(A/N) Thanks to all my loyal followers for waiting.

Now...

Vanellope - Why don't I get a say?!

Me - Because I said so that's why!

Vanellope - On your marks... Get Set... Chaptah!

ME - OK... You're forgiven.

Vanellope - Yay!

Also... All people mentioned are real people with altered names.

Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Christmas Trials and Tribulations

December 24th, 2012, 3:45pm

Ray was working a double shift at Litwak's when Justin ran up from behind.

"Hey!" Justin barked as he hopped over Ray as he was polishing Dance Dance Revolution's dance pad.

"Whoa! You gave me a heart attack! I'm guessing you finished the 'project'? Both halves of it?" Ray inquired as his heart started beating again.

Justin had spent all of his free time for the last 4 days in the Code Room on a present for Ray to give to Ralph.

"Here it is!" Justin exclaimed as he held out a medal similar to the Medal of Heroes from Hero's Duty but it had a green orb in the center.

"This should allow Ralph to cross over to our world, but it's gonna hurt a bit his first time."

"Why?"

"Well... His body needs to be configured to this world and that isn't really fun for the amount of data he posesses..."

"Oh. Thanks for this though. I got you something too." Ray replied as he handed Justin a silver box with a green bow on top.

"What's this?"

"Open it." Ray instructed

He opened it and found 2 blank cards.

"You got me... How?!"

"A little gift from me and Codemaster X. Now when you're ready you can get access to Code Change and X Mode."

"I don't know what to say..."

"Thank you maybe?"

"Thanks!" Justin hugged the air out of Ray, but he didn't mind much.

After a minute though, he let go and saluted Ray as he ran out the door towards his house.

"Ray! Going to Ralph's tonight?" Litwak inquired as he walked out of his office.

"Actually... Ralph's coming to my house... If that's ok with you." Ray replied as he adjusted his gauntlet.

"I don't know how that's possible, but as long as he's back by January 2nd, it's fine with me." Litwak replied as he locked up the front.

"OK! Be right back!" Ray shouted as he ran into the code room.

Ray teleported into Fix-it Felix Jr. and crept through the door to Ralph's hut.

"Ralph... You here?" Ray inquired as he walked through the house.

He found Ralph just getting out of the shower with a towel around his waist. Water was dripping down his broad chest and his arms glistened in the light. His hair was also matted down and covered his left eye a bit.

"If I didn't find you irresistable before, I do now." Ray rebutted as he began feeling up on Ralph's exposed upper body touching every crevice and cavity.

"Ray... You wanted to tell me something?" Ralph smirked as he pushed Ray away from him and began to dry his hair.

"Oh yeah... How would you like to spend the holidays with me?"

"Really?! But how?" Ralph inquired as he pulled out a fresh pair of boxers and slid them on.

"With this." Ray held out the medal and put it on Ralph's neck.

"Wait... You are Ray, right?! I'm not gonna get possessed again am I!?"

"Yes... No one's gonna troll you."

"Troll?" Ralph inquired confused.

"When we get to my house, you're watching Youtube videos." Ray stated as he pressed the orb and sparks bean to fly.

"Hold on. This might hurt a bit."

"Yeeeowch!" Ralph barked as he was shocked out of his game into the real world.

They teleported into Litwak's office as he was locking up something secret.

"Whoa! Ralph?! How'd you get here?! And where are your overalls?!" Litwak rapid fired his questions as Ray pulled out a red box.

Inside was a shirt similar to Ralph's old one, but it was brand new compared to his others, some overalls with both straps intact, and some over sized hiking boots.

"Here. Put these on."

"You planned this didn't you?" Ralph inquired as he slid on the shirt.

"Yeah... Justin helped."

"Why the shoes?"

"Well, people around the city and my family will wonder why you're not wearing any and that's a conversation I want to avoid."

"Oh... Wait, family?"

"Well... I have to go to my aunt's house tomorrow and you're going with me."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Nope!" Ray replied grinning.

"Ugh... Only for you babe." Ralph mumbled as he finished putting on the boots.

"Later Mr. Litwak and Happy Holidays!"

"Wait! What about Vanellope?" Ralph interjected as Ray was running out the door causing him to smash his face into the glass doors.

"Crap... BRB!" Ray grabbed the medal off Ralph's neck and teleported into Sugar Rush.

He ran into the castle and found Vanellope sitting sideways on her throne.

"Hey President Fartface! Wanna spend the holidays with me and Ralph?" When she heard that, she glitched into his arms.

"Yes! Yes! And Super Yes! I'm spending Christmas with Stinkbrain and Stinkbrain 2!"

"2?"

"You and Ralph are like the family I never had." Ray fought the urge to cry as he put the medal on Vanellope.

"Hold on. This might hurt." Ray pressed the orb and teleported out.

Ralph was propped up on the Tekken 4 machine as Ray and Vanellope appeared in front of him.

"Well... Shall we go?"

To say that they got stared at would be an understatement. When a 9 foot man walks down the street at 4 in the afternoon with a 10-year-old on his shoulder, you're gonna do a double take.

They finally reached Ray's house 8 minutes later.

As Ray opened the door, Vanellope ran inside and began hopping on the couch.

"I live alone so we got the house to ourselves." Ray gloated as he dropped on the recliner.

"You live here alone?"

"Well... Yeah. My mom gave me the house when I entered my senior year and my brother is a nomad."

"Well... Since we're all alone here..." Ralph commented suggestively.

"Ooooh... Vanellope. You can watch cable while Ralph and I go upstairs."

"OK! What's cable?"

"Here." Ray handed her the remote and pressed the power button. It just happened to land on Disney Junior.

"Ooooh! Magic box!" Vanellope had never seen or even heard of a tv, so when she saw Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, she went ape and began watching it.

"Let's go while she's distracted!" Ray pulled Ralph up the stairs towards his room and locked the door behind himself.

Vanellope got sleepy and laid down on the couch, but had no idea where the blankets were.

"Ray! Where are the blankets?!"

"In the guest room, first door on the right when you come upstairs." He replied from his bedroom.

She got up and headed for the room, but went for the door on the left instead of the right.

She walked in and found a huge room with banners and ribbons all for an army she had never heard of.

All of a sudden, a holographic image appeared on the desk in front of her. It was Ray, but he looked about 12 years old and his face was caked in dry blood and dirt.

"Dear Holo-Diary... This is my final entry. I can't take the pressure anymore. My mentor is going to instate me as the Shadow King tomorrow, but I can't do it. It's either lie back and take it, or take him down for good. I know this is gonna be tough, but my magic has never let me down yet. I'll have to use all I've learned against him or die trying. Sincerely... Ray Hagane."

She stepped out of the room slowly as the recording ended and closed the door.

"Whoa... That's heavy." She thought to herself as she entered the correct room and crashed on the bed.

Ray woke up on top of Ralph's exposed upper body still caked in... sweat.(mind in the gutter readers!)

"I could get used to this!" Ray thought to himself as he sat up and headed into his shower. Ralph woke up to the shower's hiss.

"Ray?"

"Yeah?"

"You taking a shower?"

"Yeah... Aren't you? I mean... after last night?"

"Say no more." Ralph chided as he walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

Vanellope met Ralph and Ray downstairs in the kitchen where Ralph was nomming on an omelet and Ray was placing one on a plate.

"Hey V! Eat up. We've got a busy day ahead of us." Vanellope sat down and began picking at the food.

She couldn't look him in the eye and that's what tipped him off.

"You went in the room didn't you?"

She froze up and looked him dead in the eye.

"Don't judge me... I did what I had to do to survive"

"How are you still here?!"

"I'd appreciate it if you'd forget what you saw."

"I'll try..."

Ralph was perplexed as to what was happening, but passed it off as something that Ray wouldn't want to talk about.

"Now, when we get to my aunt's house, you're my brother-in-law from my brother's wife's side and you're his daughter." Ray explained as he threw on the medal and configured his gauntlet 2 hours later.

"Why can't we be ourselves?" Vanellope inquired as she hopped on Ralph's shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm with the kid."

"Well... I'm not exactly out to my family yet." Ray confessed as he leaned on Ralph's arm.

"But it's kind of obvious, don't you think?" Vanellope commented as she put her hands behind her head.

"How does everyone come to that conclusion!? Whatever... Let's go!"

Ray pressed a button and they reappeared in front of a house with a wide lawn and a skinny driveway.

"Ray!" a voice from behind him shouted. It turned out to be his Aunt Nora.

"Who's this?" She inquired as she pointed at Ralph.

"This is Ralph, Candy's brother and his daughter Vanellope."

"You mean your boyfriend right?"

"WHAT?! How in the?!" Ray shouted as his jaw dropped.

"I'm not stupid. I already knew you liked guys and Candy's brothers are all in Cabo with your older brother. We still haven't heard from Lan though..."

"So your cool with this right?" Ray inquired as he looked her in the eyes.

"Only if you perform this christmas like you did last year." She replied as she gave him a devious grin.

"You don't mean..."

"Yep. Grandmaster Reezy!"

"OH! Fine, but no one else has to know about this!" Ray sweatdropped as he led Ralph into the house.

"They will eventually!" She shouted back as he disappeared into the house.

"What's with your hands?" Cousin Dannon inquired looking up at Ralph.

"Milk."

"And your hair?"

"Gel."

"And what's with..."

"Dannon! Leave!" Ray shouted as his cousin ran off into the depths if the house.

"Harsh much?" Vanellope commented as she perched herself on Ralph's shoulder.

"Not really." Ray replied as he sat on the sofa in the corner trying to fix the laptop. Ralph and Vanellope mimicked his action as Ray put in his headphones.

"You guys can look around. I have to fix this relic and no it's not the good kind." Ray blasted his music as Ralph tried to see through the wall he put up.

2 hours later...

"Ray sama... Come out and play!" Ashton's voice rang out from outside.

"Son of a shit! Let's go, Ralph! Vanellope, stay here!"

Aunt Nora ran outside behind Ray and Ralph to find a dark version of Ray standing next to Ashton.

"You're kidding right?! Can I get a got damn break for one day?!"

"No... Now prepare to die!"

"Ugh! Let's see if the 2nd function is working on this medal." Ray put back on the medal and took a fighting stance.

"Codemaster! I'm gonna wreck it!" He summoned his armor and charged his copy, but his copy summoned armor similar to his and blocked his strikes.

They we're evenly matched until Ralph jumped in and punched Shadow Ray into the gate.

That's when Ashton got fed up.

"Finish him!"

"Yes, master. Dark X Mode!" His copy shouted as the X's appeared on his armor.

"2 can play that game! X Mode Activate!" He tried to activate the power, but he couldn't get it to work.

"As long as your copy is using X Mode, you can't use X Mode! I call it the X-Mode Jammer!"

Ashton then walked over to Shadow Ray.

"Ralph... Stand back. I don't want you to get hurt."

"No! I'm staying by your side."

"Aww! Looks like your boyfriend wants to die with you!"

Gasps filled the air as the rest of Ray's family walked outside.

"SHUT UP!" Ray shouted as a dark aura appeared around him.

"Ashton... I'm about to tell you my darkest secret. My dad was a dark paladin. That's a magic swordsman for non-gamers like yourself." Ray chuckled.

"I was taught at an early age how to harness electricity and wield a sword. He beat me to near death every time we trained and nursed my wounds afterwards. It left scars. Scars that the Codemasters helped heal. I didn't know that the power was evil until my 12th birthday." Ray paused for a moment before he continued.

"My dad tried to make me pledge to the Dark Paladin Core. It wasn't his fault. My grandfather threatened to kill my mom if he didn't train me. So I fought my grandad to the death. I won obviously, but he paid with his life."

"I had no choice. He was consumed by the darkness. I vowed from that day on to never to let the same thing happen to me and to only use my powers fighting evil. And even then, only if there was no other way. I'm not sorry for my choices, but you will be!"

Ray was crying silent tears as Vanellope wrapped her arms around his leg.

"It's all right. It wasn't your fault. Now finish this." Ralph whispered soothingly as they hopped back and Ray began to charge power.

His armor disappeared and he pulled his gauntlet off and dropped it on the floor.

Eerie music started to play as he stepped forward. (Blood Red Sandman by Lordi)

"Thunderblade!" He chanted as a blade of pure energy formed in his hand.

"You think you're a dark avatar of me... You've never experienced darkness like this!"

He charged Shadow Ray and began slashing him up.

He tried to dodge, but Ray was too quick and had too much skill, so he began to block his movements.

He slashed at him to the lyrics of the song.

"You guys picked the wrong master of darkness to mess with!" Ray shouted as he hopped up and slashed the kanji symbol for thunder under them.

"Night Night!" He activated the symbol, destroyed Shadow Ray, and sent Ashton flying as the song ended.

"Never fuck with the master."

"This isn't over!" Ashton barked as he zapped Ralph into Ray's DS.

"Give him back!"

"Come and get him Raidy-boy!" Ashton barked as he zapped himself into Ray's DS as well.

"Whew... I did it!" Ray shouted to the heavens as he fell back on the grass.

"Yes, you did." Vanellope replied as he sat next to him.

"It wasn't your fault you know."

"I know. Thanks V." Ray replied as he kissed her forehead.

"Umm... What the fructose corn syrup is going on?!" Aunt Nora exclaimed as Ray realized she just saw everything.

Oooooh! Cliffy! ! Next Chapter soon!

Vanellope - Well how's he getting out of this mess?

Me - Well... I'm not gonna say XP

Vanellope - Pwease?! *gives cutest face ever*

R.E.V.I.E.W.- Responsive Enlightenment of Views Importantly Expressed to the Writer

Preview: After the visit, Ray and Vanellope head back to Ray's house, but Ray's not so cheery. He just remembered he has a funeral to go to for his Grandpa. He really doesn't like funerals, but he has to do it for his dad. Can he get through this without an attack, or is this gonna be another one of those days? And where's Ralph? STAY TUNED!