When the four met up in Game Central, Felix had the uncontrollable urge to hop up and pull his wife into a huge hug. He sort of attempted this, except instead of hopping up, he simply gripped her leg tightly. Calhoun scowled down at him, and that was enough for Felix to back off, a hurt look crossing his face.

"Right, so," Ralph began, obviously straining to break the tension. "How did Sugar Rush go, Felix?"

"Oh, uh, y'know… alright, I suppose." Felix decided to stray the conversation away from him, not wanting to discuss his failed efforts. He shifted his gaze to Vanellope, a soft grin on his face. "And how did Fix-it Felix, Jr. go for you, little miss?" he queried.

"Pretty good! Tons of players were practically lining up to play when they noticed my glitching powers," she declared triumphantly. "Only, the game got boring after a while. I don't know how you two," she looked to Ralph, then Felix, "don't go crazy doing the same thing every day. I would go nuts! That's why racing is so great; you never know what new obstacle is heading your way!"

"Oh, please," scoffed Ralph, "your game is complete chaos!"

"But that's what makes it fun! Right, Felix? You had a blast, right?" Vanellope looked to Felix hopefully.

Caught off-guard, Felix said the first thing that came to mind. "R-right! Of course I did!" It was a lie, of course. But it was only a little white lie, and sometimes those were necessary to keep people from getting upset.

Vanellope was practically glowing with happiness. "See, Ralph? If Mr. Boring-Same-Thing-Always guy thinks it's a fun game, then it must be true!"

Ralph just sort of shrugged, though he looked at Felix searchingly, as if trying to mentally pry him for the truth. Felix grinned at him awkwardly, and that was enough for Ralph to discern the lie. However, the wrecker didn't comment on it. Likely because he knew it wasn't a big deal in the first place, and they might as well boost Vanellope's spirits.

"If you three are done with your little Who's-Got-It-Made game, it's about time we get a move on. That sour ball might have discovered something new, and the longer we sit here and talk, the closer it is to the arcade opening again," Calhoun spoke up, all business.

"Lighten up, Sarge," groaned Vanellope. "The arcade just closed." She paused. Then, "You know, you've had your armor all up in a knot ever since this whole mess began. You're even more upset than me and Fix-o Jr.!"

Calhoun sort of spluttered, at a loss for words. Finally, she found her voice, and hissed scathingly, "I'm fine. It's just that I seem to be the only one here who is actually trying to get things back to the way they were."

"Aw, Sarge, you don't really think that, do ya?" Vanellope frowned, anger beginning to flood her face. "Clearly we're trying to help out! We're just trying to have a little fun is all! Moping about isn't gonna solve anything, y'know."

"And fooling around will?" Calhoun shot back.

"Of course not! But it keeps us from gettin' all miserable."

"Maybe it's better to be miserable, if it means that you won't keep getting as distracted as—"

"Don't even start with one of those dumb sayings! I'm gonna say what I said before: lighten up, Sarge!"

"I don't need to lighten up!"

"Yes, you do!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! You really, really do!"

"Just shut your piehole, Fix-it!" snapped Calhoun. She opened her mouth, as if to keep yelling. And then she noticed the shocked looks on everyone's faces. She stopped, the anger draining from her as she realized what she had just done.

"…I'm Vanellope," Vanellope said slowly, the anger vanishing from her as well.

Silence passed over the group. Felix was squirming in discomfort, clearly unhappy with this whole situation.

"…Well," Ralph loudly broke the silence, as if he were the official Tension Breaker of the day. "let's just… go see if Sour Bill has anything to tell us." With that, he moved to scoop Vanellope up. However, he noticed how upset Felix looked, and realized how awkward it would be to leave the poor guy alone with his distraught (and very pissed-off) wife. So, he proceeded to pluck both Vanellope and Felix off the ground, dumping them upon each of his shoulders.

He started toward the entrance to Sugar Rush. After a few paces, he noticed that the Sergeant hadn't followed him yet. He paused, turning to call over his shoulder. "Coming, Sarge?"

Calhoun was silent for a moment. Then, she quietly responded, "I'll meet you guys there."

Ralph frowned, eyebrows crinkling in confusion. Wasn't she the one who was most eager to find out what Sour Bill had to tell them? Maybe the whole "Fix-it" situation had gotten to her even more than Ralph had assumed. "Suit yourself," he finally said before lumbering over to the entrance to Sugar Rush.

Calhoun watched as they left, feeling rooted to the spot as they headed into the entrance of Sugar Rush.

I'm an idiot, she thought, gritting her teeth, how can I do this to him?

Felix glanced back at his wife, concern and hurt displayed plainly on his features, but Calhoun only stared back, unsure of what to do or say.

I need to apologize to him. But how?

Her mind raced as she tried to think of how she could fix the situation before they left, but every option seemed absurd at the moment. She didn't so much as wave at Felix in goodbye.

And so Felix turned back around, head hanging. The three of them disappeared into Vanellope's game.

Calhoun continued to stand there, frozen with guilt. It was odd for her, as she wasn't usually the type to hesitate.

Calhoun's day had been the same as always, more or less. Shooting at hoards of cybugs, keeping her troops in line, and doing perimeter checks in between. The only difference was the feeling of unease that lingered at the back of her mind.

Calhoun was not usually at unease. One might think so, considering the violent atmosphere of her game—and certainly the sergeant was almost always on edge in Hero's Duty—but she was not at unease.

Frankly, she didn't see why she should be at unease. She didn't fear the cybugs. She was not programmed to fear them, after all. They simply filled her with rage, and triggered a deeply-rooted sense of obligation. She'd messed up before and she wouldn't let it happen again.

And yet as Calhoun had entered her game earlier that day, she found she could not shake off the worried feeling she'd acquired ever since Felix and Vanellope's bodies were switched in Sugar Rush. That is, it had started off as concern, but had quickly descended into a feeling of apprehension. And it was obnoxiously persistent.

Her soldiers saluted her in greeting, and she stalked past them as usual. Everyone got into start positions. As Calhoun gave her usual pre-game spiel, she found her mind wandering. She remembered how aloof she'd acted towards Felix earlier, and had to shove down a rising feeling of guilt.

Quarters were inserted into the game, and the gloomy air of Hero's Duty became alive with cybugs. Blaring dubstep music began to play, tempting to distract them, but the soldiers had long since learned to ignore it.

Calhoun guided the first person shooter through the game, helping them fight off the onslaught of cybugs. Doing so usually kept her mind off of things, but there were still brief intervals where her concentration lapsed and she fell prey to her thoughts.

'Honey'. He kept calling her that.

The sergeant shook her head fiercely, trying to focus. She took down a few cybugs that had come up on the first person shooter's blindside.

She'd never had a problem with him calling her 'honey' before; they both used the term. But seeing it come from a nine year old child…

Each time she saw Felix, she became less sure of how she was supposed to treat him now. It wasn't that she didn't still love Felix. She just felt it was unfair, somehow…wrong, even, to be affectionate towards him right now. She felt she had to keep her distance, for both Felix's and Vanellope's sake.

She shook her head agaiin. She'd been doing it for their own good, but it was only making things worse.

Calhoun was startled out of her reverie when she bumped into someone in the middle of Game Central Station. Apparently she'd started absent mindedly walking around the place, and had wandered far from where she'd been before.

The sergeant excused herself, then looked back towards the entrance of Sugar Rush in the distance. She knew she was being selfish and irresponsible right now. Right now she needed to comfort her husband, not make him feel worse during such a tough time. Making up her mind, she turned and walked briskly back towards Vanellope's game.

Felix sighed, distraught, as he allowed himself to lean against Ralph's massive cheek. He understood that his wife was so uncomfortable around him, and he wanted to just be able to accept it for what it was. He was in a nine-year-old girl's body; of course she didn't want to be affectionate with him!

Maybe it was just the fact that she couldn't even look at him. It wasn't like he was constantly ogling at her (although he would, if given the chance), so why couldn't she even manage to look into his eyes?

With a twinge of sadness, he recalled the departing glance he had given her before Ralph had stepped through the threshold of Sugar Rush. She had looked so… distant and cold. She had refused to move a muscle, refused to even curl her lip upwards ever-so-slightly or simply nod in acknowledgement at him.

Why did she want to stay back anyway? She was the one who was ever-so-eager to get a move on, just as she usually was. It was unlike her to hang back like that. It was also unlike her to be so unresponsive.

But what bothered Felix most of all was that she had called Vanellope "Fix-it". She had mistaken someone else for him. And despite the fact that it made sense, despite the fact that Vanellope did look and sound like him, despite the fact that Calhoun technically was not in the wrong… it still had hurt him to hear her say it. He had expected her, at the very least, to recognize who was who, even if they didn't look and sound like themselves. He had expected her to know who he was, to know which one was the real Felix.

"Hey, Felix," called Felix's own voice from above Felix's head, snapping him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see Vanellope perched atop Ralph's head, flattening his spiky hair. "You okay?"

"Oh, I'm just dandy, little miss," Felix responded, but his voice held a glum note to it. Vanellope raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

"Listen, cheesehead, don't go worryin' about Sarge," she said as she rolled onto her back, her feet dangling off the side of Ralph's head. "She's just weirded out cuz her hubby is now an adorable little girl. Once you get this body back," she patted her stomach in indication of Felix's body, "she'll be all over you again. So, seriously, don't worry."

Felix couldn't help the small smile that graced his nine-year-old face. "Thank ya kindly, Vanellope. That means a lot to hear, really." And it truly did. It was nice having someone who cared enough to put his mind at ease.

Ralph came to a sudden stop, and Felix nearly tumbled off of his shoulder. Luckily, he managed to get a good grip on his friend's orange shirt, keeping him from losing his balance. He noticed Vanellope had also nearly suffered a nasty fall, but had used a handful of Ralph's brown hair to help her stay aboard the wrecker's head.

Said wrecker made a grunting noise, Vanellope's violent tug on his hair probably causing him a great deal of pain.

Felix peered down to see what had caused Ralph to halt. At Ralph's feet stood Sour Bill, his jellybean hands splayed behind his back and his gaze boring into Ralph's. "Woah, pipsqueak, you oughta watch where you're going. I nearly crushed you there," chuckled Ralph as he knelt against the ground, using his hands to steady Felix and Vanellope, ensuring they wouldn't fall off.

"Ms. President," Sour Bill directed his attention to Felix, who hastily shook his head. Sour Bill appeared at a loss for a moment before realization lit his gaze. He quickly swiveled around to face Vanellope. "Ms. President," he started again, "I have gathered very useful information upon my trip to Tappers."

"Really?" Excitement glinted in Vanellope's gaze. She hopped down from Ralph's head in order to stand face-to-face with her messenger. "What is it, then? What did you find out?"

"Well," Sour Bill began, "I talked to Tapper, an' he told me that two guys who know about code show up every Wednesday."

"Wednesday?" echoed Ralph. "That's tomorrow, right?"

"Uh-huh," confirmed Sour Bill.

"Welp, that settles it then. We should all set off to Tappers tomorrow to have a little chit-chat with these guys," decided Ralph, standing up once more, Felix still latched upon his shoulder.

"Good boy, Sour Bill," praised Vanellope, patting the green candy's head as if he were an obedient puppy. "I knew I could count on you! Ralph and Sarge didn't think y'could pull through, but see, I knew you could, I just knew it!" she chirruped, dancing around triumphantly.

"Mmhmm," hummed Sour Bill, glaring up at Ralph. Then, the little green ball turned with a huff, scuttling off toward the castle once more.

"Way to go, kid. Now he's mad at me," Ralph grumbled.

"Don't worry about it, Ralphie. He couldn't harm a taffy fly, what, with those plump little arms of his," chuckled Vanellope.

Ralph attempted to keep the grumpy look on his face, but before he could stop it, a light laugh slipped from his throat. Felix couldn't help but laugh as well at the thought of Sour Bill attempting to attack Ralph. His jellybean arms would probably flail about haplessly, a lame attempt at inflicting damage upon the giant man.

The same thought must have occurred to the other two, because pretty soon, they were all struck with a bad case of the giggles.

"What're you three laughing at?" sounded a voice from behind the group. Felix's laughing abruptly ceased and he turned around, only to lock eyes with his wife. She looked a lot less miserable now, and her ice blue eyes were gleaming with the happiness that Felix hadn't seen in two days.

"Ralph made Sour Bill angry," Vanellope explained, glitching past the towering wrecker in order to stand directly in front of Calhoun. "and, can you imagine Sour Bill trying to attack Ralph? He would get his ass—"

"Vanellope," Ralph cut her off, chastising her choice of words.

"I mean butt," sighed Vanellope, before trying again, "He would get his butt kicked."

Calhoun managed a smile, as if acknowledging the humor in the joke, but the ability to laugh seemed beyond her at the moment. She strode over to her husband, plucking him off of Ralph's shoulder. Surprise glinted in Felix's eyes, and he opened his mouth, wanting to ask what she was doing. But she hushed him, pressing an index finger against his lips to silence him.

She then lifted him atop her back, so that his legs were wrapped around her neck and his hands lay gently upon her head. Ralph and Vanellope gazed at the two in shock, not having expected this random burst of affection from Calhoun.

"What?" Calhoun growled, her eyes narrowing, as if daring one of them to question her actions. Instead, the two remained silent, turning their attention to one another instead of the lovebirds.

"So, what should we do now?" Ralph asked Vanellope.

"I've been meaning to drive my car around, actually," Vanellope responded excitedly. "I haven't seen that thing in, like, forever! It's pretty much mandatory that I drive it!"

And so, the four set off to the race track, where three of them would remain in the stands, idly chatting amongst one another as Vanellope took her kart for a spin.

Vanellope didn't try anything too exciting, since her legs were still sore; just some laps around Sugar Rush's shortest track. It wasn't for competition's sake, after all. She just missed driving.

While Vanellope did laps, the other three found themselves relaxing. With all the stress they'd accumulated after the body swap, it was nice to do something normal again. And despite it being a little pointless since there were no other racers, Ralph and Felix cheered on Vanellope every time she crossed the finish line.

At one point, Felix was in mid-cheer when he glanced over at his wife, smiling. When she caught his eye and smiled back—a real, genuine smile— Felix couldn't help but get the honeyglows. It'd been so long since she'd smiled at him like that. Even earlier, it'd seemed a bit forced.

Since Felix had jumped up onto his seat while cheering, he was on eye-level with Calhoun. Looking at her, for a fleeting moment he felt his anxieties leave him. He forgot about his worries. He forgot about the bad situation they'd landed themselves in, and he forgot he was in Vanellope's body.

Not for long, though. The very instant Felix tried to lean forward for a kiss, he ended up with one of Calhoun's gloved hands to his face, gently pushing him back.

"Easy there, cadet," Calhoun said. Her genuine smile had turned stiff and forced once again.

Felix felt his face flush, and this time it wasn't from the honeyglows; it was from pure embarrassment. How could he have forgotten something like that?

The fixer shrunk back, murmuring a string of apologies. He sat down in his seat again, glancing over at Ralph, who seemed like he was trying to pretend he hadn't noticed what had just happened.

There was a bit of an awkward silence. Ralph, sensing Felix's distress, started loudly rooting and cheering for Vanellope the moment she went zooming by. Felix readily joined in, grateful for the distraction.