Hey everyone! Sorry for the late update-it's exam week right now, so I had to finish up the semester before I could start writing. SO GLAD I could squeeze in this chapter though (SO MANY FEELS). Anyway, good news!
I GOT INTO COLLEGE
Whoop-dee-whoooop! It was my number one, and I committed today :D. SO EXCITED~
Anyway, enjoy the latest installment (haha punny~) of To Save a Hero
WARNING: it's a bit on the sad side :'(
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 III: An Empty Embrace
Chaos ensued across the candy-coated game. From the factory to the race tracks, everyone was in a tizzy. Ambassadors from each region were running in and out of the throne room, trying to squeeze an answer out of President Vanellope: 'what was going on?'
The princess/president did her very best to remain calm and retain some of her sarcastic humor while replying to her loyal subjects, but as soon as the guards herded them out of the room to give their leader some air, Vanellope broke down. She had never had to face such a crisis before.
Ralph, who had patiently waited for his young friend to finish up her squabbling meeting leaned against the wall as he watched Vanellope sigh with a worried look plaguing his face.
Moments after the rumbling incident, a giant disc-shaped moon had appeared in the sky, a loading bar and timer floating in front of it. In bright red letters, the timer read,
9:48
A small strip of green began to fill the loading bar.
No one knew what to think of the strange appearance, but everyone was afraid. Vanellope, especially.
The doors of the throne room burst open causing Vanellope and Ralph to swivel their heads.
"Alright, squadron Alpha I want you all guarding this post like a three-headed hound guarding the gates of Hell. Murkowski! I said guard not lounge."
Sergeant Calhoun and her manly crew of soldiers began to set up a security perimeter almost immediately around the throne. The blonde, fierce woman approached the President with a strong stride.
"We came as soon as we heard. I've got my men stationed with the main sectors of Sugar Rush. The outskirts and remaining provinces are in the protective hands of the candy legions, and the skies are under Fox McCloud's jurisdiction."
Calhoun pulled out her master gun and began to polish it. Vanellope smiled brightly at the commanding officer.
"Thank ya, Sergeant super-cool."
The older woman smirked.
"No problem, kid."
Ralph stumbled towards the sergeant, "H-Hey, where's Felix?"
"In the field. Trying to figure out what in blazes that spinning disc of doom is."
XXX
"There we go." Ginny grinned as she let the upgrade do its thing.
She held the manual in her hands, mumbling the instructions to herself.
"Plug in disc upgrade, wait til loading is done, yada yada yaaa… Oh! After upgrade has taken effect, allow game to sit for 48 hours before shutting off console by turning off arcade game—" she flipped to the next page. "Then, press power button to start up game."
'Sounds easy enough.' She thought with a shrug.
She dropped the manual on the floor before standing up again. The page flipped over to final step of instructions she had not read—Remove upgrade disc.
Picking up her full cardboard box, she headed over to the Demo Dome to install her games.
XXX
Everyone was literally chewing off their pixelated fingernails, waiting for news on the dilemma. Calhoun remained calm, however, keeping a look out through the castle's windows. Ralph paced the floor angrily, frustrated that he couldn't do anything.
The clock in the sky ticked away the seconds.
5:19
Then the entry door creaked open. Sour Bill peaked through, his eyes droopy yet frightened. Even the undelightful tasting candy had been affected by the scare.
"Your Majestttyyyyy." He drawled out.
Vanellope hopped down from her throne.
"Yes, Sour Bill?"
The green candy opened the door wider as he bowed to his side, a figure entering through the doorway.
"Fix-It Felix juuuniooorr is heeerrreeee."
"'Bout time, short stack." Calhoun said with a grin, secretly relieved to see her husband.
"Well, Felix?!" Ralph questioned, his huge hands open for answers.
Felix hopped down the long stretch of carpet, a nervous look on his usually cheeky face. Once at the center of everyone's attention, Felix took a deep breath.
"W-Well, I got some information on the doo-dad." Felix continued. "It's apparently an upgrade Litwak's installing on the game."
Everyone was silent.
"What's it do?" Duncan, the sugar-glazed officer inquired.
Felix twiddled his thumbs.
"Well, now, I'm not too sure on that part."
Ralph stepped towards Felix with a worried glare,
"Not sure?" his anger began to boil, scared of what danger possibly lie before them.
"Nobody's sure! Supposedly it just updates and adds on to the original code of the game. It doesn't replace anything." The tiny man defended, acting as only a carrier of bad news.
Calhoun re-sheathed her gun, placing a hand on her hip.
"Well then there's nothing to worry about."
Everyone released a sigh of relief, as the soldiers began to prepare for their leave. Ralph ran a giant hand through his pixel hair, the anxiety from before washing away. Calhoun and Felix continued the discussion of the upgrade in the corner, leaving Ralph and Vanellope alone. The young president remained quiet.
"Vanellope?" Ralph asked with a smile.
His smile vanished though when he saw the look of terror on her face and concern wallowing in her wide hazel eyes. He lowered to one knee as he looked in his friend's eyes.
"Ralph…What if it doesn't recognize my code, after what Turbo did?" she sniffed.
"What if I disappear?"
Ralph was so proud of her. He could tell how hard she was trying to hide her worry and fear for the sake of her kingdom and its subjects. He put both hands on her shoudlers.
"You listen to me. I won't let anything happen to you." He grinned. "You'll be racing on those new, fancy tracks in no time."
Vanellope wiped her nose on her sleeve before smiling up at her best friend.
The room suddenly began to shake and tremble with even greater force than before. The ground slowly returned to its still self as everyone recovered from the tremor.
The clock's lettering turned bright red.
1:19
Ralph looked up at the clock through the windows as the aqua blue sky began to fade into a dark sunset hue. "We need to get you out of here." He said with a firm voice.
He lifted Vanellope onto his shoulder as he turned to leave the throne room.
"Ralph! Where in tarnation are you going?"
"Taking Vanellope to the station, the upgrade won't be able to touch her there."
"Negatory, Wreck-it." Calhoun spat, her arms crossed and leg bent as she leaned against a pillar.
Ralph stopped and turned around with a frown, waiting for an explanation. Felix bounced towards his partner.
"Everyone has to remain in the game while the upgrade is being installed. Her code is locked into the console—she can't leave."
Ralph, gently placing Vanellope on the ground, stared into Felix's eyes with concern and rage.
"So you're saying all I can do is just stand here!" He snarled.
Felix cringed at his friend's sudden outburst, but he knew that Ralph was just worried about the young racer.
A ginger-haired soldier stepped forward at attention,
"What about us, Sergeant?" he requested the information with a firm voice.
Calhoun looked at her husband, who shook his head.
"I don't know." He replied.
Silence hovered like a thick fog among the fellow characters. The clock tolled like the church bells of a grand cathedral.
0:20
Everyone gazed up through the glass of the windows at the dwindling numbers. Ralph's eyes widened. He pivoted his head around to face Vanellope.
Standing with her hands in her jacket pocket, she smiled sweetly at him. Ralph kneeled down.
Their eyes met, Ralph's brown ones beginning to glaze over. Vanellope lightly punched her friend's giant shoulder with a small laugh.
"Whatever happens, Ralph-y, you're still the biggest stink brain ever."
0:09
Ralph let out a laugh, trying to remain positive. Calhoun and Felix watched on with somber expressions on their faces.
Ralph looked away from his friend, to worried and afraid to let it show. He didn't want her to see him, the big and brave, Ralph look so pathetic.
0:04
"And—" Ralph looked up as she reached her hand out with a smile. "You'll always be my hero."
He looked down at her tiny hand with a sad, wide-eyed expression. The two suddenly embraced in a warm hug as the seconds dwindled into nothingness.
0:00
A giant white flash flooded the land as everything went bright and dark at once. Sparkling trails of pixels raced throughout the game fixing up old courses and morphing them into new tracks. The kingdom had changed entirely, while still retaining its bittersweet original signatures.
Ralph's eyelid twitched wildly as he struggled to open his eyes. He wrapped his arms together more tightly. The air he embraced felt cold and empty—his eyes shot open. Vanellope was gone.
He dropped his hands to the cold marble floor before squinting his eyes shut, baring his teeth as a single tear fell from his pained eyes.
"VANELLOPE!"
*wipes tear*
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! R&R please :3
Until Next Time... :3