((This chapter explains further details of the 'special race' King Candy mentioned a couple of chapters back.))

Chapter 12

Swizzle, tied up in licorice rope, was taken inside the throne room by Jubileena and three of the recolor racers. He can hear the Oreo guards chanting outside, marching about and letting no one else enter since it was their duty to protect King Candy.

"Can you lovely ladies please untie me now?" Swizzle asked, trying play up his charms. He pretends to look in pain. "I promise there are enough kisses from The Swizz for everyone if you let me go~"

"Nice try, Swizzle," Jubileena grinned, rolling her eyes.

He sighed in defeat and looked around the interior of the throne room, noticing it has the same shade of pink like the rest of the castle rooms.

A young kids waited for a few moments, until a white go-kart drove out from a tunnel on the side and circled around them a couple of times before it backed up into the throne, which was also a parking spot.

"Woo-hoo-hoo! Hellooo girls!" King Candy greeted them with enthusiasm. He removed his racing gloves and helmet, and then leaped out from his kart.

"And gentleman," he added as he approached them. He smiled when he saw Swizzle all tied up and brought before him. "You young ladies did a wonderful job bringing back our prodigal son!"

"Prodigal son?!" Swizzle sputtered. "You posted up wanted posters and sent cops after me! You even got your sour butler to steal my kart, which I want it back now!"

"Hush, my boy, we don't shout in front of ladies," King Candy scolded him lightly. The female racers giggled.

Sour Bill entered the room, having difficulty carrying a huge chest under his small size. He sets the chest down beside King Candy and gasped for air. He saw Swizzle giving him the stink-eye but he ignored him

"Ah, the reward! Thank you, Sour Bill," King Candy said. He opens the chest and withdraws a few golden coins. "So, which one of you is the one who found Swizzle?"

"Me! Me!" Jubileena bounced. "I found him first!"

"But all of us caught him!" Torvald protested.

"We raced to get Swizzle, so one of us should get the reward and we can use the money to enter the roster race," Nougetsia told King Candy.

"That's what your rules said, right?" Sticky asked nervously. "We can earn a coin if we win a race, so that's what we sorta did."

"What are you guys talking about?" Swizzle demanded, confused about their discussion. "Why in lemonhead's name would you go extra length to race to capture me... for just a few coins? You guys are already loaded!"

"We WERE about a half an hour ago," Jubileena explained. "We found out that all our coin chests were suddenly empty, so all four of us were locked out of the races. But not anymore, we were lucky!"

"Wait, so it happened to you too?" Swizzle asked in surprise. "Now you realized how I felt back then!"

"Unlike you, Whizzle Baloney," Jubileena said, "I don't hang out with glitches."

King Candy's eyes went wide when he heard that. "Glitch? Don't be silly! We don't hang out with glitches!"

"Well, he did." Jubileena pointed an accusing finger at Swizzle. "He told us to stay away from Vanellope!"

"Swizzle, is this true?" King Candy demanded. He began to look angry again so Swizzle has to think up of a something.

"Only because I wanted to mess with Vanellope around all to myself!" he lied. "Come on, do you actually think The Swizz would be friends with a glitch? I'd rather eat my hat or burn my kart rather than to hang out with someone who isn't a good racer like me!"

Jubileena and the recolors exchanged glances, shocked at what he said, but Swizzle is confident to know they swallow the lie. King Candy seems to buy it too, when he asked the girls to untie Swizzle.

"Since all of you found and brought back Swizzle, that makes you all winners!" King Candy smiled. "Four gold coins each, hoo hoo! That should split the reward good enough, right?"

Nobody argued with him. The girls take their reward and skipped off happily, leaving Swizzle alone with the eccentric confectionery king. Swizzle and King Candy stare at each other in uncomfortable silence.

King Candy cleared his throat, "I suppose you're wondering why I want you here."

"I already know why," Swizzle said, "you want to lock me up in the Fungeon."

To his surprise, the king burst out into laughter.

"Why would I wanna do that?" he asked. "Just for breaking a couple of rules?"

"You were angry at me last time because I snuck out of Sugar Rush," he reminded him. "It wasn't like I was game-jumping back then, I only snuck out to draw graffiti on the walls..."

"What are you saying here? You actually game-jumped?! Didn't I say it was too dangerous to leave the game?" King Candy said in horror. His face suddenly darken, eyeing him suspiciously. "You're not going Turbo, are you, Swizzle?"

"Turbo? No, I'm not going Turbo-or whatever you're talking about!" Swizzle replied hastily. "I just wanted to see what the outside world is like. It's not even dangerous! Sure, I almost got arrested by Surge Protector..."

"Swizzle, did you learn anything interesting from your little trip?" King Candy leaned so close to him, looking so scary which made Swizzle temporarily forgot about his visit to Tapper and him mentioning a "princess" from Sugar Rush.

"W-well, other than seeing new people, I didn't see or hear anything rather unusual," he said.

King Candy seemed satisfied with this answer and he reverted back to his jolly behavior. He straightened his bow tie before paces back and forth in the throne room.

"Listen, I want to apologize for my outrageous behavior towards you," he said. "... I overreacted."

Swizzle's mouth dropped. Is this guy for real?!

King Candy continued, "I was wrong to deny you your right and love for racing when I said you couldn't participate in future roster races. I was genuinely ashamed but I acted immaturely."

He stopped pacing and gave the young a racer a huge smile. "That is why I wanted to invite you to participate in the Platinum Roster Race to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Sugar Rush!"

"... What?"

"In three days after today, I will be holding a special event where all racers are invited to play, free of any fee, and win the Platinum Cup- The most prestigous cup of the entire game!" King Candy smiled. "There will be a huge party after the race, and the winner of cup gets to be on the roster list for three days in a row!"

Swizzle couldn't believe what he was hearing. A special race to celebrate Sugar Rush's 15th anniversary, a party will be thrown for the winner who would receive the highest ranked cup and be on the roster list for a few days. It's like the biggest dream becoming a reality! He can see himself now: winning the cup and being congratulated by the other racers, getting smothered in kisses by his fangirls, Taffyta crying in misery, and Vanellope beaming up to him in pride... He can finally get the fame and glory he always wanted.

King Candy noticed Swizzle's blissful expression and he patted his shoulder.

"Since you've been treated so unfairly and harshly, I think it should be right for you to win the Platinum Cup," he said gently. "Think about it! The Swizz, who has been an unlucky racer, makes an epic comeback and proves to everyone who mocked him and thought he was all wash-out! You are a fearless, talented young man who won't hesitate to pursue whatever burns his soul. You even remind me of myself sometimes..." King Candy trailed off, chuckling to himself.

Swizzle swallowed all these compliments; King Candy actually wants him to win the anniversary roster race! However, his smile dropped when he remembered something.

"But, Your Candyness," he began, "as much I really want to attend this free and super special race and make you proud... what if I get didn't win the cup, or if I made it to last place again? My kart always get knocked out no matter how great a racer I am."

"Well, then," King Candy grinned. "It looks like you're going to make yourself a better, faster vehicle at the Kart Bakery!"

Sour Bill handed his king a bag full of coins, who then gives it to Swizzle. The boy look as though he was going to either faint or jump with joy.

"There's enough money in there to pay for a single kart," King Candy told him. "I heard that you've been winning parts from mini-games, so you're allowed to add them to upgrade your new kart~"

Swizzle froze. King Candy knows about him visiting mini-games; he wondered if he also knows about him helping out Vanellope to win the engine and the wheels. Then again, neither Cobb the farmer not the gingerbread bouncer from The Wheelhouse Club seemed to recognize her, and King Candy didn't seem to know about this.

"... So, I'll come to see you once your kart is finished," King Candy added. "However, you still can't enter the roster races before the anniversary date, since you still don't have any gold coins. But I'll tell you this, Swizzle Malarkey: If you can win or finish the race, your code will registered and permanently locked into contestant board. That means, you will no longer pay any future fee to enter more races. You just show up to the starting line where the board can recognize you, and you can still participate in future races no matter how many losses you get."

Then he gave the racer a concerned and serious look. "But it is important that you must show up on the day of the 15th anniversary race, if you want that to happen. If you fail to come, then you are forever locked out of the Random Roster Races until the next Platinum Cup event."

King Candy hoped his words can get into the boy's head. He has been working and hacking in the code room to make this event race to work. He even hacked a gold coin to change its color and metal to become platinum and he plans to hand them out to the racers on the anniversary. It can recognize a racer's code by touch and it will allow them enter the race and get their name up in the contestant board.

He's super confident that Vanellope won't be able to enter the race even if she gets her hands on a platinum coin because the hacked coin only recognize someone who won a race before, and the glitch has never set her foot nor kart (programmer's forbid!) in a racetrack before.

King Candy holds out a hand for Swizzle to shake. "So, do you want to take up on my offer, Swizzle?" he asked.

Swizzle gave him a grin and shake his hand. "No need to say another word!"

However, unbeknownst to the king, Swizzle is planning to bake a kart... but not for himself. He's still planning to win the Platinum Cup with his kart, but he also made a promise to a friend.

Meanwhile, Vanellope finally found a way inside the castle grounds by crawling through a hole under the gates. She made her way to the back door and sneaked past a couple of Oreo guards marching nearby.

She hurriedly silently down the hall, trying to find the location to the Fungeon where Swizzle might be locked up.

"Okay, Vanellope," she muttered to herself, trying to boost some confidence. "Just find Swizzle and get out of here before..."

She heard voices approaching and recognized Taffyta and her posse. Rather than staying around and getting herself caught by Taffyta of all people, she turned a corner... only to crash into her.

"YOU?!" Taffyta hissed with disgust while Rancis and Candlehead behind her gasp in unison. "Someone should remind you that glitches are not welcomed here, Vanellope."

((Uh-oh, looks like Vanellope got herself in a pickle! Can she escape and find Swizzle in time?))