Vanellope's Bug Problem
Chapter Ten

Ralph was astonished. "Are you saying that Turbo got his hacking skills by experimenting on our game?"

Vanellope shrugged. "That'd be my guess."

Felix considered the idea. "Well, the way our game plays out would give Turbo an opportunity to get into the code vault."

Calhoun stood up. "What do you mean?"

"After each level, the player's view goes up to the apartment roof, where everyone awards me a medal and then throws Ralph off the roof. Everyone has their attention at the top of the building, so if Turbo was quick enough, he could get into the building and down to the basement without anybody noticing."

"So, why would he have chosen your game to refine his stats as a virus?"

Vanellope hopped into her kart. "Maybe he was jealous of your game lasting longer than his."

Ralph rubbed his chin. "I don't know if I'd chalk it up to that, but he would need a game that would stay plugged in for a long time."

Calhoun stood in front of Vanellope's kart. "You say it like you know it, Sprinkle Toes."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He could've picked any game to practice hacking on before he came to your game."

Felix nodded. "TurboTime was the first game to be removed from the arcade (alongside RoadBlasters), so it wouldn't make sense to single us out for outlasting his game."

"We don't even know if Turbo was telling you the truth or not about what he was doing before he came to your game."

Vanellope drummed the steering wheel on her kart. "There's no doubt he was telling lies, Callie. I think he thought that I wouldn't live to tell the tale (I bet he thinks I still don't remember how he stole my game), so he was honest about what he did but dishonest about why he did it."

Calhoun nodded. "I'll make sure Turbo is interrogated about everything he did."

"I still don't know how he survived the volcano I almost flew into."

Ralph let off a whoosh of air. "You're not the only one who wants to know."

"Maybe the code room will give us some answers."

Felix was concerned. "Are you sure it'd be wise to go in there?"

Vanellope scoffed. "C'mon, Hammertime. I'm not gonna wreck my own game. I'm just jumping in to find some sort of explanation for how Turbutt's still alive, and as soon as I figure it out, I'll come straight back out."

Ralph nodded. "Just be careful, kid."

Vanellope drove to her castle with the other racers following behind her. She was slightly off put by their presence in light of her mission, but she knew that they were madly curious about how they ended up worshiping a phony king with an unending desire for being the center of attention.

Felix and Calhoun were above the ensemble on the sergeant's cruiser.

"I'm thinking my hunch on Sugar Barbie may be right."

"What do you mean?"

"There may be some trace of Cy-Bug still in her code."

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, if she's programmed to be the ruler of a world made of candy, she'd most likely be programmed to be serene and gentle outside of racing. But she seemed a little feisty with us when she was talking about what she thought was going through Turbo's head."

"Well, I can't imagine anyone would be happy talking about someone taking what rightfully belongs to them."

"I don't know what Sprinkle Toes was programmed to be like, and Turbo's work almost certainly did some kind of permanent damage to her coding, but we may have some conclusive answers when Vanellope goes in the code vault."

Calhoun landed the cruiser at the castle doorstep and turned her attention to the racers gathering on the bridge.

"Alright, I need everyone to wait outside while Vanellope goes down to the code room." She handed a walkie-talkie to Felix. "Fix-It, you go with her and report back to me what you find."

Vanellope looked behind her. "Where's Ralph?"

The wrecker came lumbering from behind out of breath. "So, what's the plan?"

"Vanellope and I are going to the code room to figure out how Turbo is still alive," Felix briefed him.

Calhoun nodded. "And also to assess the condition of Vanellope's own code. I was going to question the other racers about what they remember about the day we first came here."

"I see."

"So, if you can just keep watch on the castle entrance, Wreck-It, while we get to work."

"Will do."

Calhoun hopped onto her cruiser. "Alright, everybody to the finish line."