The castle seemed eerily deserted. The halls were darker than usual, and gave off a cold, shadowy atmosphere whereas normally it would be bright, sunny and cheerful. The candy making up the architecture seemed to have lost its vibrancy, and just sat, dulled, cracked and far from edible-looking.
Vanellope had locked herself away in her room - an area where Ralph and her had spent many hours in the past. Which mainly consisted of her making him do things for her own amusement - though from looking at the room, you wouldn't have been able to tell that a single good time had been had there.
It, like the rest of the castle, was dark. The only light filtering in from a large circular window on the far wall, which seemed to be constructed of some type of now-crumbled cookie.
The girl was tucked deep into her covers - bundled up like, as she would have put it in the past, a homeless lady. She felt absolutely terrible. The only indication that anyone was in the room at all was the shivering coming from the sheets, and the occasional sniffle that came from her nose.
Her game had been infected, and there had been nothing they could do about it. She didn't even know how her 'family' was doing. But she hadn't heard word from any of them in nearly two days. For all she knew, the virus could have been twice as bad for them - or worse.
Ralph skidded to a halt in front of the castle doors, collapsing against them when he got to them. The resulting sound was louder than any knock could have ever been. Darkness ate at the corners of his swimming vision, distorting his sight.
No. No. He couldn't let himself pass out. Not before he made sure Vanellope was okay.
Just as he raised his curled fingers to knock, the door opened. Were it not for the fact that he pulled back at the last possible second, he would have fallen inside. As expected, he was greeted by Sour Bill. Like the rest of Sugar Rush, he looked just as rundown and faded; there were cracks in his green candy coating, and his natural gloss was severely dulled.
Still, he seemed coherent. At least, coherent enough for Ralph to reach down and pick the little guy up.
"Whh…where is she?" he panted.
Fearing that he would endure a repeat of what had happened in the past (which was something he DID NOT want, for he still had nightmares about Ralph's sandpaper tongue), Sour Bill immediately replied. "President Vanellope is in her chambers."
That's all he needed to know. Releasing the monotone ball, he hurried into the castle and headed for the kid's room. Down long hallways and up winding staircases he went. When he eventually arrived at the large door, he forewent knocking (manners weren't exactly his thing) and slowly creaked it open. He peeked into the dim room and took an anxious step forward.
"Kid? Are you in here?"
A reply only took a moment.
"Ralph!?" She gasped, ripping the covers off of herself and looking with shock towards her clearly-fatigued friend. Her hair was more disheveled than usual, and her voice was scratchy and strained. "Ralph!" She cried out, throwing her legs over the side of the bed and slipping off of it. She ignored the rush of dizziness that greeted her with the sudden movement as she took off towards her friend and latched onto his large leg. "What are you doing here!?" She questioned, burying her face against him.
Normally she'd gag at such a display of emotion, but she had been legitimately worried for her friend. She knew that Ralph and everyone in his game had gotten the virus well before they had, and she couldn't help but be relieved to see that he was alright. Or - was he? He looked like he was about to fall over.
"C'mon, stinkbrain." The girl let go of her tight hold on his leg and reached up to close a tiny hand around one of his large fingers before he could answer, tugging him towards her bed so he take what looked like a much needed seat. "Now sit!" She ordered, coughing a little and clambering up onto the bed for herself and shifting over to make room for Ralph to sit on the edge of it. The bed dipped with his weight, but it didn't show any signs of breaking. Hopefully it would hold up, because most things he sat on didn't. "What's happening, Ralph? And why haven't I heard from you in so long!?" The fact that she hadn't heard from anyone, or gotten any word on how to get rid of this virus, had gotten her more nervous than she'd care to admit.
"It's a long story, kid," he began, looking at the tiny ruler. While she wasn't falling apart like her home was, she still looked pretty sick. Heck, she sounded pretty sick, too. But she was okay… thank goodness. "Basically, the whole arcade has the virus. Everyone's being told to keep to their game so it won't spread anymore, but the truth is…" He turned away from her and coughed harshly into a fist before he was able to finish his sentence: "…it's already spread almost everywhere."
Whether he was aware of his actions or not, he reached out and pinched her covers between two of his thick fingers. Then, tugging the sheets, he settled them over Vanellope's lap, covering her. Her hands moved to grip at the sheets, shaking her head and pulling it closer to herself. "Last I heard Sarge and her men were trying to find a cure, or at least figure out where the virus came from, but we haven't heard from her in days either."
Which could have meant that Hero's Duty had been encountering the epidemic as well. Either that or they were planning a course of attack. Nothing was certain anymore.
"Felix and I…" Ralph paused as realization sunk in. He'd left the fixer behind, hadn't he? Some 'friend' he was. "We wanted to check on you." What he really should have said was 'I wanted to check on you', but he knew that Felix had been concerned for the miniature president as well. The bad guy sighed out a tight, crackly breath. "I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, kid. This place looks stale. Real stale."
Vanellope stared up at him for a moment, worry evident in her large eyes.
What if they couldn't get rid of it? The entire arcade, and everyone in it could-
No.
A look of stubborn determination settled over her; her worried look hardened. They couldn't think like that. They couldn't just give up. Especially not when her game; no - when everyone was in so much trouble.
"Well, c'mon!" The girl kicked the covers off of herself and grabbed onto one of Ralph's fingers again in urgency. She tugged on it and moved to slide off of the bed again. "We've gotta go find them then!" She couldn't just sit around anymore. If she did, she was bound to just drive herself crazy. Things had gotten so much worse in such a short period of time, she doubted they could afford to wait around any longer. "Things aren't getting any better with us just waiting around!" She took a moment to cough, "And if the entire arcade really is all messed up, then it won't matter if we game-jump or not!" She raised her voice.
Vanellope's sudden surge of justice was more than Ralph had been expecting. He didn't move when she tugged him, nor did he plan to. As much as he liked her determination and willingness to get to the bottom of things, he wasn't going to let her out of Sugar Rush. Not in her current condition, at least. It was one thing if he grew worse, but they couldn't risk the most popular and preferred racer to push herself over the edge.
This was why the wrecker gazed at his best friend with a somewhat saddened look on his face. "Sorry, kid, but I'm not letting you out there," he told her. This wasn't the same scenario as a few days prior, when he'd caved in and let her come along. This was different. This was serious. "You need to stay put and rest so you can be in decent-enough shape to race tomorrow. Hate me all you want, but this is how it has to be," he concluded, firming his expression. Now that he knew that the girl wasn't as bad off as he'd originally feared, Ralph felt a bit better about leaving her alone when he eventually had to return to his game. Until then, though, he didn't plan on budging. He'd stay with her until sunrise. Felix would have to make do without him, as much as he didn't like that idea either.
Vanellope on the other hand, wasn't as accepting of her friend's idea. In fact, it made her downright furious.
The girl's arms dropped to her side in shock, and she stared at him, mouth agape for an instance, before coming back to her senses.
"What!? Are you CRAZY!?" The girl took a step forward in incredulity. All at once she forgot about the pounding in her head, and the soreness in her throat, as she focused entirely on the large man in front of her. "You can't keep me here! This is MY game!" She shouted, patting her own chest just to emphasize her point. Her voice cracked as she spoke, giving away her emotion. "I've gotta help it! And you guys! I can't just let this stupid thing mess with all of you! And we don't even KNOW how Sarge is!"
Her game was on the verge of becoming a dystopia, again, and Ralph wanted her to sit back and do nothing?! Best friend or not, where did he get off keeping her from protecting her own game? Her own friends? She was understandably upset; and it was becoming increasingly obvious that Ralph wasn't going to budge on his position.
"I'm not a baby, Ralph! And I feel fine!" She glared up at him, an ill-timed glitch coursed through her at her words, and her little hands closed into shaking fists at her side. She didn't feel fine in the least; and she didn't want to tell him that this 'virus', or whatever it was, was making her glitch act up. "I can take care of myself." She spoke lower now, though this tone was more bitter than angry. After a moment, she was glaring at him again. "Plus you got to leave your game." She shot him an accusing glare.
Rushed footsteps broke the momentary silence in the room, and a few seconds later a gloved hand rested on the doorframe, followed by an out-of-breath Felix. One look in the room however told him that he was interrupting something - and nothing good, by the looks of it. He straightened up a little in shock, deciding to stay quiet; and even debating with himself whether or not he should back out into the hall again. It was a great relief to see that Vanellope was alright, but it was shocking to see the two having an argument. He had never seen these two really fight before.
Quickly getting the sense that this was a conversation that was only meant for the two of them, Felix cast a tentative glance towards Ralph, pointing over his shoulder sheepishly to signal that he was going to leave. Ralph would know where he was heading, and by the sounds of it, the two friends needed to be with each other at that moment.
Noticing Felix, Ralph gave the fixer and almost unnoticeable nod of acknowledgement before focusing his attention on the racer in front of him. "I know you can take care of yourself. Believe me," he said, getting that particular understanding out there. He debated with his next statement, because it didn't really settle all too well on his tongue; it ended up coming out as a rushed exclamation not three seconds later.
"And I left my game because I was worried about you, okay?!"
The girl froze.
Ralph's gaze snapped elsewhere; he stared at the floor, feeling his stomach twist in response to the unusual swarm of emotions that were overriding his 'bad guy-ness'. He wasn't programmed for these kind of sentimental confessions, and whenever he made them it felt seriously awkward.
The wrecker lifted a few of his fingers and rubbed into his eyes. "I don't expect you to understand, kid, but if there's one thing I hate it's feeling helpless." He huffed out a sigh and then looked at Vanellope again. "Back then, when those Cy-Bugs had you cornered, and all I could do was watch…" He would never forget the image, for it was permanently burned into his memory, along with the twisted voice that, even now, echoed in his ears.
'Let's watch her die together, shall we?'
He clenched a fist at the haunting recollection and then tried to hit home with his last sentences. "That's why you can't leave," he stated, and never once had his expression adorned such utter desperation. "Because if something bad happens to you, and all I can do is watch again…" He paused, swallowing. "Then this virus may as well end me now."
The girl relaxed in her position and her expression softened at the words. It was obvious that the big guy was protective of her, but to actually hear him say it was an entirely different story. She listened to his heartfelt confession, feeling something twisting in her own chest at the words. She had been upset, but it's not as if she wanted Ralph to be too. After all, he was still her best friend.
The president was silent for a moment, before tilting her head back and groaning loudly.
"Fine." She slumped forward with a less-than-pleased look on her face. She couldn't stand to see her friend pour his heart out like that - not that she would want that known. "I'll stay..." She consented, sniffling into her sleeve and crossing her arms. She glared up at him again, though this one was accompanied by a knowing smirk.
Moving forward, she clambered back onto the bed again, and wrapped her tiny arms against his torso as best she could, "But you're not leaving yet either." She told him firmly, pressing her face into his side. "And try not to cry all over me, jelly-baby." She couldn't help but joke to try and ease some of the tension - though she made no move to end the hug.
"Relax, kid. I wasn't planning on going anywhere," he replied, wrapping a long and large arm around the girl's clinging body. It was her second statement, however, that earned a more teasing and less sappy reply. "And yeah, right. You were the one that was about to start the waterworks. Besides, you're snot-nosed enough already without any tears."
Wordlessly, he lifted Vanellope up into the air and held her between his fingers - in the way he would have done when holding a sandwich - while he flopped onto his back; the spongecake mattress squished a little beneath him, but it didn't show any signs of collapsing, which was good. Once comfortable, he lowered the racer to sit on his broad chest while he propped his arms beneath his head.
"Hah! I've never cried a day in my life, Mr. Temper-Tantrum." She took a moment to poke him as she was settled on top of him. There was no way she was going to bring up the time her kart had been destroyed. No one needed to remember that.
Now that things between them had returned to their usual childish jabs, Ralph didn't feel so awkward or out-of-place. If anything, he felt exactly where he was supposed to belong. Minus the 'feeling crummy' part. He had closed both of his eyes since he'd laid down, though one peeked open at Vanellope when she tossed out another teasing phrase.
"And don't even think about wipin' that nose on me. 'Cuz I'd get you back." She said.
He couldn't help but smile.
"Try not to flatter yourself," he replied, removing an arm from beneath his head, so he could poke her on the forehead with the squared edge of a finger. "I only wipe my nose on things that I deem worthy. And you, shorty, aren't worthy."
Vanellope reached up to playfully swat away Ralph's oversized finger.
Despite all that was happening, it was nice to simply lay down and relax with her friend. It made the whole situation seem, just a little bit better. Like it was nothing that they should worry about too much. It almost made everything feel as if it were 'normal'. Which was something she really needed.
Ralph sniffed stuffily. "I guess we can be snot-nosed together."