Hey guys! I got another chapter for ya :D
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Enjoy chapter two of, To Save a Hero
Disclaimer: I do not own any entitlement to the Wreck-It Ralph film, the plethora of video game characters present in this fic, nor am I affiliated in any way with Disney Productions. The story I have produced is in fact my own, however, the entirety is written merely for fan-fictioning entertainment-not for profit.
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Chapter II: A Tremor in Wake
*dingaling-aling!*
The bell chimed as someone walked through the front door.
"Hey, dad—" a eighteen-year-old girl called out.
Her dark brown hair pulled back in a messy bun, the brown-eyed young woman carried a small cardboard box in her arms filled to the brim with video games. She wore a large blue sweater with the name of her university on it, denim jeggings, and knee-high leather boots. She looked around for her father, Mr. Litwak.
"Dad?"
A quizzical look plagued her face as she looked around for her father. It was two hours before the store opened, so she knew her old man was somewhere around the arcade. She placed the box on top of the main coin exchange counter when suddenly, her father popped up from behind the counter causing the girl to jump.
"Ahh! Dad!" she pursed her lips, her heart racing.
"Oh. Hi sweetie! What's happenin', yo?" the man tried to imitate the younger generations in an attempt to be cool…but it needed a lot of work.
"Everything's fine…dog?" she replied, smiling in amusement.
Pushing the box forward, the girl rummaged through the many cases of video games. Her father looked at the box and his eyes widened, impressed by the number of games. She pulled one out and opened the case, checking to make sure the game was inside before placing it back with its friends.
"Here's the main collection. I even brought in my most recently finished ones. You're lucky I'm feeling generous enough to hand over my Bethesda and Enix games—"
The old man laughed as he walked out from behind the counter,
"Oh, don't worry, Ginny. You can keep'em."
The girl, Ginny, stood quietly in shock, confused by her father's words. The man, in his cute, old-fashioned suspenders, made his way through the forest of arcade games to the other side of the store. His daughter followed with a perplexed look in her brown eyes.
"What? But I thought you said you wanted my games for the store? Besides, I can't take them all to college with me."
Her father merely chuckled to himself before stopping in front of something.
"I had one of my 'tech guru' friends come in last night," He raised his hand up to gesture at the sight before him. "Just installed it."
Ginny's jaw dropped before she forced it to close back. In front of her stood an enormous plasma television with an incredible machine, colorful lights and all, built under and behind it. Buttons and arrow keys adorned the front of it, along with a single disk drive on the side.
"What is it?" she said simply, still in awe of the grand structure.
Mr. Litwak pointed to the disk drive,
"You put in a game, it copies it in the system, you create a demo version for the game, set a password for the full trial, and voila! Your own electronic wardrobe of games."
With his hands on his hips, Mr. Litwak was grinning ear to ear. Probably due to the fact that he was now what the kids would consider to be 'hip'. Ginny looked over at her father, happy that her father had found something new to relish in.
Ever since she could hold a controller, her father was teaching her how to be the best gamer in the arcade. She loved games. Not because of her dad, but because of the compelling story line, the complex characters, and the true connection one felt with the protagonist of the game.
Of course, she never could beat her father at anything. Well, at least fairly—he'd always let her win. Now that she was going off to college, she was relieved and glad that her father could manage without her constant company. The arcade kept him going, and this new machine would keep the arcade going.
She ran a hand through her soft, lengthy hair,
"Wow. I have to say I'm impressed."
"Yep. It's pretty crazy—like my Nana."
Then, with eyes of concern, Ginny looked over at her father,
"Dad—"
The man replied with a hum.
"—Exactly how much did it cost?"
The old man chortled, holding his stomach as he laughed. He turned around and patted his daughter's shoulder.
"Oh, don't worry, Gin'. You'll still be going to college."
"I better be!" she replied with a pretend-angry look.
"Oh, that reminds me!" Mr. Litwak reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat, square case with a disc inside. "The same guy sold me this lil' thing. Says it's the hottest download available on the market."
He handed it to his daughter, who held it with curiosity. She looked up with both eyebrows raised.
"For which game?"
"Sugar Rush. You mind putting it in?" He said as he made his way back to the counter.
"Sure thing, dad. Let me just start putting the new games into the…the…"
"DEMO Dome!" he cried out with a rustic voice.
Ginny shook her head.
"Right, right. The demo dome." She wiggled her fingers for effect as she giggled.
XXX
Tires screeched and the sound of cherry bomb explosions filled the air. With a pink cotton candy overcast dotting the sky, the sun lit up the candy-world below, and the fans basked in it's warm, melting rays. Jolly ranchers fanned themselves with their straw hats while Sugar plums hid under the cool shade of their lustrous sun hats. It was a hot day for both the racers and fans, both in the air and on the track.
With Taffyta in the lead, the heart-heads cheered wildly despite the draining heat wave. Her classy ride squealed stridently as she pulled a sharp turn, a smile on her lips and a lollipop in her mouth. The finish line was in sight and she eased onto the gas with a proud aura about her. Suddenly, a blue flash appeared before her revealing a smirking Vanellope that was driving backwards,
"Afternoon, Taffyta Second-fudge." She jeered with a wink.
Taffyta gasped before rolling her eyes at the pun.
Grabbing her wheel, the princess swerved her cart around and floored the gas pedal, shifting into the final gear.
Jumping around in the stands, wearing a cheer-hand with the letter V on it, Ralph whistled loudly. A huge, toothy grin appeared on his face as he witnessed his friend take the lead.
"Whoo-hoo! Yeah!" he cried out.
Q-bert hopped up and down next to the giant, smiling with his trunk.
Vanellope caught sight of her friends and gave a salute as she crossed the finish line. Rainbow confetti shot out of cannons as all of the racers followed behind her. The fans (and nuts) were suddenly showered with candy rain released from the Waffle Cone-Fighters, performing jet planes, that trailed colored smoke through the sky.
Stopping the cart, Vanellope hopped out and began to wave at her loyal subjects with a magnificent smile. She looked up to see the jets spelling out her name in pixie stick smokes. She howled with her hands cupping her mouth,
"Now that's a cherry-topped finish!" she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
A hand touched her shoulder. The dark-haired girl turned with a surprised look to see the warm eyes of her rival, Taffyta.
A small object was shoved into Vanellope's hand as Taffyta walked past,
"Nice race, president." The girl smiled before joining her friends.
Vanellope looked down at her hand and opened it to reveal a vanilla lollipop. Vanellope smiled as she lifted the treat to her mouth and watched Taffyta laugh with Francis and Candlehead, both of whom made the roster for the day.
The small racer was suddenly snatched up and thrown into the air. Gasping from the heave upwards, Vanellope turned around in midair and her smile instantly grew in size,
"Ralph!" she cried as her best friend caught her with ease.
"Hey there, president of first place!" Ralph returned the smile and set the girl down, kneeling down.
He handed her a bouquet of candy-rock sticks, twizzlers, large lollipops, and chocolate flowers. Vanellope rolled her hazel eyes staring at Ralph.
"Flowers? Really, Ralph, since when did my lieutenant of the lame become such a gentleman."
"A simple thank you would suffice." Ralph laughed.
"And geez, what's with the get-up?" she cackled as she poked his cream soda-drink hat with curly straws and all.
The bad guy fanned her pointing bouquet away as he held up his cheer-hand, "What, this stuff? Only the best attire on a day as beautiful as this!" he raised his large hands high to express his enthusiasm.
"Uh-huh." Vanellope replied.
The girl felt a nudge at her leg, and looked down to find a familiar, orange friend. She wrapped her tiny arms around the small creature,
"Q-bert! I've missed ya, little guy!" she gave him a quick noogie before pulling away, "Was this your first race?!" she shouted.
"%&*#!" the trunked-creature replied.
"Oh my gosh, it was! How'd ya like it?"
Vanellope proceeded to scratch Q-bert's chin, causing the little guy to wag his trunk and purr.
Confusion clouded Ralph's face, his big eyebrows furrowed,
"Whoa—wait! Vanellope, since when do you speak Q-bertese?"
The girl turned to her giant friend with raised eyebrows.
"Felix taught me." She winked.
XXX
After the race, Vanellope headed back to her palace with Ralph. Q-bert said his goodbyes, since he had his own personal tour of Sugar Rush to attend with Wynnchel and Duncan, the security guards.
There was still a bit of time left before the arcade opened, and Ralph figured he had enough time to spare to hang out with his friend.
But Vanellope knew something was up. Ralph was her best friend and was always there for her, but this excessive amount of kindness and jubilee was…odd. She might have been nine years old, but she had acquired enough experience through bullying to know when someone was being a fake. Not that Ralph was a fake! Maybe just acting fake…
"Ralph. Is something going on?" she asked calmly as she sat on the throne, which she had decorated to look a bit more…Vanellope. Random sprinkles were peppered all over the seat, along with hot tamales and rainbow licorice pieces.
"Going on, what—what's going on? I dunno what you're talking about, ahem, um..." Ralph stuttered with his hands behind his back
"You can tell me. Seriously, how bad could it be with Turbo gone and all?" she cracked a smile at the mention of the nut-job's name.
Ralph bit his lower lip. He couldn't… To think there was now a ticking clock over their heads counting down the seconds before they would be unplugged. He just couldn't. He didn't want to think about losing his friend. No, he wouldn't lose her literally—the two characters would simply be game-less and have to live in the station—but he knew, without racing, Vanellope wouldn't be the same.
He took in a deep breath
"Vanellope…"
Suddenly the walls shook violently, and the ground trembled beneath them Pieces of icing fell from the rafters and shattered on the frozen marble ice cream floor. Ralph cried out in alarm as he tried to keep himself from falling over, while Vanellope held onto her throne with a vice grip.
Then the tremor stopped; the world stood still, but the sounds continued to echo through the air like a monster's creeping moans.
Ralph and Vanellope remained rigid in their positions. The silence was so thick, the two could hear their own breaths escape them. Ralph spoke with a deep, unsteady voice,
"What was that?"
Can I get a...
WHOOP-DEE-WHOOOOOOP
Alright, I hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews and your incredible support are a healthy and natural part of my writing diet ahaha :)
But seriously.
LOL, I kid ya! Anyway, thanks again for reading
Until Next Time... :3