(A/N: This took forever to write and I am sorry. This chapter contians the set-up for the climax so I was struggling on how to put what I wanted (you may see what I am talking about in the first section of this chapter). However, regardless of how long it took me to get this motherfucker out, it's done.
The Grand Prix contestants are from games I have played and, yes I know that there was never a Mario Kart arcade cabinet, but I like to believe that Super Mario World had to have in-Game areas that aren't seen (like in Sugar Rush) so Rainbow Road may as well be in-Game but off-screen. And please correct me if I named the Sonic collection wrong (this is another one that I'm pretty sure doesn't have an arcade cabinet).
Please take the time to leave a review and let me know if there are any incosistencies and-slash-or incorrect statements.)
Twitchy excitement curled through Vanellope from the tips of her toes all the way up to the ends of her candy-covered hair. Today was it! The Litwak's Family Fun Center Grand Prix! Day one was the Royal Raceway in Sugar Rush while day two was Rainbow Road in Mario Kart 8 and day three was the never-before-seen hidden track in Sugar Rush again! Unbeknownst to everyone, even the Sugar Rush racers, the hidden track was Diet Cola Mountain—fixed courtesy of Felix and his hammer (with a little help from Dr. Eggman). Now, looking at all the racers that had come to participate in the weekend-long event, she breathed in the energy and grinned wildly. The turnout was pretty awesome, if Vanellope did say so herself. Being the host of the Prix, she hopped up on her large popcorn-box podium—now labeled with a big PV instead of the ugly KC that used to be everywhere in Sugar Rush—and spread her arms wide as she grabbed the microphone.
"Welcome Programs one and all to the Litwak's Family Fun Center Grand Prix! As most of you know, the race is taking place in Sugar Rush andMario Kart during the three-day weekend dedicated to our dear Mr. Stanley Litwak's birthday. Let's have a big 'Happy Birthday' for the ol'coot, yeah?!" The racers and the spectators echoed her cry and, had Mr. Litwak been in the Family Fun Center at that time, he would have heard every Program in his arcade wish him a happy birthday. It was touching moment. Vanellope smiled and waved her hands dismissively, "Now that thatsappy nonsense is outta the way, how about the lineup?! Using luck-of-the-draw to their advantage we have, in first place, Player One representing the newly-installed Rally-X!" The 8-bit Programs cheered wildly, glad to have an old-fashioned racer in the Prix. Player One waved happily and took the coveted spot at the start line. "Next we have the dynamic duo themselves, Toad and Luigi riding in the classic Double Dashstyle! It would have been the two brothers but Mario is...previously indisposed and can't make it; besides, Luigi needs some love too!" The plumber and his mushroom racing buddy wheeled their kart, the standard mid-weight kart with green paint and white spots on it, to their spot happily. Luigi looked a bit like the cat that ate the canary; he was pleased to be out of his brother's shadow for once.
"In the spirit of the occasion, we have the indispensable and ever-so-clever Candlehead from this very cabinet! You go girl!" Candlehead pulled up and waved at her candy supporters shyly. Vanellope continued with gusto, "The rough-and-rumble Ratchet, also known as Player One, fromCruisin' the USA is here. Ladies, hold on to your hearts, this one's a player!" The aforementioned racer rolled up in a black '67 Chevy Impala like he was the shit. He winked at the screaming Cruisin' the USA cheerleaders and then slicked his hair back, peacocking for them.
Vanellope just rolled her eyes. "We have the fox with brains to match his skills. Direct from Sonic Gem Collection: Miles "Tails" Prower!" Out of the whole box dedicated to Sonic and his crew, Cream, Cheese, Dr. Eggman, and Omochao cheered loudest. The young inventor pushed his Sonic Racers vehicle to the fifth starting place. He grinned sheepishly. "Luck is on his side, but not on yours. Presenting the prankster extraordinaire of Candy Corn Canyon: Gloyd Orangeboar of Sugar Rush!" Gloyd parked his kart up at his spot and just basked in the cheers from his fans and the other unaffiliated Halloween lovers.
"She can arm-wrestle Zangief to submission; she can hold her root beer better than Frogger; now she's gonna' prove she can out-race you too! Give it up for Hero's Duty's resident cutie: Tamora Jean Calhoun!" If Calhoun didn't like being called a cutie, she didn't show it as she surfed over to the sixth spot on her hoverboard. Kohut, Markowski, and the men cheered for her, but none could match the ferocity of Felix's wild whooping. She grinned and blew a kiss at her boyfriend. "Gotta' go fast if you wanna' stay ahead of this one! Our own spokesperson and model citizen: Sonic the Hedgehog of Sonic Gem Collection!" The blue ball of fury zipped forward in his equally cerulean car. The box holding his fans erupted in a cacophony of screams and whistles. Vanellope rolled her eyes, Show-off...
"Part two of a set! We have here the lovely Jet, straight outta' Cruisin' the USA! Player Two is here Programs!" Jet rolled up in her police cruiser and shut off the engine sullenly. The amount of cheers for her was considerably less than they were for Ratchet. It might have had to do with the fact that she was a girl in a game aimed at guys. No matter to Vanellope as she moved right along. "The fists of fury, the third amigo, protector of the Chaos Emerald, Knuckles the Echidna from Sonic Gem Collection!" A large roar errupted from the box holding Sonic Gem Collection characters and supporters. Rouge the Bat, Omega, and Chaos were shouting their approval to the whole Fun Center.
Vanellope wasted no time getting to the next introduction. "From the high peaks of Ice Cream Mountains, the monarch of milk-based delight: Adorabeezle Winterpop of Sugar Rush!" Loud cheers from Adorabeezle's box and she was set to race. "He's a down-to-earth kinda' guy, straight from the good-ol' South! Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Nascar!" There was a smattering of applause for Dale but nothing more. In fact, his box seemed to be devoid if any supporters except for the Jouster, whose cabinet was across from Dale's. "Before we continue and you worry why there's no one in Dale's box, I have been asked to inform you that the rest of his cabinet will not be joining us for this event. They have stated, and I quote here, 'We will not be attending nor participating in another Lightdamned clusterfuck of a race. We have to deal with this shit enough during the day; we don't need it after closing.' If you have any questions for the boys, they're spending their off-time in Tapper's! Tapper's: a lighter taste." The harmless plug seemed to amuse the older Programs, as they laughed and began conversing amongst one another. Dale flashed Vanellope a thumbs up and she continued once more.
"After an exhausting run of placeholding for Rancis, she is now representing the sweeter side of the Fun Center: Torvald Batterbutter of Sugar Rush!" She rolled Standard-3 to the twelfth spot, looking like a lost Gummy Bear. "Royalty has arrived and these girls can pack quite a punch! Welcome Princess Peach and Princess Daisy of Super Mario World to the race!" The princesses stood on their mid-weight Princess-themed Double Dash kart and waved daintily as the box filled with Gaming royalty screamed and cheered.
Vanellope was starting to get tired of the formalities of the race, rushing from one introduction to the next. "She's sweet; she's sour; she's gonna kick your butt! Minty Zaki of Sugar Rush!" Minty grinned at her fans as she sat back in her green apple-themed kart. "She's fierce as the red that colours her clothing; the cherry-pie of this President's eye: Jubileena Bing-Bing!" Jubileena waved at her fans as she claimed her spot at the start line.
"Very tart, but never bitter; we have the sweet-and-sour belle of Wildberry Wilderness: Citrusella Flugpucker!" There were less cheers from the stands for the pallet-swaps since they rarely made it in the actual race, but Jubileena and the other Sugar Rush racers were hooting and hollering with appreciation. A bright blue flush crossed the blueberry racer's cheeks and she grinned at the crowd. "Up next is the crème-de-la-crème, the matriarch of the munchies, living royalty walking among commoners: Crumbelina di Carmello!" The coffee-cake racer walked up to her kart which was already at the seventeenth place at the start line.
Vanellope resigned herself to her tedious fate of announcing names for the Prix for the time being. "All the way from the Saltwater-Taffy Swamp we have the talented, and still single, Sticky Whipplesnit!" She waved from Standard-2 and her grin widened as the entirety of Minty Zaki's supporter box broke into loud cheers. "The princess of the Frosted Peaks, the tsarina of the cold, cold north: Nougetsia Brumblestain!" Adorabeezle's box burst into loud applause, as did what was there of Swizzle's box. Nougetsia blushed when she felt all the audience's eyes on her; she wasn't used to this attention.
Vanellope's grin widened as she surveyed the lineup. "Now," she crowed into the microphone, "the piece de resistance! The matriarch of this whole cabinet and host of the Litwak Family Fun Center's Grand Prix: President Vanellope von Schweetz!" She slid down to her spot at the start line with a cheeky grin on her face the entire time. Her box, mostly leftover candy people and Ralph, erupted in cheers. Ralph screamed the loudest, whistling for his best friend.
The night sky, visible in the upper-right corner of the cabinet's screen, was now awash with blue and purple hues, truly signifying how late it was. Vanellope was more thankful now than ever before that Programs didn't require sleep, otherwise she'd be out cold on her sponge-cake bed. With all the running around and preparations she had been doing for this Prix—on top of the whole Turbo fiasco (version two-point-oh)—she was absolutely knackered. Thank Edison for voluntary features and experiences. Really all she needed to do was take a large bite out of the landscape and recharge her "spazz-o-meter", as Ralph liked to put it, to feel better. In a land of sugar and candy, the inhabitants ran on it.
Tangents aside, it was time to start the final announcements and commence the starting of the first race. She gestured to Sour Bill, who nodded and tapped the microphone.
"The first race is a single-lap run of the Royal Raceway, running from Gumball Gorge through Cupcake Mountains then into Icing Peaks for the home stretch. There are no power-ups allowed, so as to even the playing field. How you place here not only effects your score, but also determines the placement for the start of the next Race, hosted at Rainbow Road in Super Mario Bros.." When the applause died down, Sour Bill continued. "Ready?" The racers revved their engines. "Set?" The crowd leaned forward in anticipation. The whole arena seemed to be holding their collective breath. "Go!"
And they were off.
74|=|=`/74 /\/\|_|770|\||=|_||)63
Taffyta stumbled through Kandy Kein forest, sweat poring off of her skin. She was close, so close! She could feel the energy in the area permeating the Void that now pocked her skin. The Voice in her head whispered promises to her, letting her know what direction to go to get closer to the precious Void.
So khhlose...juzzzzzzz-zzt a lit-t-t-t-t-tle farther...
The Voice started back at the beginning of Kandy Kein forest. It was just a soft whisper then, promising her revenge on that bitch; nothing more than an extension of her own bitter thoughts. She had stomped off after being accosted by those damn recolours and found herself on the edge of the forest. Blue glitches flittered about in the sky, reminding her of Vanellope. Stupid bitch. Who died and made her ruler of Sugar Rush?! Oh right, King Candy... She was still bitter about that. She was King Candy's favourite! She was the chosen one! She was special! He loved her!
She leaned against a candy-cane tree then jerked away as a red spark jittered across her skin. It wasn't painful, just surprising. If anything, the red glitch felt pleasant. Like coming in first place or being bathed in attention and affection. She placed her hand against the tree again, sighing as red jolted up her arm and surged into her, making her entire body relax.
She forgot her troubles as she walked through the forest and absorbed the red energy. As she went further in, Void began to show on her skin, encroaching on her graphics and eating away at her form. She didn't mind though, the glitches numbed her to the discomfort of her Code being rewritten.
When she reached the centre of the forest, the source of the glitching, is when the Voice became strong and self-aware. Find him.
"Find who?" She called out to the Voice. "And who are you?!"
I am the kscccchhhhhck! You m-mu-mu-must find the King! Find the Vassal!
Were she in her right mind, Taffyta would have run, long and hard, away from the centre of the forest and the Voice. Had she been in her right mind, she would have not even come close to the centre of the forest after seeing the first red glitch. However, she was not in her right mind and, due to the severe damage to her Code caused by the red glitches and Void all over her form, she would never be in her right mind again. Nothing short of a forced-system reboot would fix her Code.
Well, that or an antivirus to the source of the corruption.
The Voice was so inviting, so calming. It quelled the bile deep inside of Taffyta and yet left her passion ablaze. It was everything she remembered King Candy being: compelling, passionate, kind, understanding, hers. All mine...
If you find the V-V-V-Vassal-l-l-l-l you will alzzzzzzo find what you seekkcht!
"I'll find him? King Candy?" Taffyta looked at the source of the glitching with blank eyes encroached with Void.
Yezzzzzzzzz...you will find your King in the kccht-astle. Your K-K-King izzzzzz the Vass-ss-ssle.
"But how is he still alive?! That stupid Glitch killed him!" Taffyta argued with the Voice, arms flailing wildly.
We brought him backccht! Justkchht for you-justforyou!
A brilliant grin spread across her Void-riddled face and she laughed with glee, "Just for me-forme?! You-you brought him back f-f-for me?!Awesome! Sweet! That'll show that damn Gl-gl-gl-gl-glitch!" She hugged herself and sighed, "I'll have my K-k-king back and she'll see – she'llseethatI'mtheperfectracer."
She skipped out of the forest, laughing maniacally as she shuddered and flickered red, "And she'll see I'm the one fit to run this place. And they'll all be sorry...
Behind her lay what looked like the wake of a plague. The forest was stripped to Void and Mesh and in the centre of it lay what appeared to be the shadow of a very small man with wings spreading from his back. The shadow was etched into the Mesh and the Void, tearing away at the supports and leaving a stain far darker and emptier than one could feasibly imagine. It was no longer Void, but Abyss.
And if Void is the absence of Light, Abyss is the destruction of it.
\/\/|-|47 0|= 7|-|3 |{1|\|9?
Turbo twitched and glitched within his prison cell. St-stup-p-pid oaf! StupidGlitch! Stupid...everything! He petulantly cursed everything he could think of as he waited for his latest dose of antivirus booster. The shudders and spasms had gotten worse than before and, if he wasn't too mistaken, his limbs were starting to fade. If this kee-keeps up-up-up-up-up-up...I'm not gonna havemuchtimeleft – time left.
"Fuck me," he swore aloud to no one in particular.
"I'd rather not," Sour Bill replied in his droll monotone.
"You kno-know what I meant-meant-meant!"
"True," was the dry reply, "but that doesn't necessarily mean I have to adhere to your rules. You're no longer king, you know. You're not even court fool."
sssssssnip
"Now listen here you little nuisance; I have worked far too hard for far too long to get where I am today and I will be damned if you mock me!" Turbo hissed at Sour Bill, his candy carapace claws gripping the bars of his door's window tightly. He sneered and spat at Sour Bill. "If you think that for even one second you are more important than me, then you are wrong. You are replaceable and of a multitude while I am one-of-a-kind and serve a certain purpose. I am here because I deserve to exist. You simply are because I let you continue with your life, are we clear?"
Sour Bill didn't even bat an eye, simply turning away and continuing his patrolling of the now-Void-riddled hallway. "Are you quite done with that fit you're pitching? It speaks poorly of your character. Honestly," he sighed, "I would have thought that something of your caliber would have more class than that."
Turbo blinked, slack-jawed for just a moment, then his look of disbelief morphed into one of sadistic glee. "Do you know who I am, Thour Bill?"
Sour Bill nodded and pantomimed a line being cast and then reeled in. "After some deliberation, it was obvious."
"Do they know?" He inquired, head tilted to the right slightly.
Sour Bill shrugged, "Not that I am aware of. I see no need to tell them, though. The antivirus they're developing will work either way. Soon you'll be nothing but Turbo again."
"And what makes you so sure? What makes you so confident in their abilities? How do you know they won't fail?"
"Because," he replied, "I just know."
sssssssnip
"You really should watch your tongue around me-aroundme." Turbo warned, "who-who-who-who knows what I'll do wi-with the information I'm given-n-n-n-n-n-n."
"I'll keep that in mind."
|)3|\|1/\/\ |)3|\|1/\/\ |)3|\|1/\/\
Mario worked as fast as he could. Dammit, Code was hard! Much harder than killing viruses in his days of yore.
"Mamá mía...never thought-a I'd be working on-a Turbo's Code of all-a things...," he grumbled to himself as he scanned strand after strand of command Code. He picked at various prompts and closed brackets here and there, trying to trace the corruption to its source. "If anyone had-a told me ten years ago that I would be-a using my doctorate to-a cure-a the worst villain ever to exist-a, I would have smacked-a the shit out of them-a! Yet here I am...and Mamá mía is it a doozy..." A strand of Code corrupted itself right before his eyes and he winced, "And the time-a limit isn't too good either..." A small exclamation mark popped up above his head, alerting him to the time. He swam back out of the code room and, upon landing, dusted off his overalls with a grimace. "Time to give-a the criminal his medicine." He strolled up the stairs and towards the other staircase when he leaned out of the window to watch the race for a minute. Cars and karts whizzed by in blurs of pastel colours and metallic tones.
Mario sighed wistfully and adjusted his cap, "Ah well...can't change what is-a happening..." Performing a quick about-face, Mario walked downward once more to the Dungeon. As the stairwell progressed strands of Voided Code became more frequent and the Mesh was bared like the bones of the Game around him. To the poor protagonist, walking down the lower-level hallway was akin to walking through a cave made of the remains of various Programs. It seemed to absorb the ambient sound of Sugar Rush, leaving him with the eerie sense of being deaf.
Ick..., he shuddered as he saluted Sour Bill and faced Turbo's door. Not looking forward to this...well, he took a deep breath in and reached to push the door wide open, no time like the present...
The door creaked ajar to reveal an empty room.
