Author's Note: Here it is, the last chapter! Thank you all again for your reviews and favourites and follows. I look forward to writing even more stories. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Fourteen: The Transformation

Vaguely aware of a commotion behind him, Felix turned. Someone nine feet tall stood with his back to Felix.

"Ralph? Is that you?" Felix ran around to the front.

It was Ralph. He stood leaning more on one leg than the other. His fists were clenched, ready for attack. But he didn't respond to Felix at all. His whole body shone in uncountable shades of blue.

"You're can't be. . ."

Felix hopped up and touched Ralph's face. It was angry – scowling eyebrows and bared teeth. The eyes were white instead of brown, marred by the shapes of snowflakes in the iris. It certainly looked like Ralph, but this was not how he was supposed to be.

"No," Felix pleaded. "No, please, no. . ."

Vanellope, Calhoun and Vanellsa approached. Vanellsa reached out for Ralph's leg, but shrank back at the last minute.

All Felix could do was hug his brother and cry.

Vanellope sniffed and wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her coat, glitching as she did so. Calhoun placed a hand on her shoulder, a useless but well-meaning gesture. Vanellsa bowed her head.

Game Central Station was silent except for Felix's weeping.

. . .

Among the never-ending darkness, a ball of fire glowed. It was hot without having the power to burn. It sizzled and spat out sparks, slowly heating his whole body. Senses returned one by one: first the feeling of a warm embrace, then the sound of sobbing, then the sight of a girl's face lighting up.

Ralph moved a hand around Felix.

"Huh?" Felix looked up to a face he knew well.

"Felix," said Ralph. "You're not dead!"

"Neither are you!" There were still tears in Felix's eyes, but born of happiness.

They embraced again, properly, equally, lovingly. Vanellope and Vanellsa rushed to join in, scrabbling up while squealing "Group hug!" Calhoun decided she didn't want to be left out either and put her arms around everyone else. They seemed to stay like this forever.

"You. . ." Felix swallowed as they all broke apart. "You risked your life for me?" he asked Ralph. "Even after I . . . hurt you?"

"Twice."

Felix gasped. "What? Who told you about the first time?"

"I found out by myself." Ralph shrugged. "It doesn't change anything. I still love you."

"Ha ha!" Vanellope cackled. "You love a boy!"

Calhoun hit the back of Vanellope's head. "Don't ruin the moment, sweetie pie."

Vanellsa realised something. She lifted her head off her body and exclaimed, "Hey, this must be the act of true love that thaws a frozen heart!"

"Love that thaws?" Felix jumped down, took back his cap from Vanellsa's head, and beamed at Ralph.

"What?"

"That's it." Felix spoke with new understanding. "True love thaws."

Felix lifted his arms, and the ground shook and cracked. Ice and snow broke away and rose high into the air. The coldness left with it, and warmth returned at last.

. . .

Outside, icicles shrank back into nothing. The skin of winter that had wrapped itself around Litwak's Family Fun Centre peeled away. Journalists gasped and cameras flashed. Every flake of snow and shard of ice was drawn into a giant snowflake in the sky, which disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only a cloudless summer day was left behind.

A battered old car pulled up beside the vans of various TV networks. A man with a bright orange tan climbed out. "What's the hubbub?" Mr Litwak asked a female newsreader.

"Sorry, sir, you just missed the show," she said, before hopping into a blue van and driving away.

Mr Litwak peeked inside the arcade; nothing seemed to be out of place. "Back to Brazil, then," he grumbled. He re-entered his car to compete with the news vans for a place in the traffic jam. If he was quick, he might catch the next flight.

. . .

Ralph patted Felix on the back. "I knew you could do it," he said.

Characters from every game rushed into Game Central Station whooping with joy. No-one seemed angry with or scared of Felix anymore. They were just glad to see summer come back.

"This is the best day of my life!" said Vanellsa. A puddle grew on the floor as she started to melt. Her face fell. "And quite possibly my last."

"Vanellsa! Hang on, kid." Felix waved his hand and surrounded Vanellsa with a tunnel of cold air. She refroze.

But more was happening. The whirlwind lifted her up and twirled her around. Tiny lights flickered around her. "What's with all the magic sparkles?!" she exclaimed.

Her body changed. Snow morphed into flesh and code, into fair skin and rosy cheeks. Her ice cream cone shrank to a button nose. Her blue Smarties grew to chibi-style eyes with pale blue irises. Her hair shone silver, decorated with white candies and pulled into a ponytail by a rope of blue liquorice.

As she was lowered again, Vanellsa observed her new appearance and new clothes. A light blue hoodie had formed on her body, along with a royal blue skirt in the style of two Reese's Cup wrappers. Her legs were now seated in mismatched leggings, striped with light blue and white, the left leg accented with dark "double stripes." Her new boots were royal blue with purple frosting squiggles on the soles.

She had become a recolour of Vanellope.

"I'm a real girl," she breathed. "I'm a real girl!" she said again, louder. "I'm-a-real-girl-I'm-a-real-girl-I'm-a-real-girl-I'm-a-real-girl!" She was so excited that she was skipping all over the place. "Now I can enjoy summer, and I can bake a kart, and I can learn to drive, and I can race with Vanellope, and I can-"

She stopped. The Sorceress was trying to stand up.

Calhoun stepped towards the Bad Guy and reached for her gun, but Ralph held a hand up to stop her. "I'll handle this," he declared. He marched over and pulled the Sorceress to her feet.

"Ralph?" she said, her gaze flicking between him and Felix. "This is impossible. He froze your heart."

Ralph grabbed her arm suddenly, forcing her to meet his eyes. "The only frozen heart around here is yours," he spat.

Ralph turned away from her, proud of his words – but not yet satisfied. He spun around and punched her in the face. She was knocked out again.

"You go, guy!" Zangief cheered.

The whole arcade joined in.