(A/N) I finally get a chance to post after over a week of writer's buildup. Any longer and it wouldn't have been pretty... 0.o

CHAPTAH STARTO!

Chapter 13

Holiday Trials and Tribulations Pt 2

January 1st, 2013

Ray was adjusting his gauntlet for a trip into his DS when Vanellope walked in with a bag of sugary snacks.

"V... You know you can't come with me. If you died in this game, you won't respawn." Ray warned her as he set the DS on the table.

"But you need backup! I've gotta help!" She rebutted as she slung the pack on her back.

"You're staying beside me the entire time. Got it?"

"OK!" She responded as she slipped on the medal and grabbed Ray's hand.

"Transport! Game Central Station-DSi Blue Wakkoteen8!"

A flash of light shot them into Ray's DS as fast as you could say Dream Eater.

When they entered the station, it seemed just like the GCS they were used to, but with new characters and it was a bit smaller.

"Ralph's tracker signal is coming from Apollo Justice, Ace Attorney."

"You put a tracker on stinkbrain?" Vanellope queried with a smirk.

"You thought the boots were for show? I only needed it if he got into trouble here." he replied as they entered the tunnel to the game.

"The defendant, Ralph, after multiple testimonies against him by witnesses and the pile of evidence matching said accusations, I have no choice but to find him..." The judge dredged as the wrecker stood on the witness stand.

"Innocent!" Ray called from behind him as he ran into the courtroom wearing a blue suit.

"Order! Order! On what grounds is this man innocent?!" The judge growled at Ray.

"Well the prosecutor knows exactly why... Don't you Ashton?" Ray gloated as he stared his rival down.

"You mean..." The defense attourney, Apollo Justice, inquired as he knew what Ray was talking about.

"Exactly! The footprints at the scene of the crime! They're too small to belong to Ralph! And the murder weapon would never fit in his hand well enough for him to shoot someone!" Ray objected as the crowd went crazy.

"Order! Order! Seeing this evidence I have no choice but to find Ralph... Innocent." The judge calmly said as he banged the gavel and the crowd dissipated.

"You did it, Wet Noodle!" Vanellope congratulated as she entered the courtroom.

"False witnesses... False evidence... If I didn't call you out, Ralph would've been put away for life. In the words of Sonic the Hedgehog... YOU'RE TOO SLOW!" Ray mocked as Ashton dissipated into thin air.

"Yes... Oh Crap." Ray whispered as he dropped to his knees and fainted.

Ray woke to Ralph's relieved face.

"They let me off. I almost got canned. Thanks babe..." Ralph gushed out as Ray realized he was in Ralph's lap.

"No problem. I've played this game way too much to lose to him. There was too much evidence in your favor then against you." Ray explained as Apollo walked up to the group.

"Thanks for the save. He blocked my access to the Court Record so I couldn't present any evidence to save him." Apollo explained as he shook Ray's hand.

"Don't thank me yet... This case isn't over. Your next client is waiting and he's innocent too. Good luck in the future!" Ray replied as he teleported them back into his house.

"Sleep... Now... Me..." Ray rambled as he walked up the stairs to his room.

"Vanellope... Don't stay up too late. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." Ralph chastised her as he ran up the stairs.

Ray woke up at 4:30 in the morning and snuck out of bed, trying not to wake Ralph.

As he crept through the hallway, he heard a squeaky yawn as he passed by the guest room.

"Ray?" Vanellope whispered as she glitched into the hallway.

"Hey... Give this to Ralph when he wakes up." Ray whispered back as he handed her a black box with a note attached.

"Sure thing..." she replied as she glitched back into her room.

Ray took the secret door up to the roof and sat on the edge.

"Right on time." He thought to himself as Justin teleported next to him.

"Punctual as usual... Now let's start."

They sparred for 30 minutes straight, neither fighter giving an inch, but stopped when they heard a knock on the ceiling.

"Ray! You up there?! I got the note!" Ralph's voice penetrated the morning silence.

Ray unlatched the door and Ralph hopped through.

"Now that you're here, let's try something different." Ray suggested as he went to a corner of the roof and pulled a tile revealing a keypad.

He typed in some coördinates and the roof turned into a 6 story building downtown surrounded by similar buildings all equipped with air ducts, metal pipes, and littered with gravel.

"Good thing you're wearing those boots or this gravel would murder your feet. Now, first person to the green pole wins. Ready?" Ray stated as he pointed to a glowing pole in the distance.

"When did you find the time to build this?" Justin queried as he took in the scenery.

"Well this was my training spot before... let's get going."

Ray leapt off the roof and landed on an adjacent roof in a roll.

Ralph followed suit, but fell feet first.

Justin came last landing on a ledge.

"Watch it! You fall and you're disqualified!" Ray shouted as he slid under a pipe.

Ralph and Ray we're neck and neck, but Ray had a trick up his sleeve.

He hopped from the roof into a window just below the roof with the pole on it and kicked a support beam causing it to collapse.

Ralph and Justin were about to touch the pole, but the building fell and they fell with it.

"Winnah!" Ray shouted as he floated up with the pole and they fell onto the roof as the simulation ended.

"Damn... That was a workout." Ralph commented as he rubbed his neck.

"How'd you do that?" Justin inquired as he sat up.

"I learned that move the hard way. Always expect the unexpected and know your surroundings."

"Well tomorrow Ralph's going back so let's spend this last day doing what he wants to do."

"Sounds like a plan. What'd you want to do?"

"Well..."

"Whoa..." Ray gushed as he saw the huge bowl of ramen.

"Why'd you want to take this challenge again?" Justin inquired as he sat on the left of Ralph.

"I need this." Ralph joked as he picked up a pair of steel chopsticks.

"You have 15 minutes to complete the challenge. Begin!"

Ralph began slurping down the ramen like it was no one's business.

Vanellope cheered him on from Ray's lap.

Only 2 minutes in and he was almost halfway done.

"Where did he get that iron stomach?! That ramen is super spicy!" Ray thought to himself as he watch his love devour his meal.

"I had to eat scraps for 30 years. Your stomach adjusts after that." Ralph spoke to Ray through telepathy.

"Whoa... you heard that?"

"Yeah. We're linked. Remember that time 3 years ago during the invasion?"

"Yeah..."

"Linked."

"I love you~"

"Love you too."

Ralph was so busy mind chatting with Ray, he didn't notice he was finished until his spoon clinked the bottom of the bowl.

"Winner!"

"Yes he is." Ray thought to himself as he watched his boyfriend pose for his picture.

"He never stops using that pose."

The next day, Ray, Vanellope, Ralph, and Justin filed into Litwak's around 5 in the morning to return the characters to their games, but Ray was searching his pockets frantically for something.

"Where's the medal?! Where is it?! I had it yesterday on the roof..."

"You left it on the roof?!" Justin barked as he ran up to Ray.

"No. But I did feel a breeze through my pocket for a second..."

"Wait... I can track it!" Justin dashed into the code room and began his search for the medal.

"The roof, Ray? The roof?" Ralph inquired telepathically as they stood behind Justin's chair.

"Says the guy that was wiggling his ass in my face on purpose." Ray shot back mentally.

"You saw that?"

"Your subtlety level is under 9000."

"I believe it's over 9000."

"No more Youtube for you."

"Found it!" Justin broke the silence of the room with his outburst.

"I'm surprised the two of you stayed so silent while I was working. Usually you'd be turbo flirting."

"You have no clue." Ray commented as Ralph stifled a giggle.

Vanellope was still asleep on his shoulder seeing as she stayed up late watching Toonami.

"Now... the signal has been traced to an abandoned mansion on the countryside." Justin elaborated as he pointed out the site.

"Who has it?" Ray inquired gripping the back of Justin's shirt

"Well... That's the bad part."

"Let me guess..."

"Ashton has the medal."

"Damn it!" Ray swore as he shot a bolt of lightning at the wall.

"Wait! This may be a good thing. He could've brought the Big 4 to the mansion, so it's the perfect chance to take them all out at once." Justin explained as he plugged the coördinates into his gauntlet.

"Just one problem... How are we gonna use our Codemaster forms if we don't have the medal?"

"You honestly think I only made one?" Justin queried as he opened a drawer full of medals.

"Remind me after this is done to make you do 100 pushups..." Ray growled under his breath.

"Are they coming?" Ganon inquired as he sat in a room with Ashton, Dr. Wily, and Sephiroth.

"They've defeated all but one of our generals. Sephiroth! Where's your general?"

"He's guarding the door. They'll never get in."

"But Ray has accessed the full power of X Mode. He won't go down easy." Ashton added.

"Let him come. He will fall like the rest before him."

The next day, Mr. Litwak closed the arcade so the search and destroy mission wouldn't be interrupted.

Ray, Justin, and Ralph reached the mansion about 30 minutes after leaving the arcade, but as they reached the door, a huge sword crashed in front of them.

A mysterious figure with golden spiky hair and a scarf covering his face appeared from behind a shrub.

"What business do you have here?" the figure inquired as he pulled the sword from the ground.

"We're here to defeat the Big 4 of Litwak's Arcade. Step aside."

"I am the strongest general of the Big 4. My name is Cloud and my master won't free me until I defeat you, Ray Hagane. So en garde!"