Chapter Eight – Just a Glitch, Just a Bully
Vanellope ran as fast as she could to the palace, caring not a lick if anyone saw her.
"I gotta find out what's goin' on! I GOTTA!"
Up the path, down the hall, right to the door.
"KING CANDY! KING CANDY!" the girl cried as loud as she could, her little hands pounding on the door "LET ME IN! PLEASE LET ME IN!"
"What are you doing here?!" roared the voice of an Oreo guard.
"You know GLITCHES aren't allowed here!" cried another.
Vanellope gasped as she turned, seeing the guards point their weapons towards her. She glitched in place, fear rising in her as she clutched onto the locks of the door. Before she knew what was happening, she felt herself falling backwards!
"OOF!"
She looked up, seeing none other than King Candy himself standing before the girl, a cross look on his face. She gasped, scooting back and trying to see if she had made the monarch even more upset with her presence.
"K-King Candy, I-!"
"What do you think you're doing?!" the man roared.
"I'M SORRY!" Vanellope shivered "I know ya don't like to have visitors come in like this but-!"
"No, no, no! Not YOU!" the king said, shaking his head "THEM!" he then pointed to the guards, each one looking more confused than the next.
"B-but sir! You told us that if Vanellope even crossed the path to the castle, we should-!"
"I said NOTHING of the thort!" the man replied rather tartly, his hands on his hips "If Ms. Von Schweetz WANTS to visit me, she can do so at ANY time!"
Everyone was taken aback in shock, Vanellope most of all. For as far back as she could remember, King Candy was NOT her biggest fan and would waste not a second to send her running if he so much as saw the girl coming near himself or the other racers.
But now all of a sudden his mind had been changed?
What was going on?
Vanellope looked at the guards, suddenly wondering if it were safer to be with them than the king but her mind was dead-set on something else and to get her answer, she required the help of the king. Nervously, she stepped into the huge throne room, the doors slamming shut behind her. King Candy made his way to the throne, sitting down as he smiled at the girl warmly.
"Now…" he cooed "What theems to be your problem young lady?"
Vanellope looked around, not sure how to take things. She had prepared herself for a battle but now it seemed like all of that were for nothing. King Candy was MORE than happy to see her and any anger that she had was all but gone.
But she knew better; she had to keep her guard up. Puffing out her chest and taking a step forward, Vanellope prepared to address the king.
"Your majesty, I'm having problems with one of the racers!"
"Oh my!" King Candy said, looking concerned "An' which ra-ther would it be?"
"Taffyta!" Vanellope snapped "She's got it in her mind that I've been doin' stuff to her kart but I wanna tell ya now, I haven't touched the thing! I havne't touched any of the racers karts!"
The monarch looked more upset than ever, shaking his head sadly "Goodness….that IS thumthing!" he said "I am sorry that this is happenin' ta ya my dear but…"
"But? But WHAT?!" asked Vanellope.
King Candy sighed as he rubbed his temples "Oh dear…I knew this would happen EVENTUALLY.
"What would happen?!" asked Vanellope frantically, running up to the king "King Candy, tell me! I can take it!"
"Are ya THUR?" the king asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Yes, YES! I'm SURE!"
The monarch looked down at the girl in worry; should he tell her the truth or not? It was obvious that the child wouldn't be able to handle what he had to say but he couldn't turn back on her, not with how much she wanted to know. Candy sighed again, placing a hand on Vanellope's head gently.
"Vanellope? Dear?" the king began, his voice filled with sorrow "It seems to me that Taffyta is leadin' a crusade against ya…."
Vanellope blinked, a little surprised at the news.
"A crusade?" she then stopped, thinking a bit "What tha HECK is a crusade?"
"What I mean, DEAR, I've overheard Taffyta talkin' to the others….an' she's been pinnin' the blame of all the recent thefts on their carts on YA."
The raven haired racer's eyes widened in shock; was this true? Had Taffyta actually been spreading rumors about her?
"W-wait! B-but….WHY!?" the girl shouted, shaking a bit "Why would she do that?! I mean, we're friends an'!"
Vanellope stopped, remembering just HOW angry Taffyta had been towards her as of late.
"I-I mean, I think we're friends…"
"FRIENDS?" the king huffed "What kind of FRIEND would spread LIES like that about a person? I mean, I've TRIED to get her to stop! I've even threatened to punish her by taking her off the roster but…."
Vanellope moved closer, wanting to know more.
"But it seems no matter what I do, that little BULLY just doesn't STOP!" the king growled "She's gone so far as to thell tha other candy people that they'll GLITCH if they even come near you! I mean, who would do thumthin' so TERRIBLE?!"
Vanellope was thrown for a loop; this whole time, she expected to confront King Candy about HIS lies….but according to HIM, Taffyta was the true culprit the entire time!
But this also meant that everything that the two had built together over the year, all the love, all the friendship….
All the TRUST.
It was a lie.
PLAIN LIES.
No, this couldn't have been true! Vanellope REFUSED to believe such words and why would she? This was KING CANDY she was talking to, a man who usually tried to throw her in the fungeon whenever she showed up! Why was he showing her concern NOW?
"I know it's strange, isn't it?" the man began, sounding a bit glum "I bet ya hate me don't ya?"
"Huh?" Vanellope asked, rightfully confused "What do ya mean?"
"All this time, I've gotten on your case….but would ya believe me my dear…that there is a reason?"
A reason? A reason to being thrown in the fungeon?
"Vanellope, those kids are DANGEROUS." The king began "They don't see you the same way I do. The things I've heard 'em say….it makes my heart ache. An' ta know that my BEST racer is the leader of the group?! It makes it even worse."
"B-but…." Vanellope was finding it difficult to even talk at this point "But why would Taffyta say such horrible things about me?"
"Jealously perhaps?" the king said "It happens to the BEST of us, my dear. An' Taffyta is just jealous that someone, despite not being fully programmed in the game, could be better than her."
The little racer had to admit that for a split second, a sense of pride came over her; she always felt that she was a racer and to be told that she could be the best, and by the KING for that matter? Well, it made her feel so wonderful inside!
But was Taffyta really jealous of her? Were her laughs, her smiles, her friendship just a way to get Vanellope closer so she could finally do her in? The girl didn't know what to think, all the memories swirling in her head. It wasn't making any sense!
"We talked about karts…we explored the lands….we….we were friends."
"Are ya sure about that, my dear?" Candy's voice echoed within the room "How can ya be so sure?"
By now, Vanellope WASN'T sure. Candy's words were starting to meld with everything she remembered. She tried her hardest to find any sort of memories in her head but the harder she searched, the more her head began to hurt!
Something was wrong! She shouldn't been feeling this way.
"Why does my head hurt?! Why does nothing make sense?!" Vanellope thought to herself as pieces of images flowed into her head, none of them coming together to form something solid.
"Don't you thee my dear?" Candy said, his voice soft "Trusting people like Thaffyta…it'll get you know where but trouble."
"But…but I don't understand!" Vanellope squeaked "An' even so…why be so rough one me?!"
"Let's justh thay, I was playin' FACE my dear…." The monarch said "I know its tough but even if I would have caught ya in front of everyone…I would never throw ya in tha fungeon! Not now, not ever!"
"R-really?" the girl trembled.
King Candy smiled at Vanellope, lifting her head up with his finger "I promise…."
"A-an' what about Taffyta?"
"People like Thaffyta, they always use ya. They lead ya in an' make ya feel secure, only ta cut ya off when ya need it that most…" the king turned, walking back to his throne "I know I might have seemed harsh ta ya in the past but when I was, it was only to save ta. Save ya from THEM."
Vanellope felt tears going down her cheek. Despite her own feelings, she felt that there was something to the king's words that were true. All the anger, all the hate, Taffyta was quick to blame Vanellope for her crash and why?
A true friend wouldn't do that right?
"Did ya hear what happened down in Hero's Duty last night?" whispered a character.
"Yeah! Vanellope really let Taffya have it!"
"I wonder why though! I mean, didn't Vanellope say it was OKAY for Taffyta to talk to Turbo? I don't see why it was bothering her so much!"
"Maybe because Vanellope didn't like where things were goin'!" another character said.
"Oh! Do tell! I've wanted to hear what Turbo said but almost all the outlets have kept it under wraps!"
Everyone from Sugar Rush could hear the whispers and the gossip throughout the arcade and as one could guess, it was doing nothing to cheer anyone up. Everyone was miserable but what made things even worse was knowing that somehow, Turbo was getting enjoyment from this.
They all knew deep down in their hearts that Turbo had planned this entire thing to work his way and even inside his jail cell, he was succeeding. To the outside arcade, Turbo's evil hands once again had their grasp on Sugar Rush and were tearing the friends apart. Vanellope was fighting with Taffyta and who knew if this could start another rift between the friends.
It was only a matter of time.
Once the arcade had closed, the core four decided to meet up at Tapper's, hoping to clear their heads but as the adult got to the game, they were quick to find that one of their friends hadn't shown up.
Vanellope.
"I should have known this was a bad idea!" Calhoun growled as she slammed her on the counter "Urgh! This whole 'confession' thing has turned into a DISASTER!"
"Hey, what do you expect from someone as sleazy as TURBO?" Ralph said in a glum voice, sipping his rootbeer.
"C'mon Tammy, ya hafta give those girls some credit!" Felix spoke out, trying to see the best in the bleak situation "They're smart enough NOT ta let Turbo wrap lies around 'em so maybe, just maybe, they have this handled better than we think!"
"I hope that's true…" Calhoun sighed "Because believe it or not, I don't want those kids to start fightin' again. I mean, they did so much to each other when Turbo was in charge an' to have it taken away so easily? It just…it just doesn't seem FAIR! They all deserve a break."
"If only life were that easy." Tapper's said, unable to help himself from speaking up "Somethin' is always gonna come up ta make a mess outta things but I hafta agree with your hubby there, Sarge."
"What do ya mean?"
"Those kids are smarter than ya think. Somethin' tells me Turbo only THINKS he's playin' 'em but in reality…" Tapper's gave the three a look, a small smirk appearing on his face "Eh, ya know what I mean."
"So ya de-thided ta come again?" Turbo said with a smile, looking at Taffyta.
The girl didn't say anything, only glaring ahead at the former racer. Turbo smirked, an evil gleam coming into his eyes.
"I know that look. Ya have somethin' up your sleeves don't cha?"
"I've thought it over. I've thought it over long and hard Turbo an'…." The girl spoke up.
"An' WHAT?" Turbo smiled.
The girl shook, grasping something in her pocket "You were right. You were right about everythin'!"
Unable to look at the man, Taffyta took her hands out of her pocket, revealing…a key card. Turbo recognized it instantly, his eyes widening.
"W-where did you-?!"
"Havin' friends in high places like this gives ya some perks, Turbo." Taffyta whispered "But I'm CERTAIN ya don't know what this is, RIGHT?"
Turbo looked around, still in disbelief of what was happening. He then slowly took the card away from the girl, their eyes still at each other.
"Where should we meet?" he grinned.