King Candy may not have been the most honest king, but he was very good at his job. By day he raced with his subjects, and by night he managed his kingdom of Sugar Rush from his glittering white chocolate castle. His terrible and surprising alter-ego was hidden, of course. A few inhabitants of the arcade had discovered his bloody past, but his deft code manipulation had left them devoid of the memory of the event. For King Candy was not a normal character...
King Candy knew how to program.
Oh, sure, all characters knew of the code... but King Candy was the first to actually fully jump games. And he had done such a good job, he was even able to respawn in his current residence after one of the intruders had destroyed him. A quick memory wipe and a reset had set the game back to a time before his identity was forced into the open, and an even quicker minor deletion had permanently destroyed the little brat responsible for his unmasking. He had even torn out the memory from the few interlopers that had meddled with his perfect kingdom. Oh, sure, he had felt a flash of guilt for them as they crumbled into strings of binary, but the feeling hadn't lasted long.
His escapades in that particular scenario had also been beneficial. The mix of Cybug that was thrown into his code had unlocked his model - permanently. Now, just as Venellope could channel her glitch, he could channel his. Sure, the glitch was painful at first, and a little bit scary after he respawned with it, but he'd learned quickly. Soon he could change appearance with a single thought, and hold his false royal image for days at a time. It was still exhausting after a while, though, so the nights in his castle were perfect to let his disguise drop. And, he was still technically connected to the code, so he was even allowed to leave Sugar Rush.
His glitch was like Vanellopes' in that it was heavily tied to his emotions. This, coupled with a hot temper, made it difficult at first to get it under control. Now, however, this wasn't really a problem for the King. He'd lived a lie for 20 years, he could handle his focus for long enough to get things done.
All in all, not a particularly unfavorable trade.
And now, for the first time in the five years since the incident, King Candy had a day off.
"I'm going out, Sour Bill. I trust you'll take care of the castle while I'm not around, right?" King Candy gave a little grin and patted his small assistant on the head.
"Mmmkay." Sour Bill droned, his expression the perfect definition of apathy.
"Wonderful! I'll be back by the time the next Random Roster Race happens. If anything happens, you know what to do, right?"
"The fungeon?"
"Hoo hoo! Correct!" A characteristic, yet slightly forced giggle bubbled from King Candy's grinning mouth. "Now, I'll be back before you know it, don't you worry!"
And with that, King Candy started walking toward the game's exit: a hole in the skybox accessible by a long ramp of sugary treat. As the sun set in the sugary world he ruled with a candied fist, King Candy steeled himself for his first trip out of Sugar Rush since he had arrived.
Yes, yes... a day off will be nice. I've been in control so long, the odds of an incident are low enough I should be safe.
With one last look behind him, King Candy began the long walk up the rainbow bridge to Game Central Station.