The morning following that night had not seen much in the way of improvements. Vanellope had woken up at some point before opening, and practically glitched her way all the way through Game Central Station to get back to her game. Apparently she had overslept, and was in a panic about hosting the 'random roster race'. She had managed to leave with enough time to spare, but not before muttering under her breath how she'd wished that someone could fill in for her.
The workday proceeded much as the previous one had, with Ralph and Felix toughing their way through it, and the Nicelanders being forced to schedule 'breaks' between each of themselves so they didn't get too tuckered out. But it was obvious that there had been no improvement in the ways of overall health. In fact, Felix could have sworn he'd felt worse than the day before; and he wasn't sure how long it would be until the Nicelanders wised up to his actual condition.
The day following that had gone on much similarly. Waking up, finding no improvement, and forcing themselves to work. It was obvious that people were beginning to get worn thin. It even seemed to be getting to people's heads in some instances - it was affecting their behavior. Or that was his impression of it, anyways. Gene did seem to be a bit snippier than usual. And he had even found himself getting somewhat frustrated with the constant static in his ears, and the more frequent spikes of pressure in his head. Though he chalked it up to the simple stress they all must have been feeling. No one wanted to be forced to exert themselves when they felt under the weather, after all.
The end of the workday brought great relief; and usually, when everyone would have been happy to go out and enjoy the rest of their evening, the pattern had begun to form of everyone simply lugging themselves back to their own spots to rest or relax. It wasn't a sight the fixer liked to see; and even more-so, he didn't like the fact that he had been convinced to not go visit Hero's Duty like he normally did after work.
Not until they knew more about this virus, anyways.
He'd been informed that their game hadn't been the only one infected, and that brought about the very real possibility that they might have been contagious. Or that it was spreading on its own.
As much as he wanted to, they were stuck there until further notice; and that was one of the toughest things. Not just for him, but for Ralph as well. He knew that the big guy was probably worried sick about Vanellope, despite the fact that the girl had seemed just about as lively as ever the last time they had seen her.
They could still relate in their worry, and that was just one of the reasons Felix found himself in the larger man's company more often than not lately.
As soon as the day had ended, and everyone had moved on to do their own things, Felix pushed open the front doors to the apartment and tried to stop his head from swimming. His face had grown uncomfortably hot, and for a moment, he entertained the idea of joining Ralph in the cool-looking mud puddle - before quickly shaking that thought from his head.
"Ralph!" The fixer spoke, coming to a stop in front of him and attempting to look cheerful. "Need some help?" He offered, though he was sure he wouldn't have been able to help Ralph up even in his best condition.
"I'm fine," he replied, his voice a hoarse rendition of its former strong self. Screaming his wrecking lines all day with an aching throat wasn't the best idea, and it left his voice close to shot. He looked at the fixer, and were it not for the gray sleepless smudges beneath his eyes and the unhealthily pale complexion of his face, he could have appeared normal. "Good job today."
"Thanks, brother." Felix said somewhat absentmindedly, just as the ringing in his head spiked up and he moved to rub his ear in annoyance. "You too." He added a moment later as the two began to walk.
If one thing was clear, it was just how much worse everyone's conditions were getting. It was clear that the health of the people of Niceland was deteriorating fast, and Ralph especially worried Felix. The larger man had proven himself to be quite resilient on more than one occasion. His whole life practically. So seeing him obviously struggling to push himself up from the mud, and even to stay balanced had Felix knitting his brow in concern.
As far as he was concerned, everyone deserved a medal after their continued performance during this whole virus ordeal. It wasn't easy; and it was obvious that everyone was starting to feel the strain. Or had been feeling the strain for a few days now, and were just starting to get fed up.
He could only hope that more news about the virus would be brought to them soon.
"I'm not sure how much longer until the others figure me out though." He told his friend with a forced smile as he nervously wrung his hands together. That had been one of his growing concerns over the past few hours. It was getting more difficult to not show signs of discomfort, and if everyone else's conditions were any indication, he was pretty sure he wouldn't be looking in top-shape either. "How are you holding up?"
When asked how he was fairing, Ralph lifted up a hand and tilted it side-to-side, as if saying that he was 'so-so'. He was probably a bit below that, actually, but he didn't want Felix to think he was incapable of doing his job. Or worse, for the motherly fixer to suggest that he "rest" or something. No thanks.
"Whenever you wanna come clean about the virus, just let me know and I'll go with you," he said, glancing down at his short friend. "At this point I don't think the Nicelanders would freak out as much, just because they can barely panic as it is."
Coming clean to everyone. That idea provided both benefits and setbacks.
On one hand, it would be a great weight lifted off his shoulders (and not to mention, his conscience), he wouldn't have to act fine anymore when all he really wanted to do was sit in a dark room to try and get his headache to go away, and the others may have even been understanding.
On the other hand, they might be furious. Or be left hopeless, which was an even bigger concern. And he always hated it when he had to be the one to deliver bad news of any kind. So for that reason alone, he had refrained from saying anything and had just sucked it up.
Now though, it was beginning to make less and less sense that he wouldn't have been affected. Though the Nicelanders hadn't seemed to ask any questions.
"I'll probably need your help with that... again." He sighed.
Their walking eventually led them to the large lake that rested east of the apartment building. The water was always warm for swimming, but Ralph didn't feel up to it at the moment. In fact, he didn't feel up to being on his feet anymore either. He settled against one of the blocky trees and sat down on the grass. Dizziness was steadily returning to mess with him, and he didn't like it one bit.
As Ralph sat against one of the nearby trees, Felix kneeled down by the lake and splashed some of the pixilated water onto his face. "My head is baking." He sat back and laughed despite the situation, then glanced back over to his friend."I sure hope we get some more news soon." Ralph didn't look like he felt all that much better; and he was certain that they both desperately wanted to know what was happening with the other half of their quartet.
As Felix utilized the lake, Ralph had taken to closing his eyes. He focused on the peaceful sounds of Niceland and tried to pretend that everything in his body wasn't hurting as badly as it was. At that point, he would have fallen off a building twenty times in a row if it meant he'd be fully healthy again, just because he was sick and tired of being―he coughed against his hand―sick and tired.
"You and me both," he replied, slowly opening his eyes. "For all we know the whole arcade could be infected by now."
Which wasn't a pleasant thought at all. Kids were already complaining how some of the games (Fix-It Felix Jr. included) were running a bit slower than normal. The small players grew frustrated with the consistent lagging and reported it to Mr. Litwack, who, Ralph had noticed, became concerned. It was doubtful that the man would have the entire place unplugged, but if they all didn't show improvement soon…
Who knows what could have happened?
It had been brought to Felix's attention that there seemed to be a trend with this virus. It did only seem to be the older games that had been infected. He'd figured that it was just the type of virus - perhaps a more simplified one that wouldn't have been able to mess with the newer game's coding, but the thought of it actually spreading to even more games was unsettling.
If it kept up its pattern, he got solace from the fact that Hero's Duty was basically the newest game in the place, so with any luck Tamora would be safe for a while. Or so he hoped. Vanellope on the other hand, while her game wasn't too technologically dated, her game itself was what could be considered 'old'.
He was sure Ralph was worried.
Being separated from the 'outside world', with no new news on what was developing out there was unnerving. Especially when they had no clue as to the status of their friends. Maybe everything was descending into chaos in Game Central Station, and even in the other games, and they were none the wiser.
Felix cast a worried glance over to the far-away tunnel leading out of their game and pushed himself back to his feet.
"Maybe we should take a look…" He offered, pointing cautiously over his shoulder at the tunnel as he turned back around to face Ralph. They had been told not to leave, but not knowing how everyone was doing was making him listless. "We haven't heard from Tamora or Vanellope in almost two days! I've got to tell ya, I'm getting a bit worried."
The larger male arched an eyebrow. For Felix to even suggest breaking the rules and going against what had been instructed was a big deal. Then again, it was nice to see his friend rebel a bit - even if he wasn't really "rebelling" at all. More like testing the waters because he couldn't stay on shore anymore.
"I'm with you, Felix," Ralph agreed, looking at the tunnel as well. "It's better if we're safe so we don't have to be sorry."
In all reality, though, he'd had enough of waiting around and hoping that everything was hunky-dory, when it could have very well been in shambles.
Ralph had to admit that Felix was a pro at keeping it together. Granted, the little guy had his rare moments where he lost his head (if their reunion in King Candy's "fungeon" said anything about that) but for the most part it was clear that the chipper fixer was able to keep his concern tightly packaged under an impressive layer of self-control. Good thing, too.
Between the two of them someone needed to maintain a piece of themselves, should the entire predicament go haywire, or should one of them legitimately lose it. Which, out of the two, was more likely to be Ralph.
With a grunt, the wrecker lifted himself to his feet and used the tree he was leaning against to help him stand. Needless to say the poor pixelated piece of landscape tipped over, causing his eyes to widen. "Uh…" Quickly, he righted the tree as best he could before slowly pulling his hands away in a cautious manner. The tree remained upright for a good three seconds before tilting at an angle.
Felix's own hands flew up to his mouth to stifle a giggle as the righted tree stubbornly tilted to the side once again. Even when Ralph was sick, he was still a master at his job.
"Let's go," Ralph told him, heading towards the tram. "We'll just have a look in Game Central Station. If everything looks okay we'll come back." And if it didn't…they were getting some answers. No matter what anyone said.
"Oh, I'm with you." The smaller man said with an amused smile, following after his larger friend and towards the tunnel leading to Game Central Station. He positioned himself in the tram, and it jerked into motion towards the hub. If anything, this would give them closure. He could only hope that everything was actually alright, and that they wouldn't have to do more 'investigating'.