((Finally updated! I hit a snag for this chapter, but I think everything worked out fine. Hopefully. By the way, while Ralph, Felix and Calhoun do make appearances in this story, they won't play a big roles here and they'll only serve to be witnesses and bystanders of any incidents. Sorry, if I made it seem like they'll be included in Vanny and Swizz's gang, but by this point, the story is almost coming to the climax and it might seem out of place if I make Ralph and the others come in and meet with Vanellope.

BTW, this chapter further develops the growing romance between Swizzle and Vanellope.))

Chapter 24

"Wooow! You live inside here, Vanellope?" Jubileena's voice echoed inside the mountain. She, Minty, and Adorabeezle impressed to enter through a secret opening to inside of Diet Cola, and they were staring at the unfinished track, the Mentos stalactites and the bubbling lava with awe.

The girls had managed to tow Vanellope's kart inside the volcano since the diet cola lava and the ceiling emit enough light for everyone to work on Whipper Snapper. Swizzle went somewhere to get a can of pancake syrup that would help refill the fuel tank but he promised he will return soon.

"Yup! My home for fifteen years ever since I discovered that secret entrance," Vanellope replied. She wanted to show them the falling Mentos trick, but decided to delay it later since she has a kart that needs to be fixed immediately.

"This place seemed really dangerous. And dirty..." Adorabeezle's voice trailed off and she looked at her feet with renewed remorse.

Minty cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "We can enjoy the sights of a hidden track later but we got more important things to focus on."

Vanellope, at first, cautiously allowed Minty and her friends come near her kart since they almost destroyed it last time they might. However, she trusted them soon enough when she saw how good they are working and cooperating alongside with her. The best part is now that they know their ruler is corrupt and a fraud, they are now on friendly terms with Vanellope; they are also now swapping jokes, stories, and racing tricks with each other, as well as their secret hobbies and fears (Vanellope learns that Adorabeezle loves skiing, and Minty is afraid of unicorns). It was like they've been friends for a long time, but Vanellope was saddened that she couldn't remember any memories of her past relationship with the girls, the other racers, and Swizzle. All thanks to Turbo...

The girls had admitted to Vanellope that they are not as handy with tools like Swizzle (since most of their karts were fixed and taken care of by castle mechanics), but they were willing to put together the kart's body using what tools they can put their hands on and some taffy glue. By the time Swizzle finally returned with a full fuel can, the Whipper Snapper looked almost the same before it was smashed, except for some cracks and tiny missing spots that couldn't be fixed properly.

"Wow, you girls did an amazing!" Swizzle complimented them.

"What took you so long, Swizz-Cheese?" Vanellope asked. "We were having the time of our life!"

"Hey, no one else was supposed to know that I escaped from the Fungeon," Swizzle said as he fill up the Whipper Snapper's gas tank with the sweetest pancake syrup fuel. "I even had trouble getting this fuel while trying not get caught. Cut me some slack."

After he's done, he picks up the engine, his eyebrows furrow in concentration. "I'll get this fixed before the race begins, Vanellope," he told her. He rolled up the sleeves of his jacket and began tinkering away.

"Why don't you guys get another engine block?" Adorabeezle asked. "I mean, the Maize Maze even gives out free engines for winning the mini-game. There's even the engine ranch nearby."

"Last time Swizzle and I went there, I was in disguise," Vanellope replied. "Besides, I don't want to risk getting caught before the race and it's too dark to go through a maze, anyway. Plus... This is my first engine I'm not thinking or replacing it any sooner."

"You always seemed like the sentimental type," Minty said, rolling her eyes. "Since we can't do anything else much here, we might as well get going."

"Aww, already?! But I wanted to spend more time with Vanny and continue exploring Diet Cola Mountain!" Jubileena whined. Vanellope could feel her heart melt as soon she heard Jubileena speaking her nickname in affectionate way.

"Minty's right," Vanellope spoke up. "You guys need to save some energy for the anniversary race tomorrow."

Jubileena crossed her arms and made a cute, angry pout. "Besides, I don't see why we can't just expose King Candy- I mean, Turbo in front of everyone before the race and say that he's a big meanie. It'll save us a lot of trouble."

"Because nobody will listen us," Vanellope told her. "Besides, half of the other racers still believe I'm a bad glitch and Turbo got almost the entire game wrapped under his finger. He'll probably have the donut police arrest us and have us thrown into the Fungeon. Before we stop him, I need to cross the finish line and reset the game."

"If the game gets reset," Adorabeezle asked slowly, "does that mean we get a fresh start over, and lose any achievements and awards we earned all over the years?"

Vanellope rubbed her arm and nervously avoid her blue gaze. "It's a bitter gamble we have to risk, Beezle. But the good news is that we get our memories returned and I won't be a glitch anymore. Plus, the reset will wipe away any traces of Turbo's damages."

The girls looked each other with reluctant expressions. On one hand, they want to restore Vanellope's status and stop Turbo. On the other hand, they are not sure they're ready to wipe the slates clean and lose all those hard-earning achievements and points they worked for.

Minty finally spoke up after a long silence. "Eh, I can always go for better record now that I got the experience and skills."

"I'm gonna miss my A la Mode achievement," Adorabeezle sighed, but she was smiling.

"I won't! I didn't like being squashed by a giant ice cream at all, Beezle!" Jubileena pouted again.

Vanellope laughed, and she was soon followed by the Minty and Adorabeezle; even Swizzle joined in. The girls bid the two racers good-night as they leave Diet Cola Mountain. The dirty-haired girl walked over to Swizzle and stood above her, watching him work. He seemed to be making very little progress and his hands and face were dirty from the grime and oil.

"I think you should stop, Swizzle," she said in a low voice. "I think Adorabeezle's right... I think it's a wiser idea if we get another engine before the race."

"But, Vanellope," Swizzle stopped working and looked up to her. "We almost got ourselves burned to get this for you. Plus, it's special."

"Swizz, think about it," Vanellope argued. "My kart fell into a ravine and it probably got busted not just the fall but from the river as well."

The beanie-wearing racer sighed and put down the tools. He got up, with the engine in his hands, and walked over to the Whipper Snapper.

"Look, let's try getting to work one last time," he said. "If it still fails, then we'll head to the Maize Maze as soon there's sunlight."

Vanellope nodded in agreement and opened the hood. Swizzle placed the engine inside the kart and adjusted it to stay in place. Vanellope then hopped into her seat and started the kart. She and Swizzle expected the engine to remain dead as usual but to their amazement, the kart came to life and the engine purred.

"It finally worked!" Swizzle beamed. "I knew I can fix it thanks to my decent knowledge of mechanics!"

"Swizzle, you're a genius! A dirty, stinky genius!" Vanellope screamed with joy and jumped unto Swizzle, pulling him into a tight hug. Swizzle laughed but he was blushing the moment Vanellope hugged him.

"I should probably wash myself up, huh?"

Vanellope giggled and took his hand, and led him outside of the mountain to a small soda pond hidden behind a group of huge gumdrops. This is where Vanellope used to take baths where she won't be disturbed or ambushed by cops and other racers. As Swizzle crouch over to the pond and washed his arms and face, Vanellope gets a mischievous idea. She snuck behind him and shot her arms out. Swizzle screamed as he fell into the pond, his clothes now entirely drenched.

"That... That was a dirty trick, Vanellope!" Swizzle gasped for air as he got out of the pond, but he was grinning from ear to ear.

"You should know by now that I don't play nice and fair," she smirked.

Swizzle retaliated by splashing soda at her direction and Vanellope kept dodging them. After all the drama of Vanellope's heart getting broken and falling into ravine (and survived), and the two kids ending up in the Fungeon where they learned terrible truths about King Candy... the two young racers believe they deserve a lighthearted break and have fun, even if it's short-lived and they're not completely sure about tomorrow's events.

Suddenly, they heard a whistling sound followed by a small explosion. The two kids looked up to see fireworks shooting into the air at the distance. They were probably ordered by King Candy to be released at the beginning of the 15th Anniversary. Vanellope and Swizzle watched in awe as the sky is filled with colorful lights and crackling noises.

"It's beautiful," Vanellope whispered as she sat on a small gumdrop. Her eyes widened with wonder. "This is my first time seeing fireworks."

"Yeah, beautiful," Swizzle said, but he wasn't looking at the fireworks anymore.

Vanellope met his glance and she stared deeply into his face. She could feel his hand taking hers and she blushed at his touch, which she find rather silly since she had been holding it earlier... However, she sat in anxious silence as Swizzle's face began to inch towards her, making no attempts to stop him.

Without another word, the two slowly leaned closer to each other with their eyes closed, and then their lips met. After a good five seconds, Vanellope immediately pulled away from the kiss and she began to glitch madly. Her face was redder than Jubileena's hair.

"Wow!" she squeaked, cupping her face."That is so... weird! Is that what kissing feels like? I mean, this is my first kiss and I didn't expect it to be magical or something!"

"It's m-my first kiss, too," Swizzle admitted, looking shyly away from her.

Vanellope turned to him, her expression aghast. "You're kidding, right? You dated plenty of girls but you've never kissed before?!"

"Sh-shaddup!" Swizzle cried with embarrassment but Vanellope started laughing. However, she's still excited that she got her first kiss, even though she's not entirely a romantic person. She's became happier when she realizes that she no longer needs to hide her secret feelings anymore now that she and Swizzle kissed. One day, after we got rid of Turbo, she thought to herself. I WILL tell him how much I like him after I became a real racer again.

"You're a crazy butter-baby, Swizzle Malarkey!" she snorted, wiping away tears. "... But you're my crazy butter-baby."

Swizzle didn't say anything but he smiled; he could feel his cheeks burning and his heart pounding fast; He and Vanellope continued watching the fireworks before they turned in for the night. Tomorrow, the race will start three hours before the arcade opens, and it will be the biggest and longest day of their lives.

((Next chapter will definitely feature the race, and I hope I'm skilled enough to write the driving scenes. *sweatdrops* Stay tuned~))