Changes.

The next morning, Ralph was awakened by Vanellope jumping up and down on his chest. She stopped when he opened his eyes and looked up.

She flopped down on his chest, with her head under his chin. "Geez, you're tough to wake up."

His arm came up, his hand covering most of her. She relaxed. This was what she wanted. She was totally safe from everything. Only near him did she feel really at peace.

But she wondered if it was right. Did she really make Ralph happy? Or did she want him only because of her past? For the first time, she didn't have to worry about the future. She didn't have to run… or hide. She had her game, and her cart, and friends. Did she really love him, or just want him? She needed to figure that one out. She worried that she was just being selfish; that she was clinging to Ralph only to protect her from the world… the same world that hated her so much over the years.

"Was Ralph right?" She wondered. He said that one day, she wouldn't need him anymore. Maybe the dreams would go away. She's surrounded by people who like her now. She's not trapped anymore. There were boys in her own game. Not very smart, but more… compatible.

But they didn't think like Ralph did. He was a bit slow to figure things out, yes. But when he got something, it was carved in stone. When he believed in something, it was forever. And she wanted him to believe that way in her. She knew what he tried to do for her. She would never have to worry about his feelings. If she won him, he would be hers.

But was she trying too hard? Was she trying to win Ralph or take him? Like a trophy… a prize, like beating all the other racers in the Random Roster Race.

No. She had to believe that it was the two of them together that mattered. Two outcasts who had found the missing part of their lives in each other. She was the best for him. Nobody would ever make him as happy as she could. Not even that… fluffy… Sorceress. And no one could ever make her feel as safe as Ralph. No, she would never leave.

"You're wrong." She muttered, sitting up to stare at his face.

Ralph raised his head, stuffing pillows behind it. "I just woke up! How can I be wrong already? You've got to at least let me say something first."

Vanellope leaned forward, closed her eyes, and pursed her lips. Take a hint, she thought at him. After waiting an humiliating number of seconds, she opened her eyes and sat up. Ralph was staring at her, his eyes wide.

"Hmmph!" She said. "Am I that ugly to you?"

Ralph worked his mouth. "No! But… you…"

Vanellope reached out and laid a hand across his lips. "Ralph, I wouldn't change for anything in the world. But I would for you if I could. I'd be tall and leggy like Tamora." She cupped her hands together in front of her chest. "I'd be all… round like those girls. I'd be that for you and nobody else, ever."

Ralph sputtered; "But… that's not…"

She laid her hand back over his lips; "Hush. I'd be whatever you wanted, if it would make you love me. But I can't change. I dream about it, you know." She tilted her head. "I look in those big brown eyes, and I know you keep thinking 'child'… or 'kid'. And no matter how old I get, you'll never see me as one of those beautiful women."

She sat back up, her hands together in her lap. "So, you see? I've got to make you understand somehow that I'm just as good as they are. Even better. That I can't stand for you to think of me as a child forever!"

There was a considerable amount of very quiet time passing here.

Ralph finally spoke, almost a whisper; "This time you're the one who's wrong. You are beautiful. You're smart. And your eyes are… more dangerous than Calhoun's gun." He leaned his head back; "And I know it's not fair to think of you like the human girls."

He looked up again; "But I'm trying. I saw last night, when all the Nicelanders took to you so fast. I saw Tapper's, when nobody cared. You're what your code says, and I'm trying to understand. Just like I'm always going to be big, and clumsy, and… slow to get it."

That seemed to be all Vanellope was going to get out of him this morning. She leaned forward. "So let's try this again." She said, closing her eyes.

Ralph leaned up ever so carefully, and gave her the lightest kiss. He tasted sugar, and smelled chocolate.

She leaned back and smiled from ear to ear; "See, that wasn't so disgusting, was it?" Her face was glowing, and her eyes shining.

He touched a thumb to her cheek. She grabbed his hand in both arms, and rubbed the side of her face against it. Stray hair fell in front of her face from the black tousled mass. She looked in his eyes; "Take your time, Ralph. Just… let me love you a little bit… okay?"

He smiled back; "Don't ever change your hair… or that perfume."

She stood up and stretched; "Well, I think we made some great progress here, but I've got to get to my game. The arcade's gonna open soon."

Before Ralph could say anything else, she glitched to the door, waved "Bye-bye!", and left. She didn't want to give him a chance to open his mouth and somehow ruin the beautiful mood she was in right now.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vanellope drove up to the Start Line. There was a group of racers gathered around the screen. She got out and walked over. Rancis looked around at her. "Did you do this?"

Vanellope walked up. There was another screen. This one showed the arcade like one was looking out the front of Fix-it Felix. She could see Ralph's game, just over to the side. The sun was shining through the arcade windows.

"Wow." She looked around; "This happened last night?"

Taffyta nodded; "Gloyd said some big guys dressed like the blond lady came in and put this up. Nobody wanted to come out, 'cause they had those…" She raised her hands like she was holding a rifle; "things she killed the bugs with."

That explained it. Tamora had used some of that tech stuff. She told the others; "Well, it's a good idea to learn things now that we're free again. It's not so scary, really." She leaned over towards Taffyta; "Besides, there's lots of men out there." She looked back to the screen; "Time to get ready. Places, everybody!" She ran to glitch into her Princess gear, stashed behind the curtain of the main stand. Some days she raced as the Princess, and some days she raced as Vanellope, and she felt pretty today.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

It was a typical day. The Tree Day crowds weren't starting yet. That would happen in another week or so.

The arcade schedule, besides the human special days, followed a pattern. There were five days of normal time. The fifth night, the arcade was open later than usual. Then the next day, that was the toughest. The arcade opened early in the morning, and was open well into the night. That was the day the characters were the most worn out. Then the arcade was closed a whole day. Then it started over again. Whatever the reason, it had been that way as long as anyone could remember.

There were a few players on Fix-it Felix that day, and a couple of them could have sworn that Wreck-it Ralph was smiling.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Sugar Rush was pretty busy that day. Vanellope did have a few chances to watch Ralph. She gasped the first time she saw Ralph kill Felix with a brick. "That game's so violent!" She thought. She frowned when she saw the Nicelanders throw him off the roof.

She had something to think about, now. That explained Ralph a lot. Now she knew why his code made him angry, and why he had wanted the medal. She felt she was really, finally getting somewhere with him. What could she do with this new information?

The paced and thought. She had talked to Ralph about how she had wanted to change for him, about how he thought of her physical body. That seemed to be his biggest problem. That made her angry just a bit, and jealous of the fact that the brand-new Tamora had no such problem with Felix. As awkward as they look, there must be something to all those lumpy girl parts.

But this was different. She was working on his mind. His code was smaller than hers, and was harder to… adjust… to new things. She had to find a place in his code for her to stay.

She thought about it hard. The Princess code was useless here, this was work for Vanellope.

She remembered Tamora talking about tactics. She had said; "Sometimes a frontal assault won't work. You have to find a way to outflank it." But her Ralph wasn't a battle to be won. She wanted to win his heart, not defeat him.

What had she been doing? Sometimes she yelled at him. That worked some, but didn't permanently change his mind a lot. Being logical didn't work so well, or she wouldn't have such a mess.

What affected him inside the most? What made a mark on him? She thought some more. Maybe… just maybe… it was just being soft. Even though he seemed almost scared of it, her touch could calm him down. She remembered that morning, and the touch of his hand against her face. She remembered the other night. His face relaxed more. His eyes looked more at her, and he smiled more… or at least frowned less.

His game was all smashing stuff, and trying to kill Felix, and getting thrown off the roof. Was it so simple? Somehow, that idea felt right. All those years of nothing but wrecking. Like his smile when they had built her cart. He just wasn't used to good, simple things happening to him, or people caring. Her own past helped her see what that life could be like.

That told her what to do, but then she thought of her other problem. If she 'fixed' Ralph, would he be hers? There are other girls out there. Girls that look like real girls. She didn't just want Ralph to love… she wanted him to love her.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"ALL CLEAR!

Another day of gaming over. Felix came over to Ralph as he was going to his house. They discussed the building of Vanellope's guest room. Ralph scratched his head, and tried to figure a way out of it, but he really didn't want to, and they got to work.

So this was pretty easy to do. Felix and Ralph just had to pick out some wall parts, and some furniture bits, which Ralph carried inside. Felix soon had a fair sized room in one corner. Ralph couldn't get through the regular Niceland doors, but he shoved the furniture pieces in one at a time, and Felix fixed them. Felix was heaving a long dresser into place when Ralph's front door opened.

Tamora and Vanellope had met at the train. Since the guys hadn't come out, they were checking in. Vanellope loved her new room. She kissed Felix on the cheek; "Thank you! This is way better than that couch."

She went over to Ralph, and wrapped her arm around his hand. He looked at her as she smiled up at him. "Hi! Everybody ready?" This was the night they were going to Hero's Duty.

Tamora still was worried about Felix going there, more that was normal. The memory of losing her first fiancé there made her frightened for the handyman. But he held her hand, and assured her he would be fine. So the four of them set out.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

As they walked across Game Central towards the Hero's duty gate, Ralph looked over at Q*Bert and the others from his game standing around. Ralph thought about it. He was happy now that he had a place he could call home, but what about them? They had nowhere at all. He would ask Felix if there was something to do about it.

The train ride was quick, and they found themselves at the elevator. Everyone but Ralph went down first. Along the street were several heavily armed Space Marines. Tamora had increased the watch today.

As they waited for the elevator's return, Felix got his first look at the town area of the game. There were businesses, homes, apartments… some standing, some damaged, and some just a pile of wreckage. There were some of the civilians out and about. These people weren't carpenters, but Felix didn't see any problem fixing this up at all.

Ralph got out of the elevator, and they set off down the street. As they got to the main intersection, Tamora said; "I've got to check with security. It'll just be a minute." Felix looked over to the church. He pointed; "I'll just be over there." With several troopers in the area, including men on roofs, Tamora decided it was safe enough.

Ralph looked at Vanellope. He said "Go with Felix. I'll catch up.", as he followed Calhoun to her makeshift office. Tamora noticed this, and held the door for him as he bent over to enter. Taller than the Niceland apartments, but still a bit short, Ralph went over to the couch and sat down. The couch creaked as he settled down. Tamora went over to the desk to check the monitor, and see how the perimeter watch was doing. No one had better be slacking off tonight. Knowing Ralph wasn't here to keep her from being lonely, she looked at him. "So? Spit it out, Wreck-it."

Ralph was looking down at his hands, which he was twisting together, like he didn't know what to do with them. He was completely embarrassed, but this person was the one Vanellope talked to the most.

He looked up; "Well… you're a girl… and I thought… maybe you… knew something about them."

Tamora smiled. She knew how hard this was for Ralph, but she had to try not to laugh. "Well, soldier. With opening lines like that, it's a wonder somebody hasn't snapped you up long ago."

Ralph tried to recover; "I… just meant that…"

Tamora waved her hand at him. "At ease. I get it. You've got a Princess problem. And your pal Felix isn't exactly an expert on women, either. You figure I've got the inside scoop on your girl."

Ralph slowly nodded. He started to lay it out for her. "I just… want to know… why me? She's got the whole world now. It's nice she thinks I helped her and everything, but she doesn't need me." He looked back down at his hands again. "I'm just going to be a big embarrassment for her."

Tamora leaned back and shook her head. "I'd like to find who made your code and slap them. I thought Felix was thick." She leaned forward, and rested her elbows on the desk. "Look, joker, you've already done all the hard work." She looked at Ralph's confused face and continued; "Most women spend their whole lives wondering just how far a guy would go for them. You've already proved yourself. No other man in this arcade could ever compare with you to her."

She sat back again; "Yeah, we talked. I don't think it's all classified. You treated her nice when nobody else did. You fought for her. She spent her whole life running and hiding, and then you show up. Are you trying to blame her for wanting you?"

Ralph shook his head. "No! But that was… then. Now she can…"

Tamora broke in; "And now you think she can do just peachy without you, right? Look, I can't tell you every time what's right or wrong. I've got some code issues myself. But I'll let you in on this… that girl is completely gone on you. Head over heels. She's made it her life's work to make you happy."

She pointed a finger at Ralph accusingly; "And to me, buster, you shouldn't be making it so hard for her. She had nothing but rejection all her life… she doesn't need any more. Especially from you!"

She narrowed her eyes at Ralph, sitting there trying to say something. "Unless, you don't care? You don't want her around? You don't care for her at all?"

Ralph finally found his voice. "That's not it. I didn't even think people could like each other like that. She scares me." He sighed; "But every day, it gets harder to think about life without her."

He looked down at his feet and mumbled; "Yeah… I love her. I can't… not love her."

Tamora took a deep breath, relieved. For a few minutes, it felt like Wreck-it was trying to talk himself out of it. She tried to make her voice as soothing as possible. "Then there's nothing to worry about, big guy. You've both decided, and now you just have to quit fighting it. And believe me, you give that girl a little encouragement and…"

The comm on her desk crackled loudly. A bright red light came on.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Vanellope tagged behind Felix. He was looking around, and decided to go into the church. As they walked in, Vanellope screwed up her courage.

"Um, Felix?" He turned to look at her. "Well, about Ralph…" She paused. What did she want to know? How could she put it? "In your game, he kills you a lot. Do you… hate him for it?"

Felix was taken aback a little by this. He thought about it. "No, I've never been mad at him. It's the game. Doesn't hurt at all." He continued; "These past few days have made me feel sad for him. I never questioned anything about our game. I never thought about how lonely he really was while I had all my friends." He smiled at her; "I'm glad he has you now."

Vanellope touched Felix's arm. "Felix… he has me, but does he want me?" She had to ask the hard question from the only one who knew Ralph. Her voice cracked a bit; "Do you think I'm just… forcing… myself on him? Please, Felix, help me."

Felix was a bit in shock at that question. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Wow. Miss Vanellope, he's awful sweet on you. You are not forcing yourself on him at all." He lowered his voice, as if Ralph was in the room with them; "You know, we built his house the other night because he was so ashamed you would see him living in the dump? I've never seen him really happy in thirty years until now." He walked over towards the front of the church, taking out his hammer. "No… forcing yourself on him is the farthest from the truth you can get."

He tapped a shattered pew with his hammer. Fixed. Another. He walked to the very front. There was a trooper standing in the hole of the shattered window, watching. Felix waved at him, then tapped the edge of the stained glass.

The result was instant and beautiful. One second, a gigantic hole, the entire end of the church, surrounded by shards of broken glass. The next, a brilliant stained glass mural reflecting the sun, bathing them in colored light.

The trooper outside staggered back in shock for a second, then stared dumbly at the perfect window. The Sergeant had been right! The arcade was filled with all sorts of magic.

Vanellope and Felix walked out of the fully restored church. He looked around for his next project, while Vanellope looked around to see if Ralph was out yet. She suspected they were talking in there, and maybe Tamora could straighten him out some. She saw something move. She looked up. "Uhhh, Felix? Are those… those…"

Felix pulled out his hammer, stared at it, and returned it to his belt. "My lands! It's the bugs!" He looked for somewhere to run to.

Radios began sputtering orders out. The Space Marines were raising their weapons… aiming… and fire started breaking out. The specks in the sky grew larger quickly. A few of them exploded as sharpshooters on the roofs opened up. Vanellope cringed as the volume rose, as more troops cut loose with everything they had.

Then the bugs were on them. One landed directly in front of Felix. Vanellope, her reflexes faster than thought after a life of running, grabbed Felix's arm and glitched ten feet away. She was trying to figure out which way to go when Felix was snatched out of her grip. A second bug had grabbed the entire upper body, and was chewing on him. Vanellope was knocked down by the bug's body as it turned. The first bug, frustrated that it had been cheated of its snack, jumped over and grabbed one of Felix's legs sticking out, and the two of them commenced a tug-of war with the body of the doomed handyman.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Perimeter breach! Sector four out!"

Tamora jumped up so fast the chair clattered across the floor behind her. "Bugs! Felix!" She was pulling her rifle and charging it as she leaped for the door.

Ralph didn't pay attention to such things as doors. At Calhoun's yell, he had turned and smashed through the door, taking the frame and part of the wall with him. He stopped at the step, looking wildly around. Where were they? Calhoun on his heels, rifle raised, scanning the air.

Then Ralph saw them. He launched towards them. Tamora glanced at him, and then followed. The bugs were tearing at something. Ralph's brain was trying to goad his body faster. He saw Vanellope on the ground, he saw Felix…

"Felix! NO!" He screamed as he ran towards them. Several troops were trying to get a shot in, but afraid of hitting one of them. Ralph, at a dead run, hit the bug tearing at Felix's leg so hard it shattered. One of the snipers, knowing it was too late, shot the other. Felix's flickering body fell to the ground. Vanellope glitched to him, and Ralph staggered over.

A few feet away, Tamora was frozen. He rifle fell from her numb fingers, and clattered on the ground. She couldn't see clearly from the tears. She felt dizzy, and everything seemed tilted. She didn't care. She stood and sobbed openly.

Ralph kneeled by Felix. Vanellope sat on the ground and cried. The flickering stopped.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo