A/N: Hey guys! I'm loving that you're loving the story! And here is is, chapter 4. Enjoy, and feel free to leave a review or ask a question; I love reading 'em :).

The two of them retired to their shared bed, comfortably tucked against each other, had Tamora not heard the familiar sound of her communicator being alerted about an hour or so later.

Instantly, she was wide awake. With careful movements, so as not to disturb Felix, she slipped from the bed and hurried to where she'd left her duffel bag. She retrieved her communicator and glanced at the incoming transmission. A soldier appeared on the screen, reporting that suspicious noises were being heard coming from the tower. Naturally, this wasn't something she could ignore.

"Make sure everyone is suited and ready to roll out, Kohut," she told the soldier, speaking in a low voice. "We're going in as soon as I get back."

The transmission ended.

Knowing she needed to leave, Tamora headed back into the bedroom to say goodbye to her husband. She found it was best not to wake him, since he looked so peaceful. Thus, she pressed a soft kiss against his forehead and then headed out. This wasn't the first time she'd left early, and she knew that he would understand.

And with that, she left.

Something…wasn't right.

He'd started feeling it the night before, almost as soon as he returned to Niceland after the get-together at Tapper's. He hadn't made mention of it then, even though Vanellope ragged on him for continuously 'spacing out'. Still, Ralph made a valiant effort to ignore whatever it was that was happening to him. He figured a long nap would eliminate the problem, but he found himself sorely mistaken when he woke up and felt significantly worse than he had prior to resting.

There was a strange buzzing that occupied his head - almost like a constant stream of white noise. No matter how much he massaged his temples or squeezed the bridge of his nose, it wouldn't go away. It was there, lingering, getting progressively louder whenever he applied too much pressure to his skull.

Gosh, who was he kidding? It made him feel sick. Really sick. Like, the kind of sick that happened to kids when they were exposed to germs. But that wasn't possible, since he wasn't comprised of DNA or anything remotely "real". He was a character from a game; code was in his blood, not hemoglobin. This was a serious problem…

With a good half hour before the arcade opened, Ralph decided that he needed to talk to the one person who might have been able to help, or at least who might have known what to do. The giant bad guy stumbled out of his home and headed over to where Felix lived; his footsteps were uncoordinated and dizzy as he walked, causing him to stumble every so often. When he eventually arrived, he was surprised to see that he hadn't been the only one to think of visiting Felix.

Almost all of the Nicelanders were gathered in front of their favorite fixer's door. Thing is, none of them were bobbing about in their usual 8-bit ways. They were sluggish and fatigued, it seemed - just like he was. Amongst their nervous conversation there were occasional coughs and sniffles and just general "sick sounds" that made Ralph realize that they'd all contracted some kind of virus. Of all the rotten luck.

Since no one had taken the initiative - which wasn't surprising, considering how the Nicelanders tended to panic and not use their heads when they were upset - Ralph knocked on the door, causing a sharp silence to descend over the fussing crowd.

Inside the humble home, Felix was awoken by a loud knocking at his door.

It took him a moment to fully comprehend what he was hearing however, and with automatic movements he pushed himself into a sitting position. He blinked back blearily and reached up to rub at his eyes. Something felt… strange.

The small hero looked around in confusion for a moment, almost as if he were trying to make sense of his surroundings. Tamora was gone. That was the first thing he noticed, and it was then that he could vaguely recall what sounded like an alarm going off while they had both been sleeping. Then Tamora leaving.

Another thought occurred to him at that moment. What time was it? A surge of panic shot through him at the notion of him sleeping in too late. He had missed the arcade opening? It would seem that Tamora had already left for work, so it was quite the possibility. Almost instantly after that thought had entered his mind, did he throw the covers off of himself, grab his hat in one fluid motion and slip off of the bed and onto the floor.

A sudden wave of dizziness overcame him as soon as his feet touched the floor, and he automatically reached out to the bed for balance. "Oh my…" He brought a hand to his head to stop it from spinning and tried to shake himself out of it.

That rest had not helped…

Hearing the muffled murmurs through his door, he looked up towards it and tried to make that his main area of focus. Though as he walked towards it, he found himself to be slightly off balance. It was if the room was shifting under his feet, not to mention the incessant buzzing in his ear. He could feel the panic from before start to come to the surface again, though tried to push it back as he reached for the doorknob.

Turning it and pulling it back, he was more than a little surprised to see, not just one or two people there, but nearly everyone. He blinked back in shock at them for a moment, before forcing himself to be composed.

"Oh, hello everyone!" He greeted them with a grin, opening the door a little wider, not only to speak to them better, but to get a look at the large screen that adorned the front of their world. Much to his relief, the arcade still appeared to be closed. "What brings you all here?"

The very moment the door opened and Felix came into view, the Nicelanders launched into hysterics. A sight which had Felix stepping back in shock and taking on a worried expression. Ralph attempted to speak above their panicking, but his voice was drowned out in the cornucopia of jumbled, incoherent loudness. Mary and Deanna were trying desperately not to cry as they told Felix how terrible they felt, while Gene and Roy were doing the same, only they seemed more miffed than grief-stricken. Overall, it was just a big mess and Ralph had had enough.

"Hey," he said, raising his voice a bit. When that didn't work, he furrowed his brows and tried again, louder: "HEY!"

That did the trick. The blocky bunch looked at the giant man nervously. They may have grown to like Ralph and all, but when the wrecker resorted to yelling or being remotely aggressive, they couldn't help but cower just a bit. Well, everyone but Gene. He just sort of looked at Ralph with a frown whilst crossing his stubby arms.

"You don't have to shout, Ralph. Felix is right here," he huffed, gesturing a hand at their beloved hero.

Ralph narrowed his eyes at Gene and then looked back at Felix, now that he'd gotten the fixer's attention. "Sorry for bothering you before opening hours…" he started to say, though paused when he coughed into one of his colossal hands, "…but something's wrong with us." As if on cue, the bad guy swayed just a bit before righting himself by holding onto the doorframe. "I'm pretty sure I can speak for everyone when I say that, too." Around him, the Nicelanders murmured and nodded in agreement. They all felt absolutely awful.

Those words, combined with Ralph swaying on his feet and catching himself on the doorframe was enough to make Felix's heart plummet... They were all feeling sick? A quick look around the crowd was all it took to confirm that thought. Expressions of worry and general discomfort were quite apparent on each of their faces, and Felix had to once again fight back a feeling of panic. His hand unconsciously moved to rest atop his hammer as he looked them over.

"Hold on, everyone..." He spoke, still holding a hand out towards them, as if that gesture in itself would keep them all calm. "We'll figure this out." He told them, running through various ways in his mind that they would be able to do that, and trying to suppress his own uneasiness in front of them. He looked up towards Ralph, who was still supporting himself on the doorframe, with concern. "What exactly have you all been feelin'?" He wondered, though this was basically for confirmation. If they were all feeling the same thing, at the same time, this could be more serious than he'd thought...

Just like before, the Nicelanders spouted out in untamed unison about their condition, which had the gentle giant face-palming. Asking what they were all feeling, probably wasn't the best thing to do at that moment. He waited until there was a break in the outburst so he could wedge in his own response. When that happened a few seconds later, he looked at Felix again and tried to be as specific as possible.

"It's kind of hard to explain," he said, bringing a few fingers up to rub at his ear. "I can hear this weird sound, but I have no idea where it's coming from. It's filling my whole head, and it's a real pain. Literally." Simply talking about his cranial discomfort had him wincing.

Beside Ralph, Mary piped up worryingly. "Oh dear, I can hear it, too! It's given me such a terrible headache."

Felix's expression of concern deepened when Mary had spoken up as well. His gaze shifted to her, and his own head began to swim again. Though he tried his best to push that feeling down. He unconsciously reached forward to hold onto the doorframe, similarly to what Ralph had done but a moment prior, and tried to play it off as simply a reaction to the news. He looked up to Ralph again as he continued.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," the wrecker agreed, bringing his hand down to rest over the middle of his torso; he massaged the area tenderly. "And I think it's spreading. Whatever this is, it's starting to affect my whole body." As awkward as that may have sounded, the 'buzzing' sensation felt like it was solidifying into some kind of disgusting gunk; it clogged up his lungs and bronchial tubes like an equivalent of a chest cold, which made breathing too deeply feel highly unpleasant.

Though as far as he could tell, Felix was okay, and that was a good thing.

The heroic handyman's hand left the doorframe to scratch under his cap in thought, before repositioning it and attempting to say something that would calm everyone. "Well, I suppose… anyone who can take a break today is welcome to." He said, slowly, and moved to rub the back of his neck. He figured that most of the Nicelander NPCs could simply take the work-day in shifts, instead of having the usual roles they always did. That may have made it easier for them.

There was one other, however, that didn't have that luxury, and he looked up at Ralph apologetically and patted the larger man on the leg. "… I'm sorry, Ralph. This is only until I can figure out what's going on." He told his friend, before turning to address everyone again. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll fix this." He assured them; though how exactly he was going to do that was beyond him – and that unnerved him.

The wrecker tried to put on a small smile. Being one of the main characters of the game, he knew more than anyone that it was impossible for him to ever take a break, or a day off. It just couldn't happen. He'd already disappeared once, and well, it'd nearly gotten them unplugged. It couldn't happen again. No matter how lousy he felt.

The Nicelanders, however, shared a collective sigh of relief. It was truly amazing how calm they became once Felix put his two cents in. Ralph hypothesized that the fixer could have suggested that they all stand on their heads as a solution, and they wouldn't have hesitated to do so just because their 'poster boy' for goodness told them to. But that was the way it had always been and things weren't about to change. Especially when they were all in the grips of what was assumed to be some kind of virus.

Reassured that everything would work out now that Felix was on the case, the Nicelanders began to disperse and return to their apartments before the day officially began (Mary could be heard saying that she would make everyone some soup). Alone, Ralph looked at Felix and thought of what else he could say. The two of them were friends now - great friends, if he was being honest - but sometimes it felt just as awkward as it used to when talking to the good guy one-on-one.

"You…uh, don't have to figure this out by yourself," he said, hoping he was coming across as sympathetic and not bitter. Expressing his emotions properly had never come easy to someone like Ralph, who was more willing to destroy something rather than talk his problems out. Hopefully Felix would be able to pick up on the fact that he wanted to help.

"Thanks, brother." Felix replied with a grateful smile. He had the terrible habit of taking everyone's problems, and trying to solve them solely on his own, without help. It had been that way for so long, that it was just a force of habit now. Or perhaps that's just how he was programmed. If there was something that needed fixing in Niceland, then it was his job to fix it.

But the fact that he was not alone had been made abundantly clear before. Ralph, Vanellope and most certainly Tamora had proven to be infallible when it came to offering help; and he had to remind himself of that fact more often than he'd care to admit. He was very grateful to have such good friends.

The incessant buzzing in his ear suddenly increased in pitch like a microphone receiving too much feedback. The sudden sharp noise made him wince involuntarily and rub the side of his head until the sound subsided back into the annoying white-noise that it had been before.

He cleared his throat and looked up at his friend with an attempted grin. "Any idea where to start?" They had to find out what was going on before it really got out of hand.

Ralph's face instantly fell at the sight. The fact that he rubbed at his head, in the same spot where he himself heard the unexplainable noise, only justified the obvious. "Oh no. You, too?" he asked, frowning. So, Felix hadn't been spared after all. He was just the same as the rest of them.

Felix had not meant for Ralph to find out that he was experiencing similar symptoms, so when he had clued into that fact, he clasped his hands together and looked up to him with worry. The last thing he wanted was for everyone to start panicking, or something.

"Don't worry. I won't say anything." Ralph assured him, reading his expression. Because he knew that if the others so much as fathomed the idea of Felix being out of commission, their world as they knew it would end.

The hulking man looked around as he finally pondered about the question he'd been asked. "I guess we should figure out if this is just in our game or something that's in the arcade in general," he contemplated, his brows furrowing in thought. "Let's hope that Sarge and Vanellope aren't feeling the same way." Though he didn't voice it, Ralph was actually quite concerned for his best friend. The racer was just a kid and she'd already had it hard being a glitch. He didn't want to think how she'd fair in the throes of a virus. "Whatever we do, it's gonna have to wait until tonight." For it wouldn't be very long at all until the first quarter of the day poked its head into their slot.

It was true, they did still have to go about their days work, or there would be even more immediate problems. They had all gotten a taste of what could happen when just one of the characters went missing; and that had only been a single game! He couldn't imagine what would have happened if the both of them vanished for the entire day. Nor did he want to think about it.

But he couldn't help the feeling of anxiety that spread over him at the notion of what this could mean. Even if they did get out there and perform for the gamers, their conditions could cause a major slip-up during the workday. The incoordination he'd experienced that morning could greatly affect the performance of the game. Not just with him, but with Ralph and the others too. Who knows what could have happened, or how much worse it would get if this were to be left unchecked.

"I sure hope this hasn't spread around." He couldn't help but voice his concern. If there was anyone there he could share his problems with, it was Ralph. Ralph would most definitely be able to understand his concern. He'd imagine that the wrecker probably wanted nothing more at that moment than to run out to Sugar Rush to check on Vanellope, as he did with Tamora. Though they both knew that would have to wait. "Tamora seemed fine yesterday. Vanellope wasn't acting strange, was she?"

Ralph couldn't help but snort in his own personal amusement. The racer was always acting up, regardless if she was feeling sick or not. In fact, if Vanellope wasn't acting 'strange', then that would be cause for concern. But for the sake of answering Felix truthfully, he shook his head.

"Nah, she was her same obnoxious self. As usual," he replied, reaching up to rub the side of his head.

The fixer sighed. So Vanellope hadn't been affected either. That was a relief. Though it did raise some questions. Whatever this was, was it only affecting their game? Tamora had been there all last night, but it hadn't seemed to be affecting her; whereas he distinctly remembered feeling less than peachy. But she was tough, and probably quite capable of ignoring the milder symptoms he had been feeling the night before. Could she perhaps have been hiding it?

No. She'd made him promise to tell her if he got to feeling worse (something that he knew he'd have to do at some point – though the thought of it made his stomach churn in anxiety). But then… why had she left without a word earlier that morning? Maybe something had happened…

Or maybe he was overreacting.

The handyman forced himself to relax. Taking a deep breath, he reached out to stable himself on the doorframe once again as another wave of dizziness overtook him. He had heard Ralph grunt with discomfort as well, and once his own discomfort had subsided, offered him a nervous smile. Whatever was happening was not good.

"Ya know, Ralph. At the risk of sounding sappy… I'm glad I have someone to talk to about all this." He told the larger man. It had been somewhat of the norm for him to have to deal with all of Niceland's problems on his own, but he had to admit, it was also nice to have someone he could rely on as well. The wrecker had proven himself as one of the bravest, most loyal people he knew. He was a hero, in every sense of the word – despite what his code might have said. It was just too bad it had taken so long to realize that.

The bad guy on the other hand, wasn't exactly experienced with 'fluffier' emotions; they didn't settle right inside of him and usually resulted with a lack of eye contact, or just being at a general loss of what to say. He knew that Felix genuinely meant what he said, but boy, that didn't make receiving the compliment any easier. Actually, it made it all the more difficult to reply to.

"Uhh…don't mention it," he eventually got out whilst rubbing the back of his neck. He probably could have said something a little better and far more creative, but he gave himself props for being able to formulate a response in the first place.

The sound of a jingling bell that sounded whenever the front door to the arcade was opened cut through the silence, announcing Litwak's arrival. Followed by the flickering on of lights beyond the screen. The arcade would be open any minute. "We should probably get to work." Felix stated.

Ralph straightened out his posture, cracked his thick knuckles, and slowly pushed himself in the direction of his 'wrecker mentality'. "Hang in there, Felix," he said, smiling a bit. "I'll try to go easy on you." Meaning there wouldn't be as many broken windows for his friend to fix. He doubted the kids would notice or care, really, since he was technically the villain. If anything, they'd find it pretty sweet.

"Thanks, Ralph." He appreciated that, truly, and the two shared a smile as they gave each other a parting nod. Ralph made his way over to his starting position, and he figured he should do that too, but took a moment to press the back of his wrists up to his eyes in an attempt to lessen the headache that he had. That white-noise was beginning to turn into a high-pitched whine, and it was not helping.

Figuring that was about as good as he was going to get it, he exited the house behind Ralph and made his way over to his own starting position. He could only hope that it was either a slow day, or these random waves of discomfort would keep to a minimum.

'Here we go…' the fixer thought, anxiously.

As Ralph waited to begin his destruction spree, he attempted to nurse his own head one final time. He gently massaged the bridge of his nose and then pressed his oversized fingers into his forehead. A few deep breaths later, he was as ready as his present condition would allow. And just in time, too. A quarter made itself known.

Fists clenched, scowl adorned, he roared out: "I'M GONNA WRECK IT!"

Their day officially began.