sworn your loyalty to me and I will not disappoint you," he proclaimed with supreme confidence. "The time has come for me to lead you onwards to our great glory, on towards our victory... on towards our destiny."
-0-0-0-
The Sugar racers lined up on the starting line under the Jumbo Tron with doubt and fear in their hearts as they all waited for the fearsome Dark Queen to show up. Vanellope jumped out of her kart and walked towards Ralph and the Fix-Its as General Nabisco followed her with Sour Bill in tow as well. The little candy president had decided to change her clothes and was wearing her fancy white and mint green racing suit instead.
Ralph grinned as she stopped inches away from him. "Aren't we a little fancy-looking for a simple kart driving lesson?" he teased but then arched an eyebrow when he saw that Vanellope was holding something between her gloved hands.
"Shut up, Sour Puss insisted," Vanellope blushed with a cute pout under his shadow.
"No I didn't," Sour Bill seemed to grin in what could have been called amusement. "You chose to change on your own...I guess someone wants to give a good impression."
"No I don't!" The little president blushed even more.
"Honestly your highness, I insist on this being a bad idea. You should reconsider going through with this new plan of the Wicked Queen," Nabisco said as he readjusted his monocle and gave a long look to their surroundings. A troop of Oreo Cookies were scattered along the track already.
Vanellope and Ralph frowned at the old man. "First of all, she's not wicked! My sister is awesome and you should not speak badly of her again, understood?" she said severely.
"But your highness-"
"Understood?!"
General Nabisco sighed with resignation and nodded. "Understood your highness," he grumbled under his mustache and Vanellope smiled in victory.
Grinning at the scolded General, Ralph redirected his attention to what Vanellope was holding. "Kid, what do you have there?" The wrecker pointed with one large finger at what looked like a frame in Vanellope's hands.
The younger Von Schweetz looked at her hands and then grinned with excitement at the veteran Bad-Guy. "Something I found the other day that I've been wanting to show to Chocolette since then," she said as she slowly turned the framed picture so that Ralph and the Fix-Its could see it.
Strangely Sour Bill and Nabisco seemed to go into panic for a second.
"Oh look! A Polaroid picture! Haven't seen one in years! How vintage!" Felix giggled and looked curiously at the picture.
"Is that a sugar racer? I don't recall ever seeing someone like her…" Calhoun narrowed her eyes as she inspected the picture.
Ralph took the picture with his fingers to look at it better. Something in her face seemed...familiar, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. "Who is she?" he mumbled as Calhoun and Felix peeked too.
"I don't have a clue," Vanellope shrugged, "but I got a flashback of the locked back story when I grabbed it the first time." The trio looked at her with wide eyes after her revelation.
"You did?! What did you see?!" Sour Bill suddenly questioned her nervously.
Vanellope arched an eyebrow, surprised at his reaction. "Not much. I saw a much younger version of myself, wearing one of those puffy dresses and complaining about someone not keeping a promise. There was another person there too, but everything was all black and white and I didn't get to see the face of this person...I think it was a woman. She was wearing something like some sort of knight armor," the young monarch explained excitedly as Sour Bill and Nabisco seemed to go paler.
"Knight armor?" Calhoun repeated, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "I didn't know Sugar Rush had knights." Calhoun crossed her arms and glanced at Nabisco and Sour Bill suspiciously.
Nabisco cleared his throat and looked away from her icy glare. only making her frown even deeper at him.
"We don't-wait," Vanellope suddenly stopped herself in mid thought as the word 'knight' made her glitch and doubt. She followed Calhoun's glare and arched an eyebrow at the Black and White uniformed general, "do we?"
The Sugar Racers gathered around them, intrigued by the whole conversation.
"We don't," Nabisco quickly reaffirmed while sweating heavily.
"Well..." Sour Bill suddenly began and fidgeted with his candy fingers.
"WE DON'T!" Nabisco insisted again, his face completely red. "Not anymore!" he then began to march away but was stopped by Calhoun's hand.
The Sugar Racers and the Core Four's eyes bulged in surprise at the general's confirmation.
"Hold it right there Baron Tight Pants!" Calhoun marched after him and held him by his shoulder. She spun him around and growled at him. "What do you mean by 'not anymore'?!" she hissed between teeth as the General paled under her glare.
"I-I," Nabisco stuttered, "what-haha." He laughed nervously suddenly and pulled from his collar. "I didn't mean we had of course! I mean, pff! Knights? Why would we need knights in the first place anyway? Haha…" He desperately tried to avoid her eyes and gulped.
The sergeant, of course, didn't buy it. "You're sitting on a pile of lies, soldier!" She growled at his face.
She had had enough of him. "Since the very first day you guys were updated into this game I have had the feeling you and this other little liar," she signaled Sour Bill next to him, "have been hiding something very big from all of us. You two seem to know more than what you admit and I'm tired and bored of this little back story mystery game of yours!" She shoved the General and Nabisco fell hard to the floor.
"You're not going anywhere until you spill the beans!" Calhoun drew out her gun and pointed it towards him.
Still completely focused on the framed picture, Ralph read the words written on the photo. 'See you in the finish line! It's your turn now!' and suddenly recognized the handwriting.
"Wait a minute! This is Chocolette's handwriting!" He said as he searched for the note she had left him at the penthouse.
"What?!" Calhoun looked over her shoulder to the wrecker as Felix and Vanellope jumped on Ralph's shoulders to look better.
Putting Chocolette's note besides the framed picture, the three noticed the similarities between the two handwritings.
"Hum...I'm not sure, brother," Felix tapped his chin doubtfully. "The handwriting on the photo looks soft and elegant while Chocolette's handwriting seems sharper and bolder but still elegant."
Vanellope too noticed the differences. "Yeah mister detective, these are obviously the handwritings of two different people." She half smiled at him, but Ralph still seemed very sure about his discovery.
"Are you two blind? Look at them! Yeah, they have small differences but it's the same handwriting! And look at the girl's face!" Ralph pointed his index finger to the mystery girl in the picture.
Felix and Vanellope instinctively narrowed their eyes.
"She has Vanellope's face!" Ralph said as he raised the picture and put it next to Vanellope's face.
Felix's eyes looked at the little princess and then at the girl in the photo. They did have the same face and big eyes.
The handyman's eyes grew larger. "You might be right about that, but what does that mean, brother? Do you know who this girl is?" Felix frowned confusedly.
The wrecker went silent for a second and lowered the picture again. He wasn't completely sure about it but he had a very strong hunch of who the girl probably was and why it seemed like the photo was from a different time period.
"I think it's Chocolette," he said lowly as his eyebrows arched in surprise.
"WHAT?!" Felix and Vanellope shouted and looked again at the picture.
Sure, the girl in the picture had an uncanny resemblance to Vanellope. She even seemed to be wearing a very similar royal racing suit with a matching bandana warped around her small neck that pretty much resembled Chocolette's and she also had long curly hair just like the queen.
But the girl in picture had really light hair, looking completely white, and the queen was known to be raven haired with only a few white streaks.
Vanellope wrinkled her nose in thought. "Ralph this can't be my sister! Look at her hair! It's as white as the snow. Plus, she's wearing a big bow and I don't see my sister wearing something like that at all," she chuckled with a slight nervous tint.
Felix hummed and scratched his head under his cap. "Vanny-P is right brother…the hair doesn't really match the queen's description," he admitted.
Ralph frowned and opened his mouth to prove him wrong but nothing logical came to his mind. "Uhmp!" he blew hot hair from his nose and said no more.
"Anyway!" The sergeant suddenly said and returned her attention to the fishy General before her.
"As I was saying, spill the beans old-uh?!" but Calhoun found the old general gone. "Where did he go?!" she exclaimed angrily. "That coward!"
The thunderous sound of engines suddenly interrupted her, growing louder from further down the track. Everyone turned around as seven sparks of colors zapped through the chocolate field rapidly and towards where everyone was gathered.
"Bad-guys are comin'!" Rancis shouted and ran with the rest of the racers towards where their princess and her friends were standing.
Brakes were then heard as a thick cloud of sugar powder blinded the crowd and made everyone cough in annoyance.
"Argh! My favorite suit is now ruined!" Taffyta complained as she dusted the powder off her hot pink racing suit while the sugar dust surrounded her.
"Here, have a napkin," two voices suddenly said to her in unison.
The cloud of sugar powder began to settle and Taffyta gasped in shock upon discovering who was offering some sympathy to her. It was the Twizzler Twins; the equally blond Sour Racers were smiling awkwardly at her while Zoet, the yellow dressed twin, held a napkin for her.
Taffyta instinctively stepped back a bit. "Wha-what?" she mumbled.
"We're so sorry about…ruining your dress?" Zuur, the pink dressed twin said with doubt.
"Please accept this napkin as our apology," they both forced more their smiles, scaring Taffyta even more.
"Vanellopeeeeeeee," The pink Sugar Racer sprinted towards her monarch and hid behind her. To Vanellope's amusement, the rest of the Sugar Racers did the same.
"Now, now! Don't be scared!" Finally, the voice of Dark Queen Chocolette Von Schweetz drew everyone's attention as she stepped out of her black licorice kart. "We're all friends here today...kids." She made an effort to not use the word 'brats'.
"Sorry about the delay dear sister, I had to...ah make some arrangements first," she said as she looked back at her Sour Racers, all smiling and waving at the younger racers.
-FLASHBACK-
"WE HAVE TO BE NICE?!" Razz shouted with her orange eyes big as plates.
"No, nyet, negative, nein, nope," Franknerd shook his head.
"Boss, you're asking too much this time, come on!" Warhead whinned.
"They're our enemies! Our counterparts! The yin to our yang! They're oil and we're water!" Rocko insisted with a few Spanish words added for good measure.
Chocolette blew her bangs off and rubbed her temples as they all kept giving her reasons against her plan. Lola giggled besides her, amused by the whole ordeal while being completely thrilled by it.
"SHUT YOUR MOUTHS YOU FOOLS!" Chocolette shouted at the top of her lungs and finally silenced them.
"Now listen very carefully you idiots!" She grabbed Razz by her braid and Warhead by his afro. "You either be nice FOR TODAY, and you better not ruin this, or Kojima help me YOU'LL ALL ROT IN THE DUNGEONS UNTIL I FEEL LIKE IT!" She pushed them back towards Rocko and glared daggers at them, making them shrink in fear.
"This is our last chance to get the Sugars on our side after the other day's fiasco! My plan depends on how things result after this play so you better suck it up and DO AS I SAY!"
-END OF THE FLASHBACK-
"But here we are!" Chocolette said with her arms open, also smiling awkwardly as the Sour Racers nodded with their creepy smiles.
Calhoun couldn't hide her chuckles anymore. "This is gold, pure gold. I need a camera."
"Dear please, don't make it even more...difficult for them," Felix whispered to her, hiding his own giggles while lowering his cap.
Ralph chuckled and crossed his arms cheekily. "Fashionably late, your majesty?" he cocked an eyebrow at her, making her roll her eyes.
"Not entirely my fault but this little miss refused to leave the castle unattended, even against my orders," Chocolette said as she bent over a bit and to everyone's surprise, helped Bonbon Lola step out of her kart.
"Mon dieu, your majesty! Driving at such high speed! We could all have died! You should learn to slow down!" The pink majordomo scolded as Chocolette put her down on the floor. Lola then drew out a blue umbrella and opened it wide, producing a large shade that covered her fully from the shinning sun.
The Sugar Racers peeked curiously as Vanellope grinned largely. "LOLA!" She shouted and ran towards her quickly.
Chocolette stepped back in shock as her sister came dashing towards them and wrapped her arms around Lola's sugar free body. "I'm so glad you came too!" Vanellope laughed as she hugged her tightly as if fearing she would never have another chance to hug the oddly kind majordomo of Black Cola Castle.
Bonbon Lola was completely caught off guard and her eyes went glassy as she chuckled and hugged the princess back. "Petit Princesse!" she said hoarsely with pure happiness, "I'm very happy to see you again." She giggled and parted away to look better at Vanellope while brushing off her pink eyes. "Why does it seem zat every time I see you, you look much older zan ze last time? Look at you! All suited up and looking parfaite for a race!" Lola seemed to glow with so much happiness.
Razz, who had just stepped out of her kart, looked at the majordomo and the young princess and silently half smiled knowingly.
Vanellope cocked an eyebrow and giggled. "Well you need to start leaving that crummy castle more often and come visit me at Sugar Castle! You could give Sour-puss here one or two lessons about being as nice as you are!" She looked over her shoulder towards where Sour Bill was standing.
"Sour Puss?" Lola repeated confusedly and she too peeked to see who Vanellope was referring to and she gasped in surprise upon recognizing an old friend.
"Messieur Sour Bill!" She smiled in surprise as the green majordomo blushed from far away.
Lola hurriedly walked towards him and stopped mere inches from him with her big pink eyes smiling at him. She grasped tightly at her blue umbrella and gave him the cutest smile Bill had ever seen in his short life. "I've missed you so much, mon ami!"
He instinctively took one step back as his face turned even redder under her smile. "Hi-hi, Lola," he greeted her nervously, fidgeting with his tiny green candy hands.
Lola giggled cutely. "You haven't changed one bit, mon ami! It's so good to see you after so long, we must arrange un soir to drink tea and share castle stories like in ze past. You won't believe ze zings I've lived in Black Cola Castle-" Lola continued to babble as Sour Bill kept blushing silently in front of her.
From behind them, Chocolette and Vanellope simultaneously exchanged similar plotting grins. Ralph chuckled as he easily read what was surely going through the Von Schweetz's minds.
"Is that a candy majordomo?"
"She's so cute and seems so nice!"
Lola and Bill suddenly heard and the two turned towards the young Sugar Racers, who were all looking at them with curiosity sparkling in their big eyes.
Bonbon Lola giggled. "Bill, aren't you going to introduce me to le petite Sugar Racers?" she teased him with what Chocolette could guess were her flirty eyes.
"I-I-I-yes of course, of course," Bill shrieked and rubbed the side of his head. "M-my apologies." He coughed nervously and then turned towards the Sugar Racers and cleared his throat.
"Sugar Racer, this is mMadam Bonbon Lola, castle keeper of Black Cola Castle," he stuttered, making the Sugar Racers giggle with fun as they had never seen Bill act so nervously in their lives. "Bonbon Lola, these are the Sugar Racers."
"Hi Lola!" they all greeted her and waved in unison.
Lola smiled largely at them. "C'est un plaisir!" she said. "You all look like such good children and I bet you're all great racers like le Petite Princesse. S'il vous plait, play nice with the Sour Racers, d'accord?" she asked them sweetly as the Sugar Racers came closer to her, eager to know her more.
"Wow, you're so nice and sweet!"
"Why does Black Cola Castle have such a nice majordomo?! This is crazy!"
"Lola, would you teach us French?"
"Can we keep Lola and send Sour Bill to Black Cola Castle instead?"
The last comment made Sour Bill return to his trademark frown as Lola giggled again besides him.
"This is working even better than what the queen expected," Razz whispered to Warhead and the Sour Racers nodded at her.
"Lady Razz! Please come closer, all of you, so you can give a proper greeting to zese nice children," Lola called and the Sour Racers paled.
"Say what?!" Razz and her comrades looked at their queen with pleading eyes.
The Dark Queen grinned teasingly. "Well, what are you waiting for? You heard the lady!" she waved her hand and signaled them to go.
The Sour Racers approached them slowly, still smiling awkwardly. The two racer teams stood in front of each other, not sure how to proceed.
"Hi!" Razz began, shoving her orange braid over her shoulder and posing coolly. "I'm Lady Razz Trollancher, chief commander of the Sour Racers."
"Patcher Roger, but you can call me 'Warhead'! Aerial commander."
"Rocko 'el Habanero' Gobstopper. Heavy Artillery commander."
"Franknerd Puckertensky, Technology & Communications commander."
"Twizzler Zuur and Zoet. Tactics & Strategies commanders."
They stood there doing their ridiculously cool poses for a few seconds until…
"Not bad."
They all heard Gloyd, the pumpkin themed Sugar Racer say with a cocky grin. "But big names don't make big racers," he challenged, making some of the newer Sugar Racers gasp in shock.
To their surprise, Razz grinned back at the challenge. "Oh, you'll see how big we are as racers today, little guy," she challenged back and Gloyd grinned excitedly at her.
And with that, the ice broke and in seconds both the Sugars and the Sours began to exchange cheesy-cool challenges and friendly come backs against each other as if they weren't really enemies but good-natured rivals instead.
Chocolette and Vanellope crossed their arms as they watched the whole show unfold. 'Mission accomplished,' they both thought simultaneously.
"Well now it seems I have seen everything today," Ralph said as he approached the two with a proud smile. Calhoun and Felix were right behind him.
"This is going to be the best day ever! I can already feel it in my code!" Vanellope fist jumped in utter happiness. "And you even brought Lola with you! Oh man, I can't wait to start this race!"
Ralph stood tall next to Chocolette as the little candy president kept jumping around. "Now that you mentioned it, if Lola is here, who is watching over Black Cola Castle?" he asked the Dark Queen.
"I assigned Gumdrop to the position for today," she said confidently as she cocked an eyebrow at Ralph.
"The baby cybug? What exactly can a little guy like him do to defend your castle, queenie?" Calhoun teased with her hands on her hips.
Chocolette grinned back at her. "Let's just say I may or may not have managed to alter his code a bit so that he's no longer that much of a 'little guy'," she explained and they all went wide-eyed.
"YOU DID WHAT?!" Calhoun spun her around and the queen laughed at her panicked expression.
"Relax sarge! I just made him a bit bigger, and he still can't multiply. He's not allowed to eat anybody unless that person is threating the castle or myself. It's all right, just take a chill pill for once. I'm doing this for Lola so she can now leave the castle without worrying," She explained as she looked back at her majordomo, who looked happier than what she had expected.
Calhoun glanced over and decided to trust the queen for once. She had proven herself to be a smart woman after all. "Well, if you say so. As long as he doesn't multiply I think we shouldn't have to worry…sorry about the yelling." She rubbed the back of her head.
Chocolette shrugged at the taller woman in a 'no harm, no foul' gesture.
"CAN WE NOW PLEASE START THESE LESSONS ONCE AND FOR ALL?!" Vanellope screamed suddenly, startling them all.
"Vanellope…" Ralph face palmed as Chocolette laughed evilly.
"Alright squirt, show me what you got first."
-0-0-0-
As instructed by her older sister, Vanellope gathered the Sugar Racers and made a quick demonstration of what she could do by racing a small portion of the track until Birthday Cake Mountain. The queen and her racers didn't participate and watched the race from the starting line.
The race didn't last long and soon Vanellope crossed the finish line first, followed by Taffyta, Snowanna and Rancis. One by one the rest of the Sugar Racers returned and the race came to a quick end.
Vanellope hopped off her kart and marched towards her sister with a proud smile on her face.
Chocolette slow clapped at her. "Well done sis, that was a good race," she said with a teasing grin.
The younger sibling bowed comically at her. "Thank you, your darkness," she mocked her back. "Is her majesty finally going to admit that her younger sister is indeed the best racer of this game?" She gave her a large toothy grin.
But that only made Chocolette laugh evilly. "Well, if using a cheating maneuver makes you the best racer of Sugar Rush, then yes I guess that makes you the one."
"WHATTAYA MEAN CHEATING MANEUVER?" Vanellope pouted indignantly.
"Oh don't take it as an insult, it's okay with me if you cheat, my dear sister," The queen grinned teasingly at her.
"I, Vanellope Von Schweetz, don't cheat!" she stomped her little boot and took off her white helmet to glare at her big sister.
The Dark Queen crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? So, using your glitch power doesn't make you a cheater? Can any of your racers do that too?" she asked with a gesture going across all of her subjects.
Vanellope's brow furrowed in thought. "Well no…they can't, but-"
"Well then that gives you an unfair advantage over them, doesn't it?" Chocolette cut her short.
"YES!" The Sugar Racers suddenly shouted behind them and Vanellope pouted in annoyance.
Chocolette remained silent with her eyebrow still arched as she waited for her sister to swallow her pride.
"Alright, alright yes, it could possibly be considered as cheating, but I was born with it and I still have it after the upgrade! It's not my fault!" she crossed her arms and looked away stubbornly.
Chocolette shook her head and walked past her towards her kart. "Let's start by the basics, shall we? Hop on your kart, squirt," she ordered and Vanellope glitched and appeared inside of it with an eager smile.
The queen frowned down at her. "Vanellope, no more glitches from now on, understood?" she commanded.
"But Choco!"
"No buts except yours in your kart now missy."
"Fine!" Vanellope whined in defeat as Chocolette bent down on her knee and began to explain a few things about her kart's panel.
Ralph, Felix and Calhoun watched with the Sour and Sugar racers from the stands. The wrecker had a dopey smile as he just couldn't believe what his eyes were looking at.
"Bro, stop smiling like that, your face is going to fall if you keep doing it," Warhead teased him from behind, earning a few chuckles from the Sugar Racers.
Ralph glared at him over his shoulder and the green afro racer raised his gloved hands defensively. "Kidding bro, kidding," he stuttered and Rocko laughed next to him with Rancis and Gloyd sitting on his own broad shoulders.
"Lady Razz, who is the best racer among the Sour Racers?" Snowanna asked the orange braided leader.
Razz smiled coolly at her. "None can beat the queen lil' miss," she admitted as her eyes returned to the track.
"Not even you?" Taffyta asked her with admiration shinning from her blue eyes and Razz let out a deep chuckle. "Not even me, no!" she said as she ruffled the little blond's hair, feeling her own ego inflate.
Ralph slightly looked over his shoulder as he noticed how each of the Sour Racers interacted with the Sugar Racers. Just like Razz, Warhead and Rocko, Franknerd was also showing some of his pocket sized inventions to Minty and Swizzle, though it seemed like the kids were a bit lost as they couldn't understand his alternating gibberish and cockney talking but still continued to listen to him carefully. And right next to them, the twins were both having their Mohawks combed and decorated by Adorabeezle, Candlehead and Crumbelina.
It was such an odd picture to behold and yet Ralph smiled as the bond between the racers grew.
But unknown to the wrecker, Lola sighed next to Bill as she knew that everything was all part of the Queen's plan of getting on the good side of the Sugar Racers so they could all be allowed to enter to Sugar Rush's Castle and get ahold of the throne. There was nothing she could do to warn Sir Wreck-It and his friends, as she was programmed to obey the queen's orders without question. She only hoped that perhaps this whole event could warm the queen's heart and make her change her mind once and for all.
Sour Bill noticed Lola's worried expression. "Something wrong, Lola?" he asked her timidly, surprising her a bit. He blushed as Lola returned a smile at him.
"Oh non, c'est bon…it's just…" Lola looked towards the queen and the princess again. "Bill do you zink…" she questioned lowly and looked down.
Sour Bill looked at her expectantly with a cocked eyebrow.
"Do you zink it is wrong of me to wish for zings to be as…before?" she twitched and Bill grabbed her hand to calm her down.
He knew what she was referring to, even if the back story didn't allow them to admit out loud. "No, it's not Lola, it's not," he assured her and for the first time that day, he smiled at her and it was now Lola's turn to blush.
-0-0-0-
"Ralph didn't teach me that," Vanellope said curiously.
"Wha-? RALPH TAUGHT YOU?!" Chocolette shouted incredulously, her stunned features holding for a moment before she threw her head back and began laughing hysterically.
Both the Sour and Sugar Racers heard the queen's exclamation. The two groups looked at each other before mimicking the queen and laughing uproariously. For the Sugars, it made everything finally make sense about how their prez had learned.
"No wonder you drive like that," the queen giggled as she brushed away a laughing tear.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up funny guys," Ralph groused. "I didn't see any of you stepping forward to help back then."
"Well I wasn't exactly around yet, was I?" Chocolette countered with a cheeky grin. "You're so lucky to have me now, sis."
"And he helped me build my kart too!" Vanellope crowed.
All of the racers stared at the cobbled together confectionary kart with a mixture of barely contained distaste and enigmatic wonder. Despite being a half-baked attempt at a kart, it was still a powerful vehicle.
"That also explains a lot," Chocolette whispered.
"HEY! Ralph didn't do a bad job!" Vanellope defended.
"What about the white marzipan kart?" Chocolette asked, wondering why her sister didn't revert to that vehicle.
"That kart is tainted," Vanellope said, sticking out her tongue for emphasis.
Chocolette quirked an eyebrow in confusion until Ralph leaned over and whispered in her ear. "That was the kart that Turbo used while he was masquerading as King Candy, so Vanellope absolutely refuses to drive it at all costs."
"Ohhhhh," Chocolette replied, realization dawning on her. Thinking about it, she could understand her little sister's desire to avoid that kart while clinging so resolutely to this little baked abomination she drove now.
"Well too bad, that's actually the fastest kart in the game," she teased.
"Come again?"
"Nothing, nothing," she said with an evil grin.
"I don't care what you say, sis," Vanellope said with a stomp of her foot. "That white frosting nightmare can be carried off by cybugs and I wouldn't care! But this kart... this kart is something special! And it's not all about the kart anyway! It's the driver AND the kart!"
The Dark Queen suddenly went rigid, her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at her sister over her shoulder and then at her kart. Bonbon Lola and Sour Bill exchanged knowing worried looks as the queen turned ahead again. "Yeah, it's not my type of kart either" she simply said lowly with a sad smile.
"Anyway! Let's get this party already. Time for some REAL teachings," she said as she made her trademark evil pose, crossing her arms under her bust and sporting a cocky grin. "Are you ready?"
"I've been ready since yesterday, slowpoke!" Vanellope exclaimed as she pulled her goggles over her eyes. "Let's race!"
With that exchange over, the crowd of Sugars, Sours, Fix-Its and Ralph withdrew to the stands to watch the race between the two. Ralph gave both of his favorite girls one last smile as he looked over his shoulder at them.
As the Von Schweetz sisters pulled their karts up to the starting line, Vanellope's eyes lit up with a delightful idea. Turning her head, she locked eyes with Ralph and quickly let her thoughts out. "Hey Admiral Underpants! Get over here and grab the checkered flag and get this race started!"
Ralph was thrown for a second and as was Chocolette. The two looked at one another, Ralph's face looking as though he wanted to ask 'should I?' before the Queen's blossomed into a soft smile that said, 'please do, my knight.'
Stepping onto the track, Ralph grabbed one of the abundant checkered flags and made his way out onto the grid. The royal siblings were revving their karts engines, producing a mixture of roars and whirs that got their adrenaline pumping. Once Ralph was situated between the two, he looked first at Vanellope and then over to Chocolette: his best friend, and his girlfriend.
Ralph let his own face split into a proud smile. All of his hard work was paying off and he was experiencing optimism like he'd never known. With the flag in hand, he raised it high above his head so that all could see.
"On you marks..."
Vanellope looked over at her older sister and gave her a thumbs up.
"Get set..."
Chocolette responded with a wink, and she was suprised to find she actually meant it.
The flag came down in a whirl of black & white.
"GO!"
With a roar of engines and a cloud of sugar dust, the royal sisters threw their karts into drive and sped down the track, their karts passing on either side of the grinning wrecker. Ralph turned and watched them speed off into the distance, unable to shake the grin from his face.
'Have fun you two. And play nicely.'
-0-0-0-
Chocolette and Vanellope sped off into Gumball Gorge, the two of them expertly dodging the massive gumballs that threatened to smash any racer who wasn't paying attention to atoms. Vanellope jinked hard to avoid one of the spiky confections and lost a bit of ground to her sister. Undismayed, she just pressed down the accelerator and gunned it towards her sister's kart.
"So when are you gonna show me some of those fancy moves, sis?" Vanellope called out over the din of the roaring engines.
Chocolette turned her head and smiled over at her sister before she shifted gears and pulled further ahead of her. Before Vanellope could try and close the distance again, Chocolette's kart seemed to spin 180 degrees in place so that now her older sister was driving backwards, all the while grinning at her.
Vanellope barely got out a "WHOA" before Chocolette's cannons revved up, angled high and fired, launching a ball of energy over the princess's head and collided with the glass of one of the gumball dispensers, shattering it and releasing more of the spiky orbs out onto the track. Vanellope still had enough clearance so that she wasn't affected by the traps, but she was still shaken slightly.
As the two made the leap out of the gorge, with Chocolette reorienting her kart back 180 degrees in midair, and onto the flat plain towards Birthday Cake Mountain, Vanellope decided to clear things up as she pulled alongside her sister. "Hey!" Vanellope called ahead of her, trying to comprehend what she just saw. "What was that all about?"
Vanellope had the joy of seeing Chocolette actually genuinely laugh. "I may have asked you not to glitch anymore little sis, but that doesn't mean you can use the track to your advantage! What I just showed you was legal cheating!"
Vanellope opened her mouth to respond but then closed it, thinking about it while her sister pulled her kart back forward. Now that she thought about, she did use her glitch in her races a little too much. Up until today, she'd ignored her subjects' complaints about it. But now with her sister calling her out on it, now it just seemed…unfair. But her sister was also teaching her new tactics to use against the other racers, and Vanellope was dead set on studying closely.
They were coming up on the spiraling road of Birthday Cake Mountain when Chocolette throttled back and let Vanellope pass her. The road on the mountain was too narrow to allow a kart of Chocolette's size pass effectively so Vanellope was wondering what she had in mind.
She got her answer a moment later when she checked her mirrors and saw something that made her breath catch in her throat: Chocolette's kart was riding up on its driver's side wheels, the other side spinning in the air as the Queen passed along the interior and retook first once again before her kart smacked back down on the road.
Vanellope couldn't believe her eyes. It was like something out of a movie. Before she could call out to her sister and ask how she did it, Chocolette caused her kart to go up on its driver side wheels again and this time the malevolent monarch passed to the princess's passenger side, looking up and giving her little sister a wink as Vanellope passed her and returning to her position behind her.
'Not bad sis,' Vanellope thought ruefully, refusing to fully admit how impressed she was with her sister's move. 'But I hope you like seeing my bumper cuz you're not passing me again.' And with that she put her kart into a drift around the curves of Birthday Cake Mountain, making sure she was effectively blocking her sister's routes.
The two soon entered the tunnel ramp that lead to the next area. Vanellope was dead certain that Chocolette wouldn't be able to pass her in here, not without using a glitch. Just to be sure, she checked her mirrors once again. She had just enough time to register her sister's devilish smirk before she saw something she never dreamed was possible.
Chocolette jammed down her accelerator and turned her wheel and somehow her kart mounted the wall in a spiraling course that was taking it up the ceiling. Vanellope couldn't help but watch as he sister passed over her head, looking down at her with that same infuriating smile before she pulled ahead and back onto the road just before they flew out of the end of the tunnel and into the air.
-0-0-0-
As she and her sister sailed through the air, Vanellope felt a spark jolt through her core code. All around her, time seemed to slow down and she began to feel a greater awareness for everything around her: the wind rustling through her raven hair, the feel of the steering wheel clutched in her tiny palms and the suction of the goggles around her eyes. 'Racing is in my code,' she had once said, but she hadn't fully understood the meaning of those words until that day.
She was practically running within her own mind, as if she and her kart were one and the same amount of code. It was electrical and accelerating. She just couldn't believe how much had she been missing all this time. Racing had a new meaning for her and it was all thanks to her stubborn big sister.
In the middle of the cloud of blurred colors, she finally saw the exit of the tunnel and frowning with determination she slammed the pedal and went for it.
"I need…to go faster…come on!" Vanellope growled as she pressed even harder the pedal.
She could feel something about to burst out of her chest, something electrical and warm. The tunnel shone brighter and the young Von Schweetz had to shield her eyes for a mere second.
And then everything suddenly went oddly silent as the white light blinded her.
'Uh?'
Slowly, Vanellope opened her eyes and found her surroundings suddenly all black and white.
'What the-?' she held her breath as the world around her moved in an unexpected slow motion.
She found herself slowly falling down towards the track and to her surprise her kart was no longer her beloved colorful one but the dreadful Royal White Marzipan.
Outraged she was about to growl at it when suddenly felt curiosity begging her to look at her side.
And when she turned, her confusion grew even more.
There were three women in strange shinning vehicles running at her side. Two were identical, with short cleaned bob haircuts while the other was tanned and had long dreads that floated wildly against the wind. Looking behind her she saw three men also on different vehicles. One of them was flying on what looked like a plane and had long straight hair; there was another much older and muscular guy with curly mustache and thick beard, wearing an eye patch on his right eye and finally there was a much younger looking man at his side, sporting an elegant hat and round eyeglasses.
The six figures were all wearing matching shining armors.
'Who are these people?' she wondered as the world slowly began to move a little bit faster again.
'Vanellope!'
A soft angelical voice suddenly called her from her left and instinctively she turned the source of the voice.
She narrowed her eyes as the sun shinned intensively behind the mysterious figure, making it impossible to recognize it. What Vanellope could only see where the white and golden colors of the figure's kart.
'Vanellope!' the voice said again before the shadowed figure morphed and became a larger mass of darkness.
O-X-O-X-O-X-O-X-O
EDITOR'S NOTE: As always folks, please leave well thought out reviews, as they make the lovely authoress and myself very happy. Also, For those of you watching this and The Snow Queen's Knight, I HAVE NOT given up on it. Real life is just getting in my way more than usual. But keep your eyes sharp!