Hey everyone! To be honest, I'm going to skip writing out my reasoning for my unexpected hiatus-if you're curious as to what was up in my life, read my profile-anyway, I am so glad to be back! I have a new laptop and I am chilling out at college waiting for classes to start. I am back and ready to write, and as of right now this story is my main focus. I am so sorry for the lack of updates. Truly, I am. I hope you all can forgive me for not keeping you updated, but I am on a roll right now with this fic and it's getting pretty intense and thick in plot development :)

SO, without further ado, here is chapter four of To Save a Hero! I hope you all enjoy it, and thank you for all the reviews and good wishes you sent me while on my hiatus. They were my inspiration and my motivation for you all. Thank you.

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 IV: A Simple Chance

Nothing. There was nothing. Nothing in his arms and nothing in his heart as the feeling of absolute emptiness overwhelmed him like a rogue wave rolling in a sea of endless tragedy. She was gone.

"Ralph, this is crazy!"

Felix jumped up and down and all around, the sounds of his jumping starting to drive Ralph up a wall.

Ralph ignored him. The giant continued packing what little belongings he wanted to bring with him into his pockets, which were large and roomy to begin with. With a cold shoulder, he sighed and grabbed a banana from Donkey Kong and gently placed it in his right pocket. The smaller man watched with a perpetual look of worry on his brow—he tried everything in his diction from kind pleading to southern swearing, but nothing worked. Nothing. His best friend was determined.

"Vanellope?" Ralph croaked, his arms still wrapped around the empty air in front of him. "V-Vanellope?!"

He continued to call out her name, stumbling as he stood up from his crouched position. His hands however hung at his sides open and clammy. His eyes darted around the room, up and down, looking for his friend, his Vanellope.

Calhoun looked on, but soon turned her head. She squinted her eyes shut, trying her hardest to shut out the emotion seeping into her tough, soldier skin. Felix let the emotion invade him, but he managed to stifle a soft call,

"Ralph—"

"Vanellope!" The ex-bad guy cried out, crashing into a pillar.

Felix flinched as his friend sunk down again after the impact of hitting the marble. He stepped forward slowly.

Ralph's breathing was erratic, and his chest heaved up and up and then down. The tops of his hands became cold from lying lifelessly on the stone floor, his feet, too. Suddenly, a hint of warmth spread from his shoulder—Felix had placed his hand gently on the larger character.

"Ralph. I'm sorry—" Ralph's friend began to say, but his voice quickly trailed off.

No one had paid any notice to their new surroundings.

The floors, paved sugar cookie dough, glistened beautifully under the new chandeliers hanging above in the lofty alcoves of the ceiling. They were made of wrapped rock candy, bright yellow in color, with caramels candles lit in their carved holdings. The pillars, now consisting of pure sugar cane and solidified coconut cream, stood taller and wider; in fact, the entire foyer of the grand throne room had expanded greatly, and the throne—decorated from footing to spire with large sugar crystals and blue candy canes, and snow cone chocolate chips. Even the rug that stretched from the door to the throne was new, now a long piece of strawberry fruit rubber with miniature yellow, gumdrops decorating the fringe.

And that wasn't all. The entire kingdom was fully refurbished. Still the same ole' Sugar Rush, but now-Sugar Rush II: Saccharine Sprint.

While Felix hovered over his good friend, Calhoun had been giving out silent orders to her soldiers. She wanted to make sure the rest of the world was okay and still present, but worry for her friends, Vanellope included, plagued her tough heart.

Suddenly, a light filled the room. A light bright and calm, white and alarming all at once. The characters in the room covered their eyes quickly following the flash, and Sergeant Calhoun ordered the men she still had in the room as best as she could to ready their weapons. Their guns were unsheathed at a stunning speed and the red lights of their aim flickered around the room like little red fireflies. But they couldn't see; it was impossible to lock onto the target when they didn't even know what it was.

Then, the light dimmed and flooded out of the small cracks and corners of the room and floated onto the floor in a thin layer of cloud. A pair of small feet stepped down from the air and landed soundlessly on the floor.

Ralph was the first to look up, and his eyes widened at what he saw.

Standing in front of them tall and proud, covered in a beautiful gown made of pure, sugar crystal dust, was a girl. An older girl of maybe eighteen, whose skin was snowy white and eyes a light amber; a light-gold brown sugar was embroidered around the long sleeve cuffs, the high neck covering, and the bust of her dress; and her hair, bright alabaster in tone, floated in the air! It fell down her shoulders, but it seemed to be constantly hovering as if swaying in water. She wore no shoes, but her nails were light blue and exceptionally long. Silver bangle also adorned her left ankle and both wrists. And peeking through her thin, silky hair were two horns atop her head. Not large but not small, the horns curled down and then up, and one had a copper band around its girth, which strangely didn't match the rest of her at all. But nevertheless—she was beautiful.

Majestic and fragile, the girl gazed upon her taller audience. She was just barely shorter than Calhoun, but her stature made her seem so much greater in height.

Ralph's jaw dropped just a hair before he smacked it back into to place. The sprite-like lady spoke with a voice a mature voice,

"You all must be visitors to this kingdom. Welcome, welcome. I welcome you all." Her voice was simple yet delicate, as if she were one of the characters of the game. She didn't speak like a god, but there was definitely a trace of power lingering in her tone.

And for a while, she said nothing. She simply stood, gazing with a firm visage.

"W-who are you?" Felix peeped out.

The girl's hoary eyebrows rose,

"I am Chancellor Cane. I am the origin, the mother, of this world. Everything sweet and sugary and saccharine are frosted from my hands."

"So…You're like the president?" Ralph asked bluntly with a worried voice.

He thought to himself,

'If she is the ruler of the kingdom, then that means Vanellope…no that can't be…she can't be gone.'

The girl stood up straighter and tilted her head slightly, "I beg your pardon?"

Calhoun stepped forward to quickly correct Ralph, "What he means is—are you in charge of Sugar Rush?"

"Well," she exhaled. "I am not the 'ruler', as you put it. I simply watch over the races and my creations. Vanellope Von Schweetz is in fact the rightful princess and heiress. But it appears she is—absent. Thus, I must reign over the land in her stead."

'Absent?' Ralph's thoughts were racing.

"So she's okay?" He inquired loudly to no one in particular.

Only the Chancellor paid heed to this with an inquisitive stare.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and two soldiers rushed in with another, slightly smaller figure. It was Peppy Hare, from the Starfox division.

"Sergeant!" the two soldiers called out in unison.

Calhoun, her eyes widening in question, looked down at the out of breath, anthropomorphic rabbit.

He looked up at her and spread out his arms, "I've found her."

Everyone's head swiveled. All eyes were on the space navigator.

Peppy pulled out a small device from his pocket, but without warning he was quickly hoisted into the air

"Where is she?!" Ralph almost shouted, his eyes wide in both fear and happiness—

—his friend was alive.

"Wreck-it! Control yourself—"

"How can I find her?" He shook the rabbit gently, his hands gripping the character's shirt collar.

Peppy shook a bit in the giant's grasp, "I—I don't know," he drew in a sharp breath and lifted the small device in his paw. "But this detector can track her!"

Ralph, breathing deeply, set the hare down and bent over to look at the metal object. On it was a digital, green map of everything with lines representing walls and double lines representing exits and entrances into different terminals in Game Central Station. The light was flashing on the EXIT for Sugar Rush.

"Which terminal is she in? Which game?" Felix jumped in, literally onto Ralph's shoulder peering over.

Peppy continued, "I'm not sure…when I was in Grand Central Station, she wasn't in any of the games—"

"What does that mean? Where is she, navigator?!" Calhoun was losing her patience. A feat not many could pull off in dire situations.

"I was getting to that," Peppy pushed his glasses up, annoyed with the endless questions.

He switched maps on the device so that it showed the station. There it was—the flashing yellow light.

"…Where in tarnation is that?" Felix muttered, a confused look covering his usual, glowing face.

The light continued flashing on a wall marked as an EXIT, but it was located down a strange, newly made tunnel connected to the station.

"I don't remember a game terminal anywhere off of the main stationway. Hare, are you sure this thing ain't been chewed up by a dog and spit out like a bone?"

"This 'thing' is in perfect condition! I just installed the software a couple of days ago."

Watching from a distance, Chancellor Cane stood still, little emotion running over her face. Just a cold simple stare. Her light blue lips parted,

"The Catacomb."

As soon as her hissed words stung his ears, Ralph turned and looked at the girl, whose brow was slightly furrowed. Everyone else had turned to face her as well, but her eyes were fixed on Ralph.

"The passage to the other side, where worlds never stop winding and rolling in time."

Silence hovered like the mist at the girl's feet in between the characters and the mysterious goddess. Looks were passed among the characters, except for Ralph.

"The Commando's…"

Ralph mumbled to himself, looking down at his feet, thinking wildly.

Ears perked up, Felix heard what his friend had said, and his eyes shot open.

Turning away from the Chancellor rather quickly, Ralph began to make his way to the Sugar Rush exit. Felix jumped in front of him,

"Ralph, no," He stomped his foot down. "You can't go."

"Felix—" The giant attempted to walk around him, but the small man cut him off again.

"I can't let you—those things, whatever they are—who knows what's out there!"

Ralph simply pushed past his friend and headed for the doors.

Calhoun reached a hand out,

"Ralph!" she cried, almost making it an order.

The door slammed. Ralph was gone. A strange emotion swirling in her amber irises, Chancellor Cane's eyes blinked slowly before she turned towards the throne.

Felix was quiet for a while waiting for his friend to finish stuffing his pockets. The night sky of the Wreck-it Ralph game loomed over head, its beauty now only haunting darkness. Ralph through a brick aside as he looked through the storage around outside his house.

Finally, he stood quietly and turned to face Felix,

"Are you coming?"

"Ralph—" Felix looked up at his friend with the most caring and genuine eyes. He wanted to come. He truly did. But he was afraid, and the game needed him. Calhoun needed him, and she was far too busy to concern herself with a wild goose hunt—even if it was for her good friend.

"I can't."

Ralph was upset, true, but he didn't hold it against his best friend. The little man needed to stay, but Ralph couldn't. He had to find her.

He proceeded to walk past Felix and towards the station terminal.

"What if you can't come back?!" Felix cried, his voice cracking.

Ralph stopped, his fists clenched.

He turned around, brow furrowed.

"I'm not coming back without her."

So there you have it!

I hope you all enjoyed this update. I want to personally thank each and every one of my loyal readers who have stuck with me through these hard times, and I want to especially thank those who have just started reading my works and have given me nothing but kind words and amazing critiques! You all rock!

Expect an update within the next week!

until next time... :3