SargeTJCalhoun64: Yeah, I like him too! I actually didn't foresee that he'd become so close buddies with Jerry.

Station Square Guardian: Thank you! That's actually how I write: it's like I'm watching the story in my head and writing what I see. Glad to know it's working! Taffyta is going to show up more from now on, but Vanellope's forgiveness will have to wait (I'm not finished with them yet! *evil laughter*)

Snikkey sugara: Yeah it was quite sudden. I was out of ideas :-(

Guest (All three): I'm guessing you're the same person? I'm sorry, here you go…

Chapter 10: New Look

Vanellope rubbed her face wearily. It had been five hours since the power went out, and there was no sign of respite. Corporal Jameston had been instrumental in keeping the situation under control and preventing widespread panic. He had called a meeting of all the game leaders that happened to be present. It turned out that only Sonic and PacMan were around, besides Vanellope. The three of them plus Corporal Jameston hurriedly cobbled together a plan to keep everyone safe and calm 'till power was restored.

Sonic was in charge of crowd control; he was to move around reassuring characters and answering questions. PacMan was in charge of zoning, designating and dividing characters into their own zones. Vanellope was placed in charge of food supplies that Sonic collected from everyone. Although some didn't need to eat, those with health and energy levels would soon start losing life and energy, and Vanellope's job was to make sure they got the food they needed. Corporal Jameston oversaw all three of them, relying on his training and military background to keep things under control.

Just then, Swizzle and Adorabeezle came dashing through the crowd, heading for Corporal Jameston. Vanellope saw them excitedly describing something to him, and then they all headed quickly toward the west end of the station. Adorabeezle was assigned to listen to the outside, because there was some light filtering in at the ends of the station. Swizzle had offered to stay with her to ease her fear of the dark. Vanellope had chuckled at his 'excuse', but allowed it. Now she headed towards Corporal Jameston who had summoned the leaders.

Corporal Jameston said with a small smile, "I just got some good news from Swizz and Dora. You tell 'em, guys!"

Adorabeezle smiled and said, "I overheard Mr. Litwak talking to some repairman out there. It sounds like the electricity going to be back within half an hour!"

Everyone smiled wearily. Sonic said, "What a relief!" Vanellope interjected, "Good thing, too. The food is running low." Sonic continued, "I'll go report this to the whole station right away!" preparing to zoom away.

"Whoa! Hold it, speedster. We're going to keep this info on a need-to-know basis. Don't spread the word yet." Corporal Jameston commanded, looking around carefully. "We don't want folks getting too excited, yet. Dora and Swizz aren't entirely certain about this, so I'm going to stay here and see if I can gather more intel. 'Till then, lips closed. Got it?"

"YES SIR!" they chorused. They dispersed, but with brighter faces and some measure of relief.

As she headed back to her post, she noticed Ralph giggling non-stop. She headed over to see what was going on. The power outage had caused the Surge Protector to freeze in position. Ralph was taking his revenge on his major annoyance by dressing him up in silly costumes and hairstyles and snapping pictures. Vanellope laughed 'till she cried. A lot of the game characters had gathered around to watch Ralph's antics.

She returned to her food distribution post where Jerry was deputizing for her. She skipped up behind him and went, "BOO!"

Jerry yelled, "AHHH!", sending the bowl of soup he was holding flying right into Vanellope's face! She wiped her face, incredulous. Jerry ladled another bowl of soup before turning to Vanellope. "What was that? We're in such a bad situation and you can still joke around?" Jerry asked, shaking his head. Vanellope smiled, "I was just trying to get you to relax. You've been so tense and stressed these past few hours." Jerry replied with a wry chuckle, "Isn't everyone? You're the only one who could still be perky in this scenario."

Vanellope just smiled as Corporal Jameston made an announcement. His unamplified voice was loud enough to reach everyone. He yelled, "Listen up, everyone! Mr. Litwak is having someone repair the electricity! We should be out of here in ten minutes! Please gather up your belongings and proceed to your gate in an orderly fashion. After you get back to your game, please inform your game leader that they've been out for more than five hours. Thank you." The whole station erupted in a loud cheer!

Sure enough, the lights and power came back on ten minutes later. The station started buzzing again as everyone headed home. Vanellope sat down, completely exhausted, and immediately entered dreamland. Ralph smiled tenderly down at her and picked her up in his huge hands. He rounded up the rest of their group and headed over to Sugar Rush.

Vanellope bolted upright. She had been having a nightmare about being stranded in Game Central Station all by herself. She had gone looking for help, only to find all her friends turning on her and chasing her! She looked around to see that she was in her room. It took her a few seconds to remember everything that had happened yesterday.

Ralph was snoring on a chair beside her bed. His huge frame was folded uncomfortably on her extra-large comfy chair, which was still too small for him. She smiled and tiptoed out of her room.

Ralph was awakened by flashes of light in his eyes. He opened his eyes to find Vanellope standing in front of him. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead!" she yelled, grinning crazily. She was holding a camera in one hand and lipstick in the other. Ralph replied, "Morning President! Whatcha got there?"

Vanellope replied with a smile, "Oh, just clearing up my room. Hey, how'd I get back here last night? Last thing I remember was collapsing onto the seats at Game Central Station."

Ralph replied, "I carried you back. You looked so tired, I didn't wanna wake you."

Vanellope replied, "Oh. I see. Well, I'm heading out to the track! Last RRR before the update starts in half an hour. I wanna finish with a bang! See ya, chump!" She dashed out as fast as her legs could carry her. As soon as she was in her cart, the laughter hit her so hard she could barely see.

Ralph got out of the chair and rubbed his eyes. He looked at his hands, puzzled. They were covered in pink and black smears. He looked over at the mirror. He gasped, "AHHH!" Vanellope had put makeup on his face! She had given him the works, completing the makeover by placing a curly blonde wig on his head! "VAAANNNELLLOOPEEEE!"

Vanellope drove away laughing, holding the camera on her lap.

I will get back to the story in the next chapter, I promise! The power going out was a detour.

Please let me know: would you prefer me to update more frequently with shorter chapters or update less frequently but with longer chapters? PM me or leave a review; I want to satisfy you readers! Next chapter: Vanellope's Fury!