Author's Note: The "Hoo hoo, big summer blowout" scene has been removed because it wouldn't really fit into the setting of Litwak's Family Fun Centre. I've done something different with this chapter, and I hope you still like it! :)

Chapter Seven: Cy-Bugs!

Ralph woke with a jerk; a sudden chill had ripped him out of his dreams. Something sharp poked his back, and the stars above him shifted around in his blurry, tired vision.

Wait a minute – our game never has stars in the sky!

Ralph sat up straight. The bricks that made up his bed were coated in a layer of frost. The stars swirled down and a few flew into his face.

No, they weren't stars, he realised. They were snowflakes.

Ralph clambered off the pile and onto the grass – or what used to be grass. His bare feet sank into a fresh layer of cold, wet snow. "Ah!" he yelped, sitting down on the trash pile again.

This was Felix's work. It had to be. Goose pimples rose on his arms as he realised what had happened.

The lights were on in the penthouse on top of the Niceland apartment complex. I could use some of that warmth, Ralph thought. He sighed; his breath clouded like cigarette smoke, then floated away. Resolute, he stood and strode out towards the apartment block.

"Gah!"

Stupid snow. He shook the ice crystals off his foot, took a deep breath and continued. His walk became more of a hop as the coldness caught him with each step. "Eep! Yikes! Ooh! Cold! So cold!"

When he finally reached the apartment block, his toes were turning blue. There was no time to lose. He climbed up the side, slid across to the balcony and burst through the doors.

An easel clattered to the floor. The Nicelanders gasped and Gene leapt back. "Ralph!"

"Sorry."

Ralph tried to stand the easel up, with little success. Finally Gene grabbed it and dumped it in a corner. "The easel's not important," he snapped.

"Have you seen the snow?" Ralph asked.

"Is Pope-Man a Catholic video game?" Deanna flung back.

"We don't know what to do." Mary started pacing in a stilted, 8-bit fashion. "The winter is spreading. Every game must have it now. And look at the screen."

Ralph spun round. The long, rectangular window to the real world didn't look any different . . . apart from the spikes around the edge. "Are those icicles?"

"Yes, but they're not in the game."

As Gene spoke, water trickled down from a particularly long icicle. Instead of dripping into Niceland, it vanished over the edge of the screen.

"The magic is out of control, Ralph. If Mr Litwak comes back to this-"

Panicked voices filled the room.

"What if the games break?"

"We'll be put out of order!"

"They're gonna pull our plug!"

"We're doomed!"

Nicelanders screamed and ran around in circles.

"Okay, guys, calm down," Ralph spoke above the noise. "Nothing's going to happen, because I'm going to find Felix and make things right."

The screams dulled to confused murmurs.

"How are you going to find him in a big game like Sugar Rush?" Don asked.

Ralph opened his mouth, but then closed it again. A light bulb flickered above his head – and an idea came to him.

"I'll get a better view from the air," he announced. "So if I go to Hero's Duty and explain everything to Sergeant Calhoun, maybe she'll let me borrow a space pod."

"You can't fly a space pod, can you?" asked Norwood.

"I've crashed one before," Ralph admitted, "but this time I'll be more careful. You guys just wait here, and the snow will be gone faster than you can say, 'I can fix it'."

The Nicelanders were silent. Gene was peering at Ralph with a scowl. "What?" Ralph snapped.

"Nothing," Gene replied quickly. "Your plan . . . could work, I guess. Just bring Felix back soon so we can sort this out."

. . .

Hero's Duty had never been a pleasant game to visit. It was always night-time, the sky cloaked in menacing ash-filled clouds and peppered with flashes of light. There was never any peace and quiet – ominous explosions echoed in the distance, and the constant buzzing of insects filled the air. The darkness told all game-jumpers to stay away. If you didn't keep your wits about you, you could end up getting whacked in the head by flying debris (or an angry Sergeant) or even eaten by a Cy-Bug.

Now, though, it was even more vicious. Sharp edges in the twisted ground pierced the white blanket. Snowflakes collected ash as they flew on the wild wind, clouding the game in a grey and foul-smelling fog. Ralph navigated his way along the wire mesh platform, constantly turning his head, keeping an eye out for those pesky Cy-Bugs. When he finally spotted Calhoun, she was at the base of the ninety-nine-storey caustic tower, shaking a small sensor. "Frozen-water-filled nightmare," she muttered to it as Ralph approached.

"Hey, Sarge."

Calhoun jumped, dropping the device. "Wreck-It! What are you doing here?"

"I need to borrow one of your space pods."

"Negatory," was her immediate answer.

"Does that mean 'maybe'?"

"NO!" she barked. "I can't just fly you to the Moon or whatever, I've got a glitching game to keep an eye on."

"Okay, let me rephrase that. Felix has created a magical winter in every game and now he's run off to somewhere in Sugar Rush. I have to go and find him to bring back summer. Now take me to your space pods." Ralph straightened up, trying to look tough. "Please," he added.

Calhoun squinted at the blizzard, lips tight. "Fine. Kohut can keep watch while I'm gone."

Ralph pulled a face. "You're coming with me?" He quickly smiled. "I mean, uh, thanks! Now for the long climb to the top."

"There's a quicker way." Calhoun led Ralph around the back of the tower. A glass elevator sat among a mass of black pipes. After checking the maximum weight restrictions (which Ralph found rather insulting), Calhoun pulled him inside and pressed a button. The doors closed. They were off!

"This is actually pretty cool," Ralph breathed. "There's a spectacular view, and you don't run into any Cy-Bugs . . . why don't you just take the players up here?"

"Because that would be cheating."

"Oh. Right."

There was a pause.

"So what's up with Fix-It?" Calhoun asked. "Why'd he go AWOL?"

Ralph gripped the metal rail. The elevator sure was fast. "It was my fault, I guess. I asked someone out and he freaked because I'd only just met her – like, that day. I pointed out that it was no different to him and you, but he didn't like that-"

"Wait, you asked out a woman you just met?"

"Yep. Anyway, I got mad and he got mad and he tried to walk away, so I grabbed his arm and his glove came off-"

"Slow down, Usain Bolt. You're telling me you're dating a woman you just met?!"

"Yes! Pay attention!" Ralph rolled his eyes. "Thing is, he wore gloves all the time, so I just assumed it was what all construction workers did. I never thought it was because he had something to hide."

"Didn't anyone programme some lessons about stranger danger into your brain?"

Ralph moved away from Calhoun. "They did, actually. But the Sorceress is not a stranger."

"Oh, really? What's her real name?"

"Her creators didn't bother giving her one."

"Favourite food?"

"Um . . . chocolate? Women like chocolate."

"Not me. Best friend's name?"

"Probably Daisy."

"Eye colour?"

"Beautiful. And red."

"Shoe size?"

"That doesn't matter."

Calhoun folded her arms. "You ought to have a meal with her at least. You could hate the way she slurps her spaghetti. She might even pick her nose."

Ralph shook his head. "I don't think so. Her sisters are princesses."

"Lots of world leaders pick their noses. General Hologram does it." Calhoun leaned forward, the way a teenager with a juicy piece of gossip might do so. "He eats his own boogers, too."

Ralph glanced at Calhoun's hands. "I wouldn't care even if she did pick her nose. It's love."

"I don't think so."

"How would you know? You haven't seen her."

Just then the elevator stopped at the ninety-ninth floor. A sea of eggs surrounded a chamber at the centre of the darkened room. The golden Medal of Heroes floated inside. "Now this takes me back," said Ralph.

Calhoun ignored him, beginning to edge her way along the wall. Ralph followed her, doing the most careful tip-toe steps he could do. "Nice eggs," he whispered. "Good eggs. Don't hatch in our faces, now."

"Please don't talk to the eggs," Calhoun hissed like a martyred schoolteacher. "It doesn't help them in any way."

She stopped suddenly, making Ralph tread on her heel. She glared at him and then stepped into a pod, wrapping a harness around him. They were both locked in place as the doors slammed shut.

"Escape pod activated," announced a deep female voice.

The engine fired and then – BOOM! The pod burst out of the building.

At first it shot straight up into the sky, but Calhoun steered it down, the headlights punching through the blizzard towards the tunnel to Game Central Station. "Sugar Rush, here we come!" Ralph cried.

But at the last second, the pod lurched to the left, missing the tunnel completely.

"Whoa, what was that for?"

Ralph's question was answered by the rapid beeping of the radar machine and the red dots appearing on it.

"Not again," Calhoun groaned. She pushed open the pod's top hatch. "I've got this." She stood up, gun in hand. Bright eyes darted towards her. "Keep the pod flying and try not to crash."

Ralph grabbed the steering wheel. His hands were shaking, and the pod weaved to and fro.

"Straighten up!" Calhoun bellowed.

"Uh, maybe you should steer while I take care of the Cy-Bugs," Ralph yelled back.

"Or maybe I shouldn't."

"Why not?"

"Because since you started dating someone you just met, I don't trust your judgement."

Ralph muttered, "Says the woman who didn't even do a perimeter check on her own wedding day."

He didn't think she heard.

But she did.

That was when the hail of bullets rained down on the creatures. Calhoun's gun blazed through the blizzard. Each target exploded in a shower of green goo, and each explosion rekindled the fire in her eyes.

Ralph swerved and crashed into a massive Cy-Bug. Shrapnel and glass clattered against the windscreen. "We need to get a beacon or something," he called.

"Yeah, but it takes a while to heat up. Just keep moving."

The pod dived under a bridge. Calhoun ducked, almost dropping her gun. "Hey, you could've knocked me out there!"

"But I didn't."

Ralph was faced with a terrifying sight. Behind him, the Cy-Bugs were closing in on the pod. In front of him, a fresh swarm was waiting. The insects had razor-sharp pincers and thrashing metal teeth. Their screeches scraped Ralph's ears. If one of them got to him. . .

"Cease fire! Cease fire!"

A bright blue light shot through the building. At once the Cy-Bugs were charmed by it. They flew together to be zapped into oblivion.

"Beacon up!" Ralph cheered.

Calhoun swung back into the driver's seat, kicking Ralph aside, and accelerated into the tunnel. The pod spiralled like an out-of-control bottle rocket, bouncing off the walls. It raced through Game Central Station and barrelled down another cable. Familiar pink clouds came into view.

Safely in Sugar Rush, Calhoun turned to face Ralph. "That comment you made about my wedding day?"

"Yeah?"

She clocked him with the butt of her gun. Her eyes were hard as steel. "Don't ever say anything like that again."

"No, sir. I mean, ma'am."

. . .

Vanellope and the other Sugar Rush avatars were in the ballroom, huddled in a circle around Candlehead. The heat from the flame on her hat was welcomed by her fellow racers. They held their hands out to her and shivered.

"I'm popular," Candlehead beamed.

"They only like you because you've got a candle," Taffyta grumbled.

A triangular metallic flying thing zoomed past the window and parked up in the courtyard. Ralph leapt out as Vanellope burst through the doors, followed by her fellow racers. "Hi, guys," said Ralph. "Everything good here?"

"You mean besides the fact that we're completely frozen?" Vanellope sneered.

"Well, I'm going to change that." Ralph picked up the President by her hood. "You know the layout of Sugar Rush, right?"

"I run the place, gadoi!"

"Then you can show us around." Ralph seated her in the pod. "We're looking for Felix so he can thaw the arcade."

"Okay, but . . . are you sure he can actually do that?" Vanellope stared at Ralph with big hazel eyes.

Ralph hesitated. "Yeah . . . I hope so. Now come on."

The other racers watched with confused expressions on their faces. "Sour Bill's in charge!" Vanellope called as the pod flew into the sunlight.

The racers groaned.