(A/N: Thank you for the positive introduction! I really appreciate that. This chapter is where some of the 'M' rating comes from...language. Also plot. And Turbo is an asshole (which is way more fun than it should be!).)

Vanellope stared at the white-chocolate walls of the Presidential castle, her mind racing furiously. Why Turbo? Why now? What could I have to done to have angered Edison? She was not a particularly religious Program, but sometimes she needed a good romp around the old Book of Pong for some answers. Sure, the Void was real, but there was no way Edison really watched her and made sure she was safe. Otherwise, he wouldn't have let her been bullied like she had been. If Edison really was there, he wouldn't have let Turbo do what he did, so he must not exist, but just in case: Dear Edison, Bringer of Light and Defeater of the Void, bestow upon me your wisdom so that I may have insight into the menial issues of my life. Please allow me the clarity to make proper decisions that will lead to prosperity for my Game. Bink.

"Never took you for the religious type." Vanellope looked up to see Calhoun towering over her, a smirk set in place on her lips. "Looks like I was wrong. Some 'hail Lightbulb' thing you're doing there?"

"Naw, just making some on-the-spot pleas. And you were right," the little girl stood up and dusted off her green hoodie nonchalantly, "I'm not religious. Just open-minded." She shrugged dismissively and 'meh'ed, "Maybe Edison's really watching us and maybe not. You never know!"

Calhoun snorted, "And thusly, those of the Void were struck down and purified by His Light. The screams of the Great Darkness were heard for centuries after as Edison, Bringer of Light, locked it away in the farthest reaches of Earth's Code. 'Now,' He declared, 'it shall bother us no longer and we will prosper!'"

Vanellope giggled insanely, "You know that by heart?"

The older woman pursed her lips in amusement, "My Programmers were extra-religious so they added that to my Code. It just means I'm well-versed in the lore of the Book of Pong."

"Hm..." Vanellope looked at the hallway leading to the dungeon and furrowed her brows, "Why do you think Felix and Ralph are down there with him?"

The sergeant shrugged, "Who knows. They supposedly knew Turbo before the whole going Turbo incident so maybe they're just trying to figure their old friend out." She stared down the hallway as well and then, hearing an unidentified sound, turned around with her pistol at the ready. "Who's there?! Show yourself you coward!"

"Mamá-Mia! Calm down miss-a Calhoun! It's-a me, Mario!" The frightened voice of the beloved icon emitted from the stairwell, echoing as it bounced off the marble-fudge stairs.

"And me..." Sour Bill added slowly, "Everyone seems to forget the supportive NPC..."

"Baww! I would never forget you, ya' sour lil' guy!" Vanellope called out as she glitched to where he was and swooped him up in a gummy-bear hug. His floating hands and feet waved around until she put the poor thing down.

"Diagnosis Doctor?" Calhoun snapped at Mario when he reached the apex of the stairwell. "What's the damage report and how the Void are we going to fix this kerfuffle?"

Mario stuck his hands in his overall pockets and grinned nervously, "Heh...well, there's good news and-a bad news."

"Just give me the damn news!" Calhoun was in no mood for pussyfooting around a subject.

"I found-a the problem and I think I can-a fix it," Mario said as he scuffed at the floor with his worn work-boot.

"And?" He was stalling, there was always an 'and' to talks that started like that. "Out with it!"

"Well...Turbo...he wrote himself into the code-a and that's what allowed him to-a regenerate here without issues. But there's a slight-a problem. His...," Mario searched for the right way to word what he was about to say without setting off the blonde bob-ombshell—oh how he wished he wasn't committed to Princess Peach right now because that woman was fierce in all the right ways—off for a Troja-raising tirade. "There is-a Void infecting his Code and...he is mutating."

"Mutating?!" Vanellope shrieked, her form flickering blue and moving an inch to the right. "Like the Cy-bug mutation from 'fore or worse?"

"He is mutating-a into a full-blown Virus. He's-a turning into a Worm." Mario closed his eyes, flinching and waiting for the blows to rain down upon his head. When none came, he looked up and noticed that Calhoun looked more scared than absolutely furious.

"There better be some more good news to come along with that lovely notice you gave us or else I swear I will strangle you with your own overall straps." Calhoun was serious, so very serious.

"I...I have a pill that-a can delay the effects of the transmutation-a into a Worm while I work on-a his code." Mario waved a small water-soluble capsule the colour the castle had been before Vanellope remodelled and stripped the fondant from the walls. Pink—or as King Candy would've called it—salmon.

Calhoun snatched the small man by his collar and glared intensely, "Then you'd better get that pill to Turbo ASAP Doctor." Mario nodded and dashed off as fast as he could when she put him back to the floor. Calhoun and Vanellope following, wondering exactly what was going to happen next.

She hoped it would be for the better.

Edison, please let Ralph be okay. And let my Game be okay too...

|)|?. /\/\4|?10

Ralph was sitting on the floor of the dungeon cell they had Turbo in, his back against the door and his eyes watching the ever-flickering form of Turbo. The Virus-infected Program kept looking back and forth between Ralph and Felix, his voice low and hurried. Every-so-often Ralph would catch a small hint of what sounded like something from the Book of Pong and it made him worry. The Turbo he knew refused to believe in the 'hogwash of the System', as he called it.

Then again, the Turbo he knew would have never tried to kill him, or Vanellope.

"Ralph," Felix began, breaking the revered silence, "Why d'you think he's like that...this? What'dyou think made him go Turbo?" The Good Guy could think of no other way to word his question.

Ralph was silent for quite some time before he answered, "I don't understand...why he's like this...I—" He choked, a pained expression dominating his large visage before he regained composure, "I think something's wrong with him..."

"I'd hafta' agree with you on this'un. I have no clue as to why he flipped out either. Something just seemed...off about the whole thing." Felix wearily kept one eye on Turbo while he talked, something not too common for the little handy-man. He was rarely, if ever, wary of anyone.

Ralph opened his mouth to say something just as Vanellope glitched through the walls of the dungeon, a huge grin on her face, "Mario's on his way with a booster. Just letting ya' know!" Then the little ruler glitched right back out, never letting her eyes wander from Turbo while she was there.

"Mario's got a booster? Huh," Felix commented, "why not an anti-virus?"

Ralph shrugged in response, "Not sure. Maybe it's a precaution?"

"Not necessarily, ham-hands," Calhoun's commanding drill-sergeant voice cut through the thick atmosphere if dread as she entered the small room, Mario timidly walking behind her. "Tell them," she commanded Mario, who swallowed nervously and shuffled forward.

"The, uh, booster is a way to keep-a the mutation from-a accelerating at an unnatural rate." Mario looked sheepishly at Turbo, who was muttering at an advanced pace, words blurring together.

"TheVoidwasangry-angry-angry-angrysoangryitwas-angrysoangryitwasfurious—and it said-itsaiditsaiditsaid-thoushaltbe my prophetmyvassal and there will bedestructionsomuchdestructi on and the Lightwillvanishunderourcruel gaze-ourgaze-our–gaze–will–bring–forth–hidden–lies–hiddenlieshidingfromtheLight —EdisonbringerofLight—hold me close andneverletmego—KILLYOU—follow me Programs, I'll lead you astray—" Turbo's form flickered red and Void as his limbs twitched and spasmed. The look on his face was one of hope mixed with fear as he shrank back in his corner and stared at the Programs in his dungeon. His Fungeon.

It just wasn't fair, that Glitch getting everything he worked so hard for. The little brat.

"What mutation?" Ralph asked incredulously, "What do you mean?"

"Well, Turbo's-a code is mutating into a full-blown-a Virus. A Worm, to be-a precise." The Italian looked at the floor nervously, "In about a week-a he'll be mutated-a completely. If it's-a dampened by the booster I'm-a gonna' give him, I'll have more time to-a work on de-bugging his Code-a."

"Sweet Mother Hubbard...," Ralph was unsure of what to say right then, the news blindsiding him. Turbo was becoming a Worm? Worms were worse news than Trojans, or even a regular Virus, because Worms will devour everything in a Game and move on, very much like the Cy-bugs.

"How much time will it take to develop an anti-virus?" Felix asked, his voice hard and his stance tense.

"One-a week," Mario said softly. Everyone relaxed except for Calhoun, "Minimum. At-a most it will take-a me a full month to get rid of-a the mutations."

Silence reigned supreme, broken only by Turbo's muttering, now louder and slightly excited-sounding. "The Void-the-Void-Void-Void-Void-Void-d-d-d-d—a virus?—fix-fix-fix-fix-fix-it-Felix—Wreck-It Ralph?—T-T-T-T-T-Tamorajeancalhoun-Sergeant Tamorajeancalhoun—Mario? you grubby little—G-g-g-g-glitch!—heroes do the right thing—KILL YOU—Void will-KILL YOU—"

Finally the reigning quiet was shattered by Felix's soft Southern cadence, "The arcade closes for th' weekend 'cause of Litwak's birthday."

Ralph's eyes widened and he nodded, "Yeah! So you'll have more time to work on the anti-virus!"

Mario smiled as well, "Ya-HOO! It's-a plan then! I'll be-a back tomorrow night!" Then the stout man hopped off, a large smile on his face. Maybe, just maybe, this was going to be okay.

Meanwhile, Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, Vanellope, and Sour Bill huddled outside Turbo's dungeon room, holding a whispered discussion. "So what do we do with him now? The Virus makes him only able to speak through sound bytes from the past so what'll happen when the booster kicks in?"

Calhoun nodded in agreement with Ralph's statement and opened her mouth to answer his question when she was interrupted by a loud call from inside the cell. "Hello? Is anyone there? I-I know someone's here, somewhere! Could you – could you bring me a candle or something? It's dark in here." The voice's faint lisp prevailed, echoing in the cavernous hallway.

Ralph stiffened, his eyes widening and his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. His huge hand reached shakily for the door latch, sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall, "Turbo?" His voice was shaky and unsure, as if he was terrified it was a dream.

"Yes? Is that you, Ralph?!" Turbo's called from the depths of the dungeon, timid, as if he would be punished just for speaking. "I—" he trailed off, an uncomfortable silence filling up the rooms. Timidly, Ralph opened the door and came face-to-face with a grinning Turbo, cruelty eking from his pores. "—can't believe you fell for that!" The paunchy ex-racer cackled and rolled around on the floor, mirthful tears streaming down his face. "Oh, good grief Wreck-It! I thought you were smarter than that! Looks like I was wrong, meat-head! Oo-hoo-hoo!" Plopping his butt on the floor, the Virus-infected Program glitched, moving a foot to the left.

"This is the Turbo you grew up with?" Calhoun was stunned, Turbo was a complete child! Whereas Ralph enjoyed the occasional whoopee-cushion and Felix was all-for the once-every-blue-moon "GOTCHA!" joke, Turbo didn't seem to fit in well with their beliefs on what was funny and what wasn't.

"Yeah...he liked'is jokes, Turbo did. Not too funny, now that I'm thinkin' back on'em." Felix stared at his absolutely horrified Bad Guy, waiting for Mt. St. Helens to blow up.

What no one expected was for the large man to start crying.

"Awww, does the widdle baby boy need a diapy change?" Turbo asked the sobbing Ralph, "Sweet Throttle Wreck-It, get a grip!" The ex-dictator was rather surprised when he was suddenly kicked in the testicles by an irked nine-year-old.

"You...you ASSHOLE!"

Calhoun raised her hands defensively, "I didn't teach her that!"

"You made Ralph cry! You cock-sucking, fuck-nugget! I ougta've just let you ROT in that cell!" Vanellope's entire body was shaking, visible skin a frosting pink. Grabbing ahold of Ralph's neck, wrapping her entire arms around it just to get a grip, she nuzzled the giant protectively. Then she turned back to face her, for lack of a better term, nemesis. "You're s'pota be his friend...he was worried about you."

Turbo stepped back for a second and then smirked, "He's a big boy. He'll get over it. Won'tcha clumsy?" Moving back to taunt Ralph, he was met by Felix's furious face. "Greetings, Fix-It! How'sit going over in," his cordial hello was broken by a snicker, "Niceland?"

"Very fine, thank you!" Felix's reply was clipped, his emotions in a rare turmoil. How dare Turbo do something like that?! Did he have any idea how bad him going Turbo had hurt the older Programs, let alone him and Ralph? No, he didn't. "But you've got some sp'laining t'do."

Turbo's expression flattened to annoyance, "I don't have to do shit little man." His eyes were almost slits now, the joviality in his voice missing, replaced with steely cold.

Calhoun was unaffected by the racer's change in personality, slowly unholstering her weapon and aiming it at the asshole's forehead, "You do have to explain exactly why the fuck you did what you did, you little shitstain." Completely ignoring the fact that Vanellope, age nine, was just across from her in the room, she snarled curses at the racer. "Because, believe it or not, Felix and Ralph cared about you. To them, you're still theirfriend, and I'll be damned if I let them get hurt."

Turbo leered, a red glitch shooting up his body, "Oh, I'm so scared! Look at me shaking in my fucking shoes." Scoffing, the ex-dictator turned away from Calhoun, a mistake he should have never made.

A single plasma bolt shot centimetres away from his head, searing some of his hair off and causing him to glitch in surprise. "That was a warning.Now, try again asshole."

Turbo stared for a few minutes and then laughed. It started as a chuckle and flew into a full-blown cackle. "I remember you! They hate you! Ah-ha-ha-ha! You kill them for fun! They fucking hate your guts!" The pudgy man's face was filled with insane glee as he recounted the Cy-bug's feelings on Calhoun. "You're Sergeant-fucking-Calhoun! They call you Death, they call you Void-bringer! You're a damn legend to them! Ooh-hoo-hoo-hoo!"

Felix couldn't bring himself to face the thing his friend had become, the madman that took over what was once a kind individual. It just wasn't plausible, this monster being his friend any more. How could he be so cruel?

Turbo's laughing filled the room for a long while, the only noise to be heard among the group of heroes; then someone spoke up, shattering the tension.

"Shut up." Ralph's voice was hard and cold, hurt and angry, as he stood up to face the racer. He was done, he was done with him! "Shut the Void up! Don't you dare speak to the Sergeant that way, you have no damn right to speak to her—or anyone—in that way you stubby little asshole."

Turbo, along with everyone short of Vanellope, looked taken aback at the gentle giant's change in emotions. "But Ralphie, I'm Turbo, your friend!"

"Like Void you are," Ralph got in close proximity with Turbo, large finger nearly touching his snub nose. "Turbo was a kind, childish guy, not some two-bit asshole who likes to mess with people's feelings. Turbo wouldn't try and kill a nine-year old girl, let alone be a complete ass like thisthing in front of me. You are a little shit! You are a monster, not my friend. You. Are. Not. Turbo." Each emphasised word was accompanied by a not-so-gentle thump on the chest, sending the small man reeling backwards. "So shut your damn mouth about Turbo."

Everyone watched in shocked silence as Ralph stormed from the room, cracking the peanut brittle door on his way out.

Finally, Vanellope broke the ice, "I'm out." She glitched out, form flickering into a spray of blue binary, disappearing in a flash.

Stagnant air and unasked questions clogged the atmosphere of the cell as Felix and Calhoun uncomfortably glared at Turbo. Then Calhoun growled, "Look, the arcade's opening soon so I've got to be back in Hero's Duty. You can handle yourself, right hon?"

"Yeah, I'll be dandy on m'own. I'll be leavin'' soon anyway," Felix blushed, "honey glow" spreading across his cheeks, and bounced up to kiss her on the lips.

"See you later!" Calhoun saluted, "Don't fucking try anything you shitbag." Then, warning given, she walked out of the room, her hips swaying in that way that made Felix drool.

The handyman turned to face his old friend with sorrow in his eyes, his heart heavy. "I don't know what made y'change the way you did but...I miss th'Turbo I knew." Then he, too, exited the cell, leaving Turbo alone with his thoughts.

The Virus-infected program glitched, his face unreadable. "The Void was angry, so angry it was furious, and it said 'Thou shalt be my prophet, my vassal and there will be destruction, so much destruction and the Light will vanish under our cruel gaze. Our gaze will bring forth hidden lies, hiding from the Light, and show them to His followers. There will be devastation and He will cry out for we will win and all Light will disappear from this Game.'" His eyes turned, void of emotion, to the bars of his cell and he watched the sun rise. If only things had been different, we would still be friends...