Yippee! My first story has passed 100 reviews! 113 to be exact. A great big thank-you to all reviewers; I have read and appreciate everyone of your reviews. Cookies and candy for everyone! Now for a bit of bad news...

I apologize for not updating; I'm really busy with applying for college and a scholarship at the moment. Here's a short update, as SOME people will not stop pestering me! *cough* *Esther* *cough* The action ramps up slightly here and other OCs are introduced, so hopefully this will tide you over. I know this is relatively poor writing by my standards. No guarantees on when I'll be able to update again. Without further ado...

Chapter 16: Threat Resurfaces

The group of racers chattered non-stop as they headed out into the countryside. Rancis had invited Snowanna, Rae, Swizzle, Jelly, and Candlehead to join him and Taffyta for a day out.

Amos was on a trip to investigate a minigame outpost, the Gumdrop Gardens, after they sent him an urgent SOS. Amos had assured Rancis that the scenery there was worth the trip, so Rancis decided to bring his group along for the trip.

"What's Gumdrop Gardens like?" Snowanna asked curiously.

"Well, like the name implies, it's covered in gummies and gumdrops. It's an absolutely beautiful place," Amos replied. He craned his neck, trying to estimate their arrival. "We should be there in a few minutes."

The racers toiled up the final hill, Amos leading the way. He hopped off the Cookiecycle and gestured. "And, voila!" He turned to look in the direction he was pointing and his jaw dropped.

The view that greeted them was one of devastation. The hollow had afforded no protection whatsoever to the small outpost. It looked like a tornado had hit the area. Ground was torn up and the carefully tended gumdrop vines that decorated the area were destroyed. Several young racers were hard at work, racing against time to repair the damage. A girl dressed in pink, with pink streaks running through dirty blonde hair, looked up to see Amos leading the group down on foot. She dropped her rake and walked towards them wearily.

"What happened, Bubblina?" Amos asked grimly.

"We were training when a huge metal bug burst from the arena floor! It started chewing up everything in its path; it didn't look like we could stop it, so I ordered us to evacuate. It left after ten minutes, but the damage it left behind is massive. I'm not sure if we'll be able to finish in time." Bubblina's eyes were haggard, and her crew looked worse.

"Did you say huge metal bug?" Rancis' mouth dropped.

Bubblina nodded. Rancis, Snowanna, Swizzle, and Taffyta looked at each other grimly. "Cy-Bug."

"Pardon?" Amos and Bubblina looked slightly lost.

"We've been attacked by these bugs before. They almost brought down the previous console."

"How did you survive?"

"Thanks to Wreck-It Ralph and Sergeant Calhoun. The game barely made it." Rancis turned to Swizzle. "We have to contact Vanellope." Swizzle nodded.

Amos turned to Rancis. "I'm so sorry for bringing you down here. Guess you'll need to head somewhere else for your day out. I'll need to call out the rest of my crew to handle this mess."

Taffyta met her friends' eyes and turned back to Amos and Bubblina. "This place will do just fine." She smiled. "You guys need a hand, and we've plenty of them!"

Bubblina and Amos smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much," Bubblina replied warmly. "But first, I think we should get to know each other, hm?" She beckoned the rest of the workers over.

"My name's Bubblina Gumdrop, and I run this minigame outpost. This is where all Sugar Rush's minigame stations are located: Bubblegum Bumper Car, Mega Mint Maze, and Oreo Obstacle Course. Of course, Bake-A-Kart was kept at the Kart Bakery." Bubblina explained.

The other racers of Gumdrop Gardens had gathered around Bubblina, and she proceeded to introduce them. "These are Cindy Swirl, Carmen Grenaple, Karmahlan Appocle, Kristian Cookiecake, and Megan."

"Nice to meet you all!" Cindy smiled. She was dressed in a long-sleeved brown and white shirt and blue jeans. Long brown hair framed her friendly brown eyes.

"Sup? Just call me Kristian." The affable boy grinned. He was dark-skinned, with black hair pulled back into dreadlocks. He wore a blue shirt and black jeans.

Megan smiled shyly and waved. Tall and thin, wavy brown hair fell to her waist.

The twins, Carmen and Karmahlan, nodded silently. They looked bored and tired.

"Well, let's get to work," Amos said. "The support crew will be here in an hour."

Everyone pitched in, filling in holes and repairing buildings. They had finished a quarter of the whole outpost when the support crew arrived, allowing the racers a well-deserved rest. They mingled and chatted over lunch, getting to know each other better.

Rancis looked up from his pie to see Swizzle chatting with Cindy. They seemed to be getting along well.

"Hey Swizz!" Rancis called. Swizzle looked away from Cindy for a moment. "Have you contacted Vanellope yet?"

Swizzle froze with a sheepish grin on his face. "I'm sorry; I got... distracted?"

Rancis sighed and pulled out his phone.

Bubblina Gumdrop belongs to Bubblina Gumdrop

Megan belongs to M (a guest)

Cindy Swirl belongs to dalek (a guest)

Kristian Cookiecake belongs to Simonbob11 (a guest)

Carmen Grenaple and Karmahlan Appocle belong to Kam XD (a guest)

That's it for now, review please. And I really hope I'll be able to update again soon...

Shalom from JarrettSoon!