Chapter Five: Making Friends

Okay, just relax and try and avoid Taffyta and her little gang… I could throw them in the fungeon though for refusing to help…The thought brought a small smile to her lips before she shook it aside. No, I'm not a tyrant, as much as I WOULD love that…

Vanellope left the confines of the castle and was now walking in the complete opposite direction of all the tracks. Behind the castle lay a small candy-themed town where all the racers actually lived. She cringed at the horrid memories of getting kicked out of this part of the game on oh so many occasions before they had stopped Turbo. Those memories were one of the reasons why she avoided this part of her kingdom.

They're just memories! Just put them aside and focus!

She shook her head a few times before sighing as she decided to take a slower pace towards the town. She knew the layout very well and where most of the racers lived, with the exception of a few whom she rarely talked to. It was those racers in particular she was hoping could help. The less-popular ones tended to be nicer, she thought.

Still, she knew that Changelina had gained no favors with the few stunts she pulled. Candlehead probably hated her, along with Taffyta and a few others.

As her walking became slower, the president paused. It was almost a soul-shattering moment-not devastating, but close. In the few months after her retake of her kingdom, she had been busy. Busy getting the hang of things and busy with her friends from outside the arcade. Her subjects did not hate her, but she just now realized that they also were not really her friends.

Friends had your back. Friends joked around with you. Friends hung out with you after hours. And ,most importantly, friends knew you deep down. With Ralph, it was obvious: the two knew each other inside and out. The closest thing she could call Ralph was her best friend overall.

Felix was a great pal who, despite his lack of knowledge regarding rude comebacks, would still try and occasionally get the better of her other friends.

Calhoun was rough but real fun to hang out with. She was also protective when she needed to be.

Changelina was just odd, and she couldn't quite pinpoint her ways in a conversation (or with anything else, for that matter). Still, she was a friend.

But the other racers were not her friends. Her subjects, sure, but not friends. And that moment was what caused the president to stop in her tracks and stare at the ground.

"I barely even know them! Sure, I know which ones complain the most and what about… but…Oh man, this stinks!"

Her plan relied on gaining help from the other racers, but why would they ever want to help her if they weren't even her friends?

"Great, just great…"

She sulked on the pathway, halfway to town. Thoughts raced in her head. She debated on actually ordering them to help, but that would be something that King Candy would try, something that Turbo would try. Not her. She then considered another plan, but it was much slower.

"Maybe I can just try one for now. Someone has to have some idea on how to help!"

It took her ten minutes to find the edge of the village in question. There were dozens of odd candy-designed homes, but the only one she had interest in belonged to…

"Citrusella Flugpucke," Vanellope muttered. This particular racer was considered a recolor of a more famous racer, a reverse of her colors. Her house was particularly plain when compared to the others. It was two stories high with blue, velvet and purple-colored candies lining the outside walls and door.

Just walk up there and knock. She was always nice during King Candy's reign. Well…nice enough. In fact, Vanellope choose her because, during all the torture of living alone, she never once shoved her in the mud or called her a Glitch.

The president swallowed a knot in her throat and walked up to the door, letting loose a few firm knocks. The door opened swiftly before the president could get any more lingering thoughts of doubt.

Citrusella's mind blanked for a moment before speaking. "Uh, President Vanellope?"

"Uh, hey, and just Vanellope is fine."

The other girl nodded and waited for her to continue. Vanellope rubbed the back of her head for comfort, but it did nothing to ease her nervousness.

"Listen, do you want to hang out or something?" Vanellope asked, her voice going a few pinches higher than she would have liked.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked in response.

"Uh…"

"'Cause you're sweating, for one. You're asking me to hang out and we never talk, two. And, you look really stressed."

Vanellope's mind narrowed onto one thought. Crud. Now what?! Oh, screw it!

Vanellope breathed in deep. "Okay, look. It's true that I usually ignore you girls, er guys, er, racers! And I usually just hang out with Ralph and my other friends." Citrusella nodded and motioned for her to continue. "I would like to start making some friends in my game, but-" She bit her lip.

"But what?"

"I kind of need help for Changelina…"

"Who? Is she that new racer? I haven't been on the track in a while…"

Vanellope noticed that she looked quite bashful, but kept that to herself. "Yes, she was part of the upgrade and she really needs some help."

The blueberry girl crossed her arms. "It didn't sound like she needed help racing, not to sound jealous or anything. It kind of sounds like, at least from what the other racers were gossiping about, that she has it made."

"Maybe a bit. But she's having a horrible time while she races when the players control her. I barely got her home today before she fell asleep on top of me. I don't know if you girls would know anything about her problems, but more friends would help regardless. So, will you be my friend and hers, maybe?"

The girl studied the president and was surprised to find her not only out of character but sounding extremely desperate as well. She had nothing to lose by gaining a friend, especially one that was the president of the game.

She shrugged and smiled. "Sure, why not?"

"Awesome!" Vanellope jumped in the air and cheered.

"But, what's wrong with this…Changelina, is it?"

"Oh, right. Well, it has to do with her ability. See, she can change into any character from any game just by touching them."

"I fail to see how that is a bad thing."

"It is, because her emotions control it and sometimes the other way around. She can only feel emotions by switching characters to someone who feels that emotion the most? I think that's how it works… but on the track, when a player controls her and they tell her to change, she instantly feels that emotion afterwards. She was on the track today and felt dozens of emotions switch instantly over and over and it exhausted her. That can't be fun, Citrusella. That can't be fun at all! Our jobs are supposed to be fun and amazing, not torture!"

"Hmm, that sounds pretty rough. How long as she been part of the game anyway?"

"Few days?"

"Geez, she's like a newborn or something and has to go through that? No wonder you're so stressed…"

"So can you help? Got any ideas or something?"

"Uh, maybe? I'm sorry Vanellope, but I've never heard of this before." Vanellope slumped down at hearing this. "Maybe she can try and learn to not feel emotion when she changes?"

"I think it's part of her code though."

"'Well, then maybe she can try and feel the emotion before she changes on the track, instead of the other way around?"

"That could work, but how do we do that?" Vanellope asked.

The girl noticed that she was hanging on her every word, desperate to help her friend. "Where is she, anyway? I didn't see any new homes installed with the upgrade or anything."

"She's living in the castle now, but she's asleep."

"Oh, I see. I could help her better if she was awake and I could talk to her. Until then though, I'm kind of in the dark here."

"Oh, okay," Vanellope replied, sighing and slowly walking away.

"…Did you still want to hang out?"

Vanellope turned around and mentally smacked herself for forgetting. Of course she would want to hang out! This was not the right way to start a friendship by just walking away.

"S-sure!"

"Cool, it's late but I'm sure we can do something!"

"Well, what do you usually do after hours?" Vanellope questioned while eyeing the inside of her house, which she found was disturbingly plain-looking. Normally, racers had all sorts of random awards and trophies inside.

The girl shrugged. "Sometimes, I'll tweak up my car, or hang if there's a party. But usually, I'll just turn in early for the days where I do earn the right to be on the roster… otherwise, I just chill in our game during the day."

"You, uh, never leave the game?"

"No, not really. Do you?"

"Plenty of times. Want to come with? I'm sure we can find something to do!"

"Okay, let's go!"

"Great!" Vanellope cheered and grabbed Citrusella without warning, beginning to glitch her back towards the exit of the game. When she was finished, she looked over with a smug smile that quickly turned into a frown. Citrusella was stumbling and looked unsteady.

"Uh," Vanellope rubbed the back of her head nervously, "first time using glitch travel?"

"Yeah… please don't do that again."

"Sorry. Let's go!"

The trip on the tram was uncomfortably awkward for Vanellope, but not for Citrusella. The blueberry-themed girl was taking in the sights on the tram and was pleased when she arrived at Game Central Station.

"First time here?" Vanellope asked, incredulous.

"Uh huh. It's pretty impressive!"

"So," Vanellope began while walking in front of her to block her new view, "we can go to Tappers for root beers or something, or check out some other games. What do you want to do?"

"Um…" The girl looked down for a moment as her expression turned from nervousness to embarrassment.

From hanging out with Changelina, Vanellope was not lost to that look. "Right, first time… we could just explore some random games. How about SegaSonic? It's kind of a weird Japanese game."

"Sure!" she cheered, happy that the pressure was off her to choose.

Citrusella and Vanellope were stopped by the Surge Protector just in front of the door.

"Names?" he asked.

"Uh, Citrusella and Vanellope," Citrusella replied.

"What game are you coming from?"

"Hey, how come you always ask that, but you always know?" Vanellope asked, dodging the question.

"It's part of my job to ensure that you are who you say you are."

"Oh… Sugar Rush."

"And where are you both heading?" he asked in the same monotone voice.

Vanellope frowned and said nothing, Citrusella gave a confused look. "…Really? We're clearly heading into that game so-"

"Thank you, anything else to declare?"

"You confuse me," Citrusella offered.

"That one's new. Good night." He then dematerialized into pixels and code and left the hallway that led into the game silent.

The blue girl turned to Vanellope, who just groaned.

"Let's just head inside, shall we?" Vanellope said.

"Good call…"

Inside, the two found the exact same laboratory that Ralph had found himself in. No one was there, however. Beakers lined tables, charts were scattered everywhere, and one massive computer was stationed in the corner.

"What is this place?" Citrusella asked.

"If I had to guess, Dr. Robotniks lab."

"Ahh, I think I've heard of him. He's crazy, right?"

"Wrong!" The two girls shrieked and whipped around to find the scientist himself standing there. "Oh man, the look on your faces! Ah...now, what are you two doing here?"

"We were just kind of exploring your game," Vanellope admitted.

"Hmm… are you two by any chance from Sugar Rush?"

"Yes?" Citrusella half-said and half-asked. Vanellope rolled her eyes and playfully smacked the girl. "What was that for?"

"You don't tell the evil villain of a game who you are!"

"Oh…"

"Oh please, I may be crazy, but I'm hardly evil."

Vanellope deadpanned, "But, you just said-"

"Yep. Now, you are the president of the game, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Can you bring me this...Changelina, is it? Ralph informed me of her unique situation." Robotnik then took both of his hands and brought them together in a gesture that he hoped made him seem more innocent.

"He did, huh? Well, she's asleep right now. Kind of out of it completely and we still have part of the week left for the arcade."

He scowled. "So, I have to wait at least three full days before I begin my experiments?! Drat!"

"You are not going to touch her!"

"I was not going to harm her, hardly! But, in order to find out how to better help keep her emotions under control, I need to examine her and her code."

Vanellope backed up a bit, her expression changing from a scowl to curiosity. "You can help her?"

"I can, but I need to-"

"Yeah , yeah, yeah, I get it. Maybe you can come into our game and look at her code?"

"She needs to be awake for my tests and-"

Vanellope interrupted him again. "I meant look at her code box. Will that help?"

"…It would help a little. I suppose it's better than nothing, but when should I stop by?"

"Tomorrow, after the arcade closes. You might also be able to do your tests on her, but I can't guarantee that she'll be awake if her day goes anything like it did earlier," Vanellope explained.

"Excellent, I'll see you then!" Robotnik then turned back to the computer and disregarded their presence.

The two girls shared a look.

"C'mon, we can go to Tappers or something. I have a feeling this game isn't too much fun." Vanellope waved her hand back towards the exit and the other girl nodded.

Outside, Citrusella slowed them down. Vanellope raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, are you sure trusting that guy with this friend of yours is a good idea?"

"Uh, not really at all… but if Ralph is there during the experiments, then nothing bad will happen. I just hope he can help."

"How big is Ralph, anyway?"

"Haven't seen a game character yet that's larger."

"Cool."

They sped up and entered the bar to find it mostly deserted. Tapper walked up. "Hey girls, awfully late. You just missed Ralph and the gang, Vanellope."

"Shoot! Well, I'm out with Citrusella here, so no big deal."

"'Kay. Root beer?"

"Sure!" the blue girl cheered.

They talked through the night, but not about anything terribly interesting. Vanellope did enjoy herself but was having difficulty figuring out if her new friend had as well. She figured a friendship takes time anyway, and planned to spend more time with her overall.

The next day held the exact same experience for Changelina, only this time she knew what to expect. It was grueling and it made the changing girl hate her new life. She did not fully know what to expect when it came to being controlled by other players, but she certainly did not expect an emotional nightmare.

When the arcade had closed for the day, she felt nothing. She wanted to feel bitter or angry or upset, but at that point she was through feeling anything. She lumped down in her new bed and slept like a baby.

Citrusella was there in her room, along with Vanellope.

"Well, I guess you can't be friends yet, heh," Vanellope commented.

"You weren't kidding. Out like a light."

"Yeah. We better go meet Robotnik."

They both nodded and left the changing girl be. After closing her door, they turned around and yelped in surprise.

"Is she asleep?" the deep, brooding voice of Dr. Robotnik asked.

"Yes," Vanellope replied sharply.

He frowned, his creepy bad guy smile dropping. "Drat. Well, can you at least take me to your code room?"

"Sure, but can I ask you something first?" Vanellope questioned, just before stopping him from walking off in to the castle.

"I suppose."

"Where did you learn so much about code? Only time I had ever seen someone mess with code wasn't-"

"Yes, yes. I know all about Turbo." He paused and saw her flinch. "It is merely a hobby of mine. Besides, I'm pretty sure the wrecker over there wouldn't let anything happen." He pointed behind him and the two girls saw Ralph leaning against the wall. Vanellope wondered how he had went unnoticed until now.

"Ralph! What's up?"

"Hey kid-uh, kids?"

"Hello," Citrusella replied politely.

"You two know each other? Wonderful! Can we get started now?" Robotnik interjected.

Vanellope looked up to Ralph, who caught her eye. Ralph wasn't sure why she was staring, until he noticed that her eyes looked pleading, as if to ask him for permission. He shrugged and motioned for them to follow.

The code room was found in the back part of the castle. Citrusella had never been to this part of the castle, but the others had. Vanellope walked up, entered the code, and turned back to the large doctor.

"Uh, we're going to need a rope or something…"

"Oh, no need." He grinned and, in an instant, he was floating in the air. "Jet boots! Not useful in my game, but I am a scientist and an inventor!"

He flew into the room and looked all over, but found no Changelina box. "Where is her box?" he called out.

"It's the blank one, in the corner away from the others!" Vanellope yelled back.

"Blank box?" he asked himself, his voice echoing off into the distance. He looked around a few more times before spotting it. He floated over and ran his fingers over a large, floating box. It seemed ordinary at first, but after a few moments, it blinked once and changed. He blinked and saw the box looked exactly the same as the one in the center of the entire room: Princess Vanellope's box. "Odd… but still blank… Well, let's get started!"

The doctor spent the next hour writing down various notes and doing light experiments with her code. Nothing overly dangerous, but enough to get a feel for how she worked. He was mostly stumped. The others had grown bored while waiting around and were momentarily surprised when he returned.

"Finished!" he announced, wiping his hands to signify a job well done.

Ralph walked up to him. "Well?"

"Uh, well… she's complicated," he admitted, after a few seconds of stammering.

Vanellope and Citrusella groaned out loud. "We know that already!" the president snapped.

"Yes, well, what I mean to say is that it is going to be quite complicated to break it down into simpler terms," he finished, a smug expression on his face.

"Are you calling us stupid?" Ralph asked.

"Exactly! Now then, as you all know, she changes her costumes based on her emotions. Whether or not the chosen costume is random is kind of up in the air, but that doesn't really matter. It's a part of her. Changing moods and emotions for her is a bit more difficult than the rest of us. It's still natural for her to feel emotions like all of us, but what happened just after is almost forced by her. She can choose to not switch costumes, but doing so is far too natural to ignore."

"So, it can hurt her if she ignores it?" Ralph asked, concerned.

"No, but ignoring it is not part of her code. That is her conscious choice. As for her emotional changes on the track, there may be a way to suppress them with a simple add-on that I can code. But that will always be part of her, I'm afraid," he somberly concluded.

"So, racing will always be a nightmare for her?" Vanellope asked.

"Well, with the suppressor, it shouldn't be as horrible as you have described, no. But it's still part of her code, and that is not something I can change."

"Oh." Vanellope looked down and sighed.

Ralph walked up to her and placed his large hand on her shoulder as best as he could. "It'll be fine." He then turned to Robotnik. "Do you need her to make this suppressor add-on?"

"No, she's a fine specimen and looking at her code was enough. It should only take a day."

"Well, thank you." Ralph said.

"No problem! Thank you for the opportunity. I'll see ya later." Robtnik then turned around and left.

"Ralph, what if she starts hating her life?" Vanellope asked.

Ralph sighed and pondered this for a few moments. It was true that their new friend was in for a rough ride, but then he thought of something else. He leaned down to Vanellope and spoke calmly. "Kid, I'm sure her life can't be that bad. I mean, she has all of us, and you. Just help her out when she needs it, and be there for her if she tries to push you away. And she'll be fine."

"Thanks, Ralph… well, barf brain!"

"Yeah, that's me," he said with an exasperated sigh. They shared a quick hug. He looked over to Citrusella and smiled. "C'mon you two, let's get some sleep. You'll have plenty of time to talk to Changelina in the morning."

Ralph felt odd tucking both girls into their beds in separate homes, but it was a welcome gesture from both of them. He soon left their game world and entered his own, deciding that a good night's rest would do him a world of good.

Changelina's morning was no different from the others. She woke up, did a morning stretch and frowned when she realized it was still a racing day. Vanellope was waiting at her door like the previous nights. Only, instead of a sad, sympathetic smile, she wore a genuine one.

"Uh, good morning, Vanellope."

"Morning! So, I wanted to surprise you with something else cause I know you're feeling down about racing..." Vanellope paused, seeing her wince and switch costumes to the princess Vanellope. "You kind of look like you need something to hope for."

"What do you mean?"

"We've been trying to fix your emotion issue on the track, and we found a way. Dr. Robotnik from another game is working on an add-on for your code. It suppresses emotions on the track."

"So I won't feel anything?!" she asked hopefully.

Vanellope frowned. "You still will, but it won't be as bad…"

"Oh." Changelina looked dejected.

"I'm sorry. I tried my best to help."

"No, it's okay, Vanellope. It helps. At least, I hope it does…"

"Alright. Just don't be afraid to ask if you have any problems, 'kay?"

Changelina smiled slightly and they both left for the track. Through the rest of the day, Changelina continued to ponder what the suppressor would feel like. Would it hurt to install? Would racing still be a nightmarish work schedule? She hoped the only answer to both of these questions was no.