Turning back to look at the castle after noticing his kart, Vannie furrowed her brow and asked, "Is Rancis here?" I'm not really expecting an answer to that.
"Nah. He's off with Taffyta," Vanellope said, "They were with me when I made this sweet ride here." She grinned knowingly in Ralph's direction. You always have that sort of reaction.
"Well, it's certainly colorful," Ralph said. I guess it's not too bad compared to what I was expecting..
"Don't listen to him. I think it's pretty," Vannie said with a grin. It's weird that Rancis' kart is here, but I guess he must have a reason for leaving it there. I'll ask him later.
"He always says that about my karts.." Vanellope said reassuringly, "Oh wait! What does your kart look like?!" I wanna see!
"Well, it's not quite as colorful as yours.." Vannie said. My bad, I used the same word as Ralph. I didn't mean anything by it though.. "But mine is this one over here." It was also teal colored. It was the one thing their two karts had in common aside from there being sprinkles on it. Hers were white rather than orange and purple however. The interior was white as well, with a marshmallow seat. Its shape was slightly reminiscent of a sugar cookie.
"It looks good though," Vanellope said insistently, "I've just had a lot of time to refine my tastes, that's all. I have a kart back home for every day of the week now. Even though I usually use the one-" Ralph wouldn't remember.. She frowned slightly. "The one that Ralph helped me make. You should see it!" She smiled again. I have to snap out of it..
"Me? Make a kart?" Ralph asked incredulously, "I can just about imagine." He couldn't help but chuckle as he imagined a kart with uneven teal and purple icing, and mismatched headlights among other peculiarities. There's that headache again. I almost forgot I had it.
"It's a masterpiece!" Vanellope said excitedly. I want to show it to him, but it'll have to wait..
"I can't wait to see it," Vannie said warmly. I wonder if she would think it's weird that I like Ralph..
Vanellope's eyes began to well with tears as she allowed her mind to wander. I wonder how I can get Ralph to remember.. It's really bothering me. Ralph is still Ralph, but he lacks that certain something that only his memory returning can fix. Maybe I'm just being selfish. Ralph doesn't seem to mind at all.. But that only makes it worse. I need Stinkbrain back. The one who taught me how to race all over again, who saved me from those 15 years of loneliness and isolation in Diet Cola Mountain.. I wish Ralph had moved into the castle with me too, thinking about selfishness. I may have friends now, but Ralph is the closest thing I have to a dad..
"You're crying again," Ralph said softly. He would have continued to ask her what was wrong and tried to comfort her again, but she cut him off before he even opened his mouth.
"Urgh. I need to stop doing that!" Vanellope said in an annoyed tone while wiping her eyes, "Hey, is Diet Cola Mountain's bonus track in this game too?" I was always afraid to go back there, like I would suddenly wake up to find out Ralph coming along and saving me was all just a wild dream my programming cooked up. But it really can't be helped..
"I think so, but I've never really been there yet," Vannie said, "Is there something special about it?" Yeah, now that I think about it, there's definitely a track there. Poor girl.. I'm sure he'll remember you soon..
"It's where Ralphie here destroyed Turbo," Vanellope said with a grin, "I figure maybe if he sees it, he could remember something." If anything will jog his memory, it will be familiar places..
"Well, I don't see why not," Ralph said. I'm not so sure it works like that after a total game reset, but we can try.
"Come on, Ralph! You act like you don't even care if you remember," Vanellope said with a frown, "When you remember, you'll thank me!" Your life improved a lot when you met me, you know? I want you to remember all the joy I brought into your life too..
"Alright.. Well you don't expect me to drive, do you?" Ralph said hesitantly. I'm not sure how I pulled off that stunt getting into this game without wrecking the kart I used. Doing it again is questionable at best. I don't want to mess up her kart..
"Sit on the back of my kart, that's what we normally do," Vanellope said dismissively. And in this kart you have a lot more foot room. If she's anything like me she'll want to drive too.
"If it wrecks, it's not my fault," Ralph said as he reluctantly got on as he was told. Like King Candy's kart earlier, Vanellope's kart slightly creaked under his weight. "These things are sturdy.." He smirked and started bouncing up and down on the back of the kart. What is it about those smiling faces? The three of them laughed for a while and departed for Diet Cola Mountain.
It didn't take them especially long to get there, and it looked quite similar to how it was in Sugar Rush.
"It's right there between the two sugar free lollypops," Vanellope said cheerfully, "Well, that's where it is in my game anyways." She was leading them right into the wall.
"There's no opening! You're gonna wreck it!" Ralph yelled worriedly. Kid, you might die..
"Nice choice of words, but it's a fake wall!" the younger Vanellope said with a laugh as she drove through the base of the mountain, coming to a stop just inside.
"It's kinda weird going through a wall," Vannie said with a grin after making it through the entrance with no problems. It has a tingly sensation to it..
"You get used to it," Vanellope said cheerfully. She couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine being there. There was no little shack like she used to live in, and the training race track that Ralph made for her was also missing. But what was still there, were the mentos stalactites and the broiling hot diet cola springs. "This way." She led them further inside. "Well?" Come on, Ralph. Remember! Although I guess that you should have remembered me long ago. But this should help jog your memory, right?
Ralph took a long look around the room. He honestly tried to remember, for her sake, as it was clearly important to her. He looked for a good 5 minutes, walking around the room, observing it from many different angles. He sighed and said, "Sorry kid, I got nothing." Every time I try to remember, this headache just gets too intense. It feels like I'll pass out if I keep that up. There has to be another way.
Vanellope wanted to scream. There's clearly some flaw in my plan. "Maybe if we went there in my game it'd be different," she said with a sigh, "But that could take hours, I doubt that Alex guy would help like Ashley did." Plus we don't have Tammy's cruiser. I wonder how she's doing..
Vannie was busy on the other side of the room throwing rocks at mentos. Her aim was quite terrible, especially when compared to Vanellope's. Come on, I just want to knock one down..
Vanellope looked over at Vannie and glitched onto Ralph's shoulder. "Hey Ralph," she whispered in his ear, "I was wondering for a while now.. I'm not interrupting anything between you two, am I?" Come on, you can tell me..
"What? No! What gave you that idea anyway?" Ralph asked surprisedly. Although she is beautiful, and she has a mischievous personality that I do find attractive. Even if it may get a little annoying sometimes.. but the thought never even crossed my mind. Why is she of all people asking me this? That's more than a little weird..
"What, seriously?" Vanellope asked incredulously, "You cleaned up, had dinner and everything!" You seriously did all that without any motive? Come on, she's a sweet girl. It's not like she and I are the same person or anything..
"That was King Candy's idea," Ralph said dismissively. I can't believe I'm even having this conversation. "He saw me sitting by this game and talked to me. I must've been the first person he had met outside here because he seemed real interested in making friends." Oh, well there's Alex too.. "Anyway, we don't know for sure that we can't get to your game yet." Let's change the subject, please?
Vanellope sighed. I just thought you'd be happy with her, Ralph.. We may not have those sorts of feelings for each other since I'm a kid, but she might. She could make you so happy in a way that I just can't. Especially since she's so pretty.. Really, what could make you happier than two of me? I guess it is a little weird that I asked though..
"I got one!" Vannie yelled from across the room as a mentos finally fell into the diet cola, making it erupt magnificently for a moment before calming back down. I wonder if he remembered anything..
Ralph and the younger Vanellope looked over to her with a smile. "So you wanna try your game or not?" Ralph asked plainly. Hopefully this will work. I don't want her to keep getting upset..
"Yes!" Vanellope said happily. Let's pretend that conversation never happened, I guess.
Vannie ran over to them, having accomplished her mission of making a mentos fall to see what would happen. "So did you remember anything?" she asked curiously. I hope so. I want you to remember her..
"Unfortunately not," Ralph said, clearing his throat before he continued, "We were just about to see if we could get to her game yet, would you like to come?" Great, now the kid planted the idea in my head..
"I'd love to!" Vannie said excitedly, "It was so boring earlier, there wasn't even anyone around so we decided to come back." That Alex guy doesn't really count, he was just doing his job.
"So that's when you saw Ralphie, right?" Vanellope asked, still on Ralph's shoulder.
"Right," Vannie said with a smile. You look like you're having fun up there..
"Oh wait, I'm not going dressed like this. I'd be a laughing stock," Ralph said insistently, suddenly realizing he was still wearing that silly purple suit. My clothes had better be ready too.
Vanellope sighed. I was hoping he wouldn't notice. It's one of life's greatest joys, watching him react to embarrassing circumstances.
They decided to take a quick detour back to the castle to retrieve Ralph's normal outfit. Or rather he decided for them.
Author's Note: In my mind, Ralph is the type of person who just wouldn't immediately think about wanting to go out with a girl just because she's beautiful and has an attractive personality. He needed a nudge to get him started sooner.