annabre24: You're right. Very Turbo-like indeed...

Ojaminator: Glad you like this twist! I've also finally managed to get to the update.

SargeTJCalhoun64: Very dark indeed *scary music*. Or maybe it's me with the dark streak...

RobinsInTheSkye: Thanks for your compliments! Your last statement makes me wonder too...

Guest: Hi! Here you go! Could you leave a name next time? Thanks!

Superawesomegentleman: I'll definitely make more! Thanks!

BlackRose56: Thanks for your OC! I'll work her into the story soon!

crankyman7: Fair enough, my story's premise is based on a 'what if?' and I've edited the summary accordingly. I think you're right about Ralph and the cart; didn't put much thought into that.
Chapter 7 was a bit confusing; I might do it again but I'll strive to make it clearer next time.
Is Jerry bland? Nice guys are no longer appreciated :-( The only way I can show his character is through his actions. Maybe you could clarify? I'll probably explore Vanellope's and Jerry's backstories in a later chapter.
As for Hero's Cuties, I may or may not put them in, but I'll try.

Thanks for your detailed review and constructive criticism! Much appreciated as it's the first!

: Sorry, but I can't do that here in this story. I'm planning a different story arc. I may explore that in another story in the future, though...

Hey everyone! Wow, I'm overwhelmed by the number of reviews Chapter 11 got! Big, big, thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please keep reviewing!

News Flash: 1. The OCs will start showing up from next chapter onwards.

2. I started a second story! YAY! It's titled "A Bedtime Story: Contest Details Inside"! Why? You can win a chance to have your OCs and story ideas written by me working together with you! Please go take a look!

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 12: Big Problem

Vanellope kept yanking out wires from the top and bottom of Taffyta's code until she got to the last two. As hard as she tried, she could not remove them. Finally, she gave up.

She pulled herself back to the vault door and closed it. With a little smile on her face, she walked towards her garage. She opened the door and nearly walked into Sour Bill! "Great Gobstoppers! I thought you were out!"

Sour Bill replied, "Yes, I just got back. Why were you so frightened by me?"

Vanellope just shrugged and brushed past him. She got into the Candy Kart and zoomed off quickly. Sour Bill stared after her thoughtfully.

Taffyta opened her eyes to find herself lying on her bed and Jerry's hand on her shoulder. His eyes were closed and his lips were moving silently. She pressed her hand to her head, slowly remembering what had happened. She weakly mumbled, "Jerry…"

Jerry looked up with a start. "Taffyta! Thank goodness you're awake. How are you feeling now?"

Taffyta replied, "My head is still spinning….What happened?"

Jerry answered, "We were talking and then you suddenly collapsed, screaming. You were clutching your head, and then you fainted, but you were still grimacing like you were in pain. And then the strangest thing happened. You started fading and flickering! Can you remember anything?"

Taffyta said, "Yeah. My head felt like it was being torn apart. It was the worst pain I've ever felt, and I've been through many crashes. It was so painful that I had to scream. And then, nothing. I guess that was when I fainted." She paused for a while, for even the effort of talking was too much for her. Jerry waited patiently.

Taffyta continued, "You say that I faded? How so?"

Jerry furrowed his eyebrows. "It was like, you became transparent, like you were on the verge of disappearing. The doctors and I tried to carry you back to your bed but your body was like dust or a cloud. And then your image solidified again. Then you started flickering, kind of like when you have a bad TV signal and the picture turns to wavy lines." He had a worried look on his face. "The doctors said that your code might have been damaged, possibly by the crash. Rancis' code, too. But the strange thing is that all the other racers seem okay."

He leant forward in his chair. "The doctors say that your condition is serious, but if you woke up, you'd most likely be fine."

Taffyta smiled weakly at Jerry. "Thank you for staying here and listening to me", she said. "You're such a great friend."

Jerry smiled back. "It's no problem at all. I'm just glad you're okay. But I'm starting to worry about Rancis. Do you mind if I go over to check on him?"

Taffyta replied, "Of course not! Go ahead; I need to rest anyway. Thanks again, Jerry." She smiled and closed her eyes.

Jerry moved over to Rancis' bed and placed his hand on Rancis' forehead, over the scar. He felt a slight warmth, assuring him that Rancis was still alive. He bowed his head and closed his eyes again.

Vanellope drove up to the hospital. She hopped out and walked straight to the head doctor's office. Dr. Hershey looked up from his desk. "Afternoon, President."

Vanellope nodded. She asked, "How are the racers?"

Dr. Hershey replied, "Snowanna, Adorabeezle and Sticky both were relatively unhurt; just a few scratches. Gloyd was a bit cut up; a flesh wound on his left arm. Candlehead had a cut on her face….and broke her candle. That girl! She was more worried about her candle than the blood! Rancis and Taffyta seem to have come off the worst. Rancis has been unconscious since the crash. Taffyta, well, I'm not quite sure what the problem is with her. We're still running tests on those two. Worst case, their codes might be damaged."

Vanellope faked a concerned look. "Is there anything we can do?"

Dr. Hershey sighed. "We won't know for sure 'till the tests are finished."

Vanellope nodded. "Is it okay if I drop in on them?"

Dr. Hershey thought for a moment and nodded. "Okay, you can visit, but don't stay too long." Just then a beeping and a flashing interrupted them. Dr. Hershey's eyes widened. "Okay, I'm coming with you."

Jerry felt Rancis move. He opened his eyes to see Rancis smiling up at him. "Hey bro," Rancis whispered.

Jerry sighed in relief. "Hey bro, glad to see you awake."

A look of puzzlement crossed Rancis' face. "What's going on? Where am I? Last thing I remember was the RRR. I was trying to catch up to you. What happened?"

Jerry said, "You lost control of your cart and spun. The same thing happened to Taffyta, resulting in a big crash. You've been unconscious for a while now."

"Seven hours and thirty-six minutes exactly." A voice said from behind Jerry.

Jerry twisted around in his chair. "Oh, Dr. Hershey. And Vanellope! What are y'all doing here?"

Dr. Hershey shook his head in amazement. "I let you in here when they were both unconscious. Now they're both awake. How do you do it?"

Jerry just smiled and said, "Doc, I believe it wasn't the crash that caused Rancis to black out. It was the black out that caused him to crash."

Dr. Hershey peered sharply at Jerry. "How did you know that? I just came to that conclusion myself!"

Jerry turned to Vanellope. "May I take a look at Rancis' and Taffyta's codes? I may be able to help."

Vanellope was taken aback for a second. She replied, "Well, you're welcome to try, but Sour Bill would never let you into the code vault! He wouldn't even let me in to take a look!"

Jerry nodded. "I'll be going now. Bye, Vanellope. Bye, Rancis. Bye, Taffy. And thank you, Dr. Hershey." He walked out the door.

Dr. Hershey just nodded, a look of deep thought on his face. "Vanellope, will you be okay on your own? I need to go out for a while.

Vanellope quickly replied, "Sure, go ahead Doc! I'll be just fine." Dr. Hershey smiled and quickly walked out.

Vanellope smiled to herself. She approached Rancis' bed. "Hey Rancis, how are you feeling?"

"Still a bit weak, but better, thanks. Why did you come to visit?"

"As a President, I have to care for my racers! Of course I'd visit! I hope you feel better soon."

"Thanks, Vanellope. Are the other racers okay? I hate to think I might've hurt other people accidentally."

"Well, except for Gloyd and Candlehead, the rest just have a few small scratches. And you know about Taffyta. That's about all the damage, so you can relax."

Rancis sighed. "I'm gonna apologize to everyone once I get out of this bed."

Vanellope asked quizzically, "Why do you want to apologize? You heard Dr. Hershey; you blacked out and crashed. It isn't really your fault."

Rancis replied, "I know, but still, I feel responsible. Hey, if you don't mind, I'd like to get some rest." Vanellope nodded and Rancis turned over on his side and closed his eyes.

Vanellope walked over to Taffyta's bedside. Taffyta was propped up reading a book but looked up upon hearing Vanellope's footsteps. The two girls just looked at each other for a few seconds before Vanellope spoke. "How are you feeling?"

Taffyta responded, "Good, under the circumstances."

Vanellope nodded and turned away saying, "Hope you feel better soon." As she strode away, she muttered darkly, "You're getting exactly what you deserve, fudge girl!"

The morning of the data transfer dawned. Everyone was up and buzzing, getting ready for the transfer. The racers were all at the Lounge, chatting. They were speculating on what new racers or tracks they would find! Jubileena squealed, dancing around, "I'm so excited. Oooh, do you think there'll be some new guys? Huh? I really hope so!" Everyone stared at her. "What?"

Snowanna said, "Okay, Jubi. We get it."

Swizzle said, "I hope there will be new tracks. I mean, the current tracks are nice and all, but they've gotten a bit stale. The Swizz needs a challenge!"

Minty commented, "Yeah, that'd be cool. Hey, are Rancis and Taffyta healthy enough to come? I thought they were stuck in bed."

Candlehead said, "WHAT? They're stuck in bed? What a mean trick! Gloyd, was it you ? You shouldn't be pulling tricks on sick people!"

Gloyd rolled his eyes. Snowanna explained, "No, Candle. That's not what Minty meant. She meant that they just had to stay in bed 'till they were better."

Candlehead thought for a second. "Ohh, I get it!"

Vanellope, who was relaxing in the corner, looked over at the chocolate cuckoo clock. She stood up and announced, "Okay everyone, let's head over to the USB hall now."

Everyone started towards the hall, where most of the fans were waiting. The fans immediately mobbed their favorite racer. Taffyta and Rancis were also there. Taffyta was seated in a wheelchair with Rancis pushing her around. Swizzle approached them and asked, "Hey Rancis, how'd you recover so fast?" Rancis smiled and said, "I'll talk to you after the transfer. It's a bit of a long story." Suddenly, they felt the ground shift slightly. Then it shifted again, more strongly. A hush fell over everyone that soon turned into a rumble of questions. Nobody knew what was happening.

Everyone soon fell silent when Mr. Litwak attached the USB cable to the machine. With a click, it locked into position. Mr. Litwak went over to the new machine and hit some buttons. The transfer began.

It crawled along slowly. Its beady eyes fell upon a large group of people. It quickly burrowed underground and started moving towards them. It's rapid movement caused the earth to shift around. Suddenly, it felt itself being lifted up and tossed around! It screeched in surprise.

Next chapter: New Faces, New Places. See ya then! Bye people!