Author's Note: We're nearly at the end now! Thank you to everyone who's left a review, or favourited or followed this story. It makes me happy knowing that people like reading what I write. :D

Chapter Thirteen: Worth Freezing For

Felix was tired of waiting. How long had it been since Wynnchel and Duncan left? It felt like hours. The storm raged on, devastating Sugar Rush. As Felix watched, his shackles froze even more – and cracked apart.

Felix's pleasant surprise was short-lived as he heard a woman talking outside his door. She had a British accent.

"We're going to stop him. Move quickly before he can attack."

Silence. Then jangling. Then the voices of the Doughnut Police.

"Oh, which key is it?"

"You knew it a minute ago."

Felix had to get out. He grabbed the first thing to hand – his hammer – and hit the window bars. They fortified, stronger.

"Why do I keep doing that?" Felix scolded himself under his breath. "Ralph would have-"

An idea formed in his mind. A block of ice shaped like a fist formed on his hand. "I'm gonna wreck it!" Felix growled in his best imitation of Ralph.

The fist crashed through the wall. . .

. . . just as a key slipped in the lock. The Sorceress, Wynnchel and Duncan entered to find the back wall blown open and broken shackles resting on the floor.

Felix was nowhere to be seen.

. . .

Ice overtook the ceiling. Ralph heard it, but didn't look up. He could barely move. He had no strength left. It wasn't just because of the deep red liquid on his finger, or the inescapable ice in his heart. It was because of the shame of what he'd caused.

The Sorceress was right; he had been naïve. He had somehow assumed that because he still had some goodness in him, then the Sorceress would as well. But no, she was all bad. He had let himself fall into her trap. And when he tried to introduce her to Felix, it had helped to release a dangerous magic that would now be Felix's downfall.

Ralph felt weighed down by sadness and guilt.

Sadness because he was going to die.

Guilt because his brother was going to die.

The door handle jiggled, stopped, and then jiggled again.

"Who's there?" Ralph asked, in a voice that was only just audible.

Click!

The door swung open, an ice cream cone in the lock. "Success," Vanellsa smiled, putting the cone back on her face. Her joy disappeared when she saw Ralph lying on the floor with all-white hair. Without another word, she ran to the fireplace, threw on some fresh wood, struck a match and relit the fire. The flames grew until they were taller than her.

The orange light and its heat were comforting to Ralph, but a part of his brain was trying to warn him of something important. Then he realised.

"Vanellsa, get away from there."

"So this is what being hot feels like." Vanellsa held her hands out. "It's so beautiful." A flame spat and singed her nose. She yelped and backed off, but only slightly. "Don't touch that," she told Ralph.

"Wasn't going to." Ralph shifted himself into a more comfortable sitting position. He wiped his finger on his jacket; it seemed to have stopped bleeding now.

"You took your sweet time kissing her. That's why they sent me up. So, where's the Sorceress?" asked Vanellsa, wiping a bead of water from her forehead. "Did it work?"

Ralph shook his head. "I was wrong about her. She's not my true love. In fact, she's evil."

"Oh, you can't kiss someone who's evil." Vanellsa leaned back against the sofa, head in her hands. "We'll just have to think of some other act of true love." She looked to Ralph. "Any ideas?"

"I can't think straight. Everything's-" He spotted a large chunk of snow plop off Vanellsa's cheek. "Look, you can't stay here. You're melting."

Vanellsa pushed the snow back in place. "Some people are worth melting for."

The sweet moment was rudely interrupted by one of the windows bursting open. Cold wind blew in.

"I got it!" Vanellsa pushed it shut again and stood leaning against it just in case. "Who else do you love?"

"Huh?"

"There's more to love besides romance. It might be love for friends or family as well as a girlfriend or boyfriend. Basically, love is putting someone else's needs before your own, like giving your favourite chocolate bar to your little sister, or letting your best friend win the Random Roster Race."

Ralph blinked. "Where did that come from?"

"I like to consider myself a love expert." She smiled knowingly.

"Listen, we don't have much time. We can't just sit around looking for someone to love when – when-" Ralph scrambled to his feet without finishing his sentence.

"When what?"

"The Sorceress." Ralph's eyes were wild. "She's gonna kill Felix!"

"What? Why?"

"There's no time for 'why!' Only for 'do!'"

Ralph ran and picked up Vanellsa . . .

. . . but something blocked his path to the door. Ice spikes suddenly swept across the walls and the floor, trapping Ralph and Vanellsa in a semicircle around the windows. The door slammed and froze over. The windows were also locked shut by frost.

"We're trapped!" Vanellsa wailed.

"No, we're not." Ralph put Vanellsa down and clenched his fists.

"What are you gonna do?"

"What I always do . . . I'M GONNA WRECK IT!" Ralph bellowed.

With one swing, the glass shattered into millions of tiny pieces. Ralph stepped out onto a thin, thin ledge. Vanellsa followed in awe.

"Are you okay with going down here?" Ralph asked, pointing to a snow-covered slope.

"Well, unless you've got a hovercraft hidden in the fat folds of your neck, we don't have any other choice."

Ralph rolled his eyes. "You're as sassy as Vanellope. Now come on."

He jumped down onto his stomach and began to slide. Vanellsa leapt on his back and held on tight, whooping when they picked up speed. The slope ended with ice curving upwards, propelling Ralph and Vanellsa into the sky.

Crunch!

Ralph crash-landed on top of the space pod. For a moment he was stunned, and then he climbed off.

"Are you all right?" Vanellope asked, who had glitched out of the way with Calhoun.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Ralph insisted.

"Thanks for wrecking our only mode of transport!" Calhoun snapped. "Good job. Very thorough."

Ralph took in the mangled mess. "Whoops." He spun around. "Hey, where's Vanellsa?"

"Up here! I've been impaled."

Sure enough, Vanellsa was dangling in a tall black pike. She pulled herself up and over, and slid down as if it were a fireman's pole. "Did you guys see the Sorceress leave?"

"No, we thought she was with Ralph," Calhoun replied. "Why? What's going on?"

"She didn't kiss Ralph because she's evil and now she's gonna kill Felix!" Vanellsa almost shouted. "Keep up! We have to stop her!"

"And we're gonna have to do it on foot," Calhoun grumbled.

"I don't care how we do it as long as we do it!" said Ralph.

He ran for the exit with one goal.

. . .

If you went to Game Central Station during that storm, you would not be able to navigate, what with the snow in your face and the wind pushing you in all directions. And neither could Ralph. He moved blindly through the blizzard, always looking for Felix.

His fingers were stiff; they were already starting to freeze over. He gritted his teeth. "Not now," he whispered.

Ralph stumbled on, determined not to fail. But it was clear that he was running out of time. He lost most of the colour in his vision, seeing only whites and blues. The ringing in his ears worsened as the wind picked up. The pain in his heart increased until it felt like it was being sliced in half.

He didn't have long left.

"Felix," Ralph called. "Felix!"

. . .

Felix was outside the entrance to Sugar Rush. He ran further into the station, but nothing was any clearer. "Ralph?" he yelled. The wind carried his voice away. He wished he could somehow pull himself together, but fear was consuming him. Only finding Ralph would end this.

A dark shadow approached. The Sorceress had caught up.

"Felix," she warned, "you can't run away from the damage you've caused."

Felix faced her. "I know," he said. "I'm sorry." He backed away, scanning the storm. "Ralph!" he yelled again.

"You want Ralph?" the Sorceress sneered. "I've seen him."

Felix gasped. "You have? Where?"

"He came to my game saying you froze his heart."

Felix frowned. When had he . . .? Oh.

"He was weak and cold," the Sorceress continued, taunting him. "His skin was icy. His hair turned white."

Felix turned and took a few steps away. She was lying. She had to be. Ralph was out here. He'd find him any second now.

"Ralph is dead because of you!"

The world stopped. Snowflakes halted in mid-air, trapped by emotion. They couldn't move, and neither could Felix.

. . .

Ralph was still barely able to walk, but at least now he wasn't blind. Sunlight streamed through, illuminating a familiar small figure.

"Felix!" Ralph pressed on.

But behind Felix, a blue-haired woman pulled her trident back, ready to strike.

Using all the strength he had, Ralph charged towards them – and just as the Sorceress was about to stab his brother in the back, he threw himself in front of Felix.

"NO!"

In that instant, something changed inside Ralph. His heart ceased its beating. His chest stiffened, then his stomach, then his legs, then his arms. There was no pain anymore, but Ralph still felt three pokes as the trident hit him. It broke with a cracking sound (although it sounded like it came from another world). The shockwaves sent the Sorceress flying back and knocked her out.

Death came quickly. The last thing Ralph was aware of was a bright white light, and then a feeling of relief that Felix was safe.

And then nothing.