Chapter 3: In Which Ralph Drinks Root Beer and Sings Karaoke

Sorceress checked her brass pocket watch for the fifth time that evening. It was exactly ten o'clock at night. Two hours ago the arcade had closed for the day. Now Game Central Station was bustling with sprites of all shapes and sizes from just about every game. She paid no attention to the many people and things coming and going. Her eyes were on the outlet to Sugar Rush, watching anyone and everyone going in or out.

Ralph had promised to meet her here at the benches at ten o'clock. It was now nine fifty-five. As the minutes ticked by, Sorceress continued to sit on her cold metal bench, watching the people passing and listening distractedly to Sonic the Hedgehog's recorded public service announcements. After about three minutes had passed, she began to wonder if Ralph was still coming.

He wouldn't stand her up, would he? He was the one that had asked her out in the first place. But what if he changed his mind? What if she'd come on too strong when she used the word 'date' last night? Or what if he decided to spend the evening with Vanellope instead? She was anxiously chewing her polished red fingernails when the harsh electric buzzing of an alarm jolted her out of her thoughts.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

"Random security check, sir."

"Argh! Not now, Surge!"

Sorceress had never been so happy to hear men bickering as she was right at this moment. Ralph was here! The Surge Protector had stopped him as he was coming out of the outlet of Sugar Rush and they were now going through their routine argument over smuggled food. This time it was peppermints the size of hockey pucks, but Sorceress didn't care. Ralph was here! He wasn't going to stand her up after all! Sorceress snapped her pocket watch shut and tucked it in the folds of her long skirt, where it vanished without a trace. Then she rose from her bench and floated toward the two men, holding back her excitement but unable to hide the bright smile on her face.

Ralph, by contrast, looked more harried than usual. As if going out on the first date of his life wasn't stressing him out enough, now this skinny little runt was getting in the way. And he'd tried so hard to get here on time, too. If only Vanellope hadn't insisted on giving him all these stupid giant peppermints. As he tried to argue with the Surge Protector, his tone was both exasperated and desperate, and steadily rising in volume. "I don't have time to go through another security check!" he insisted. "I'm supposed to meet somebody now!"

The Surge Protector remained as impassive as ever, eyes glued to the clipboard in his hands. "You really should've thought of that before you decided to steal food again," he replied in his usual dull monotone.

Ralph bared his teeth and growled as his famous temper began to flare up. He clenched his empty hand into a fist, debating whether pounding the smaller man through the floor was worth the inevitable consequences.

That was when Sorceress descended behind the Surge Protector, high-heeled boots clicking lightly on the polished floor when she touched down. She did her usual small curtsy in greeting "Good evening, Mr. Wreck-It," she said, poised and polite as always.

At the sight of her, Ralph stood up straight, smoothed back his scruffy mess of hair with one hand and popped the oversized peppermint into his mouth. "Hey, Shorshereshh," he said, trying his best to look cool and casual in spite of the candy impairing his speech.

Sorceress stifled a chuckle at this. Then she turned her attention to the Surge Protector, who had been discreetly ogling her until she made eye contact with him. "Pardon me, Mr. Protector," she began, her smile becoming less genuine but still very dignified. "Is there a problem here?"

The Surge Protector had some trouble answering as he gazed up at the eerily lovely woman looming over him in an outfit that left little to the imagination. He cleared his throat and resumed his professional demeanor as best he could. "Not to worry, ma'am," he said, adjusting the knot of his tie. "I've got the situation under control, so you can go about your business."

Sorceress allowed herself a quick, smug little smirk. It was no secret that the Surge Protector had a weakness for pretty women; a weakness she planned to use to her and Ralph's advantage. "And I'm sure you're doing a fine job as always," she said, still very poised and polite. "However, with all due respect, this is my business. It just so happens, sir, that this man you're harassing is my date for tonight."

The Surge Protector's eyes widened hugely behind his glasses and his brows rose to meet his nonexistent hairline. He looked from the eerily lovely Sorceress to the oafishly grubby Ralph, whose face had reddened noticeably when she said the word 'date'. Then the guard looked back at Sorceress, seemingly oblivious to the wrecker's embarrassment. "You're kidding, right?" he asked in disbelief.

Ralph glared at him behind his back, enormous hands clenching at his sides into mighty fists. Seeing that his temper was wearing thin, Sorceress walked casually past the Surge Protector to stand next to Ralph. She placed a gentle hand on his huge arm, intending to both calm him down and prove that she wasn't kidding. It worked on both counts.

"It's the truth," Sorceress said simply, as if it was there was nothing strange about it. "Mr. Wreck-It and I have a date tonight. So if you would please be kind enough to let him off the hook, Mr. Protector, we would both greatly appreciate it."

The Surge Protector stared blankly at the mismatched pair in utter bafflement for a moment. In the end, his inability to say no to attractive women won out. He cleared his throat and straightened up. "All right, sir," he said to Ralph, back in serious security guard mode. "I'll let you off with a warning this time, but don't let it happen again."

Still sucking on his rapidly dissolving peppermint, Ralph frowned and gave the smaller man a resentful grunt. He didn't stop glowering at the guard until he dismissed himself and vanished in a burst of electric sparks. Once he was gone, Ralph turned to the elfin woman by his side and felt his mood improve almost instantly. "I really gotta hang out with you more often," he said, smiling at her gratefully.

Sorceress smiled back with not small amount of pride. "Don't mention it, Mr. Wreck-It," she said, pleased about resolving the dispute diplomatically. Folding her hands neatly behind her back, she floated up from the floor until she was hovering at his eye level. "Shall we go now?"

He swallowed what was left of his peppermint and nodded. "I thought you'd never ask."

The two Bad Guys moved through the crowded station side by side, Ralph padding barefoot across the polished floor and Sorceress floating a foot and a half above it. The other sprites around them made sure to stay out of their way, though a few of them stopped to stare and whisper behind their backs. Neither Ralph nor Sorceress paid them much attention, however, since they were having their own conversation.

"I have to admit," Sorceress was saying as she fidgeted with one of her cuffs. "I was a bit worried you wouldn't show up."

Ralph's expression turned sympathetic. He remembered how disappointed she was when he found her alone the night before, when her blind date was a no-show. "Well, that's one thing I promise you'll never have to worry about."

She smiled back at him gratefully. "Thank you, I see that now." She gestured toward his right hand. "And I see your burn from yesterday is gone, too."

He raised his hand and displayed his fully healed palm for both of them to see. "Yeah, Felix took care of it. Not before freaking out at the sight of it, though."

She chuckled behind her hand. "Did you have any trouble explaining things to him?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I just told him the truth. I had an accident in Street Fighter, and that was that."

This wasn't the whole truth, really. When he'd explained things to Felix, he'd left Sorceress out of the story completely and said nothing to him about his plans to go out with her the next day. The last thing he wanted was for his co-workers to get ideas about his nonexistent love life. Lucky for him, Felix was just gullible enough to accept practically anything he said at face value.

Sorceress wasn't that naive, however. She arched a skeptical eyebrow, sensing that Ralph wasn't telling her everything. If it was about something more important she would have questioned him further, but it wasn't, so she chose not to comment on it and changed the subject. "How is President Von Schweetz? You just came from seeing her race tonight, yes?"

"Yup, and she won another spot in tomorrow's roster," Ralph said. He couldn't help smiling as his chest swelled with pride for his best friend. "You know, she wouldn't let me leave until I explained why I couldn't stick around after the race."

Sorceress looked at him worriedly. "Oh, dear, I hope I didn't take you away from something important. She wasn't upset, was she?"

"She was until I told her what I was doing tonight." Ralph rolled his eyes at the memory. He could keep secrets from Felix, but not Vanellope. The kid knew him better than anyone and was pretty sharp for her age. "She got so excited that she started literally bouncing off the walls and glitching all over the place." He fished out another large peppermint from one of his pockets. "Then she loaded me up with these things and sent me on my way."

Sorceress chuckled lightly and smiled with relief. "I see. I'm glad she was so supportive." She tilted her head and eyed the huge piece of candy curiously. "By the way, what are those things for?"

Ralph shrugged, still trying to play it cool. "Eh, she just doesn't like me to leave on an empty stomach."

This wasn't the whole truth, either. Ralph was terrified of ruining his first date ever with his usual smelly halitosis breath. That was the real reason Vanellope had sent him off with so many peppermints, to help his breath smell fresher and make a good impression with Sorceress. It probably wasn't such a big deal since she'd been around him enough to know what he smelled like and had yet to complain about it, but he wasn't about to take any chances on a night like this. And there was no way he could tell her how nervous he was, not without sounding completely pathetic.

As Ralph stashed the peppermint down the front of his overalls, his fingers brushed against something else. He stopped walking suddenly. "Oh! Hang on, I almost forgot!"

After a bit of digging around, he produced a few limp, 8bit daisies. They had perfectly rectangular specks of dirt on their perfectly rectangular leaves and petals, and their sagging heads were hanging down lifelessly from their floppy broken stems. Ralph had actually picked these flowers back in his own game as soon as the arcade closed for the day. He often saw the Nicelanders give flowers to each other, and Felix was constantly giving flowers to Calhoun when they were courting, so naturally Ralph concluded that this was a standard dating practice. Though in hindsight, stashing them in his overalls probably wasn't such a smart idea.

He held the bedraggled daisies between two meaty fingers and offered them to Sorceress, grinning somewhat sheepishly. "Uh… Here, these are for you."

Sorceress just stared at the plain, droopy little plants in stunned silence. Ralph stood there holding the flowers, waiting for a response from her. When she didn't, he shifted his weight uncomfortably. "Sorry," he muttered, looking down at the floor. "They're probably not as fancy as what you're used to, and they're kinda dirty and smelly…"

"No, no, they're fine!" she interrupted.

Ralph's head snapped up, bushy eyebrows rising in astonishment. "Really?"

Sorceress nodded vigorously, long hair fluttering around her face from the motion. "I like them, I really do!" Taking a breath to regain some composure, she took the daisies from him. She smiled brightly, tenderly stroking their droopy square petals with one finger, red eyes full of warmth and pale blue cheeks just the faintest shade pinker. "They're perfect… Oh, thank you, Mr. Wreck-It."

There was nothing Ralph could do except stand there blinking at her in bewilderment. She just looked so happy holding those shabby, wilting flowers. Somehow it reminded him of how Vanellope had reacted to the sloppy candy go-kart he'd helped her make all those months ago, though with a lot less cheering and skipping. Actually, the two situations had another, more crucial difference. When Ralph helped Vanellope build the kart, he didn't go into it with the goal of making her happy. It just happened, and it surprised him how good it felt to make another person that happy for the first time in his life. When he gave Sorceress the flowers, though, he'd been trying to make her happy on purpose, hoping she would like them and worrying that she wouldn't. He really wanted to please her. And, wonder of wonders, it had actually worked.

Slowly, the corners of his mouth turned up and stretched into a wide, lopsided grin. Then he heard giggling behind him. Two little kids with halos, a boy and girl, were spying on the two Bad Guys from behind a nearby bench. That was when Ralph remembered that they were standing out in the open in a public place full of people who could see them. Trying to save face, he narrowed his eyes at the two angel kids and let out a low, warning growl. With some shrill yelps of fear, they scurried away hand in hand.

Turning back to Sorceress, Ralph cleared his throat and hooked a thumb in one pocket, still trying to act nonchalant as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Uh, you're welcome. I'm glad that… that you like the flowers…"

Sorceress was too busy admiring said flowers to notice anyone who might have been watching them. When was the last time anybody had given her flowers? A year? Two years? It was so long ago that she couldn't remember it. Nor could she remember the last time she felt this happy about something as simple as receiving flowers. She looked up at Ralph, still beaming and almost glowing with joy. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, the P.A. voice intoned from the speakers overhead.

"Tapper, now boarding. Tapper, now boarding."

Her eyes widened in surprise. The train for Tapper's was boarding, and if they missed it they'd be stuck here for thirty minutes waiting for the next one. And she'd had more than enough of sitting around waiting in Game Central Station. "Come on, we have to hurry!" She reached out to grab Ralph's hand by one thick forefinger and pulled. Without waiting for a reply she started dragging him along with her toward the outlet.

Stumbling to keep up, Ralph felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Wasn't this how their first interaction had started, back at the wedding reception when Sorceress dragged him out on the dance floor? He'd been painfully nervous about that, too, but after talking to her and discovering how interesting and pleasant she really was, he actually enjoyed their time together. Now he was going on the first date of his life with her. And if it followed the same pattern as their two previous interactions, everything would turn out just fine.

Ralph felt his goofy grin returning as his worries faded away. He really should hang out with Sorceress more often.

Meanwhile, as he was making his rounds, the Surge Protector spotted the couple rushing to the outlet of Tapper hand in hand. He paused to shake his head and muttered under his breath. "Those two won't last a week."

On the first Sunday of every month, Tapper would dust off the old karaoke machine he kept in the broom closet, set it up at the front of his bar, and proclaim it Karaoke Night. There was always a good crowd on these nights, but Ralph was never part of it until now. In the past, it was the one time he made a point of staying as far away from this game as possible. Too much noise, too many people, and nobody for him to talk to. His general attitude had improved dramatically in the past few months, however, and thus he was less resistant to stepping out of his comfort zone from time to time. Sorceress wasn't bad company, either.

Upon arriving, the two of them made themselves comfortable at the back of the bar where they drank their Root Beers and made sarcastic running commentary about the singers' talents or lack thereof. At the moment, it was Pac-Man singing at the front of the bar. Or trying to, anyway. He was mangling the song so badly, screeching too loud and completely off-key, that it was impossible to name what song it was anymore. By the time he finished, the people who applauded were only doing it because they were glad the terrible performance was over.

Sorceress had placed the daisies Ralph had given her in one of three mugs he'd already emptied as a temporary vase. Quietly sipping a bit of Root Beer from her own mug, she dabbed her lips dry with a napkin and gently straightened one of the crooked daises. "So," she began, turning to the huge man beside her. "What did you think of that horrendous racket?"

Ralph took a hearty gulp from his fourth extra-large mug of Root Beer. "Not bad," he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "If you like the sound of cats in boiling water, that is."

She chuckled dryly, stirring her drink absently with her straw. "You should hear Bowser or Dr. Eggman some time. They're not much better." She paused to take another sip. "What about you, Mr. Wreck-It? Do you sing?"

He and shook his head. "Nah, not really. I think I told you before that I'm not much of a singer."

She shrugged her pale blue shoulders. "Most people here aren't, but that's not stopping them."

"Maybe somebody should stop them," he replied, glancing at the bar stool where Pac-Man was now guzzling mug after mug of Root Beer.

She arched an eyebrow and pointed to the front of the bar where the karaoke system was set up. "Are you going to tell him that?"

An odd little creature resembling an orange beach ball with eyes, legs and a distinctive snout had taken the stage. The song playing was Don't Stop Believin' by Journey, but the creature's singing was not in English. His voice was a garbled jumble of unintelligible electronic gibberish represented by signs in the word balloons that appeared every time he tried to communicate.

Ralph's eyes widened. "Q*bert? No way! How long has he been doing this?"

"He and his friends have been here a lot since they got adopted into your game," Sorceress replied, smiling knowingly. "They didn't have much to sing about until then."

"Wow," Ralph said, still amazed that Q*bert was there at all. He was so used to living and working with him in his game that it was strange to think that the poor little guy was stranded in Game Central Station for so long. "You know, he's not half bad," Ralph commented. "I mean, he's not half good, either, but at least he's not really loud and off-key."

Sorceress nodded in agreement. "He should give Pac-Man a few tips about that."

The rest of the audience also seemed enjoy Q*bert's performance, as some of them were making sounds expressing approval. After listening to him sing for a while, Ralph got bored and decided to talk to Sorceress again. Listening to her dry wit was a lot more pleasant than trying to understand Q*bert-ese.

He took another noisy gulp of Root Beer before starting a new conversation. "So, uh, I take it you've come to Karaoke Night a few times before, huh?"

Sorceress smirked and tossed some hair over her shoulder in a rather haughty way. "Well, I don't mean to brag," she said imperiously. "But I'm something of a karaoke legend."

Ralph arched an eyebrow at this. "How is that not bragging?" he teased lightly.

"Because it's true," she replied matter-of-factly. "What? You don't believe me?"

"I dunno," he said, scratching his cheek with one huge finger. "That's a pretty bold claim to make when you haven't done any singing yet."

"Oh, so it's proof you want." She drummed her polished nails on the counter for a moment. "Alright then, let's make a deal. I'll go up there and sing after Q*bert is finished, and you'll sing after me. Then we'll see who the real superstar is."

He folded his arms on the counter, still holding his giant mug in one giant hand. "You sure that's a good idea? Q*bert's gonna be a tough act to follow."

Sorceress took the straw from her drink and pointed one drippy end at him. "Don't change the subject, Mr. Wreck-It. Do we have a deal?"

Ralph drummed his big fingers on the countertop thoughtfully. He was hesitant to sing in front of an audience, and it looked like Sorceress wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer. Still, he was genuinely interested in seeing if she could back up her claims of karaoke stardom. And if guys like Pac-Man and Q*bert could get up there and sing without a problem, why couldn't he?

"Okay," Ralph said at last. "It's a deal."

Pleased with his answer, Sorceress put the straw back in her mug and picked up the song list lying on the counter. "You can choose a song from here," she said, offering it to him.

"Aren't you gonna look at this?" he asked, accepting the list from her.

She shook her head. "I don't need to. I already have something in mind." With that, she went back to quietly sipping her Root Beer through her straw.

Soon Q*bert's song was over. He took a bow, a few people clapped politely, and the stage was free again. Seeing her chance, Sorceress uncrossed her legs and got up from her stool. "Showtime," she said, smoothing out her dress. "Wish me luck, Mr. Wreck-It."

Ralph smiled at her and flashed a thumbs-up sign. "Knock 'em dead, superstar!"

She winked back at him. "I always do."

As Sorceress made her way to the front of the bar, the other patrons recognized her and started clapping again, more eagerly than before. Anyone who had ever been to Karaoke Night in the past knew that Sorceress was one of the regulars, and when she sang it was a highlight of the evening. She smiled and acknowledged the bar crowd with a wave of her hand. This was why she loved coming here every month. It was one of the rare times when people besides her Bad Guy friends were actually happy to see her.

Sorceress tapped the code for her song selection into the machine and picked up the microphone. Words appeared on the monitor, introducing the song as Come Sail Away by Styx. The tinkling of piano keys wafted from the speakers. Then the lyrics came up on-screen and she began to sing, her eyes wistful and her tone nostalgic.

"I'm sailing away…/Set an open course for the virgin sea/'Cause I've got to be free/Free to face the life that's ahead of me… /On board I'm the captain, so climb aboard/We'll search for tomorrow on every shore/And I'll try, Oh Lord, I'll try… to carry on…"

Watching and listening from the back of the bar, Ralph's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. If the eager applause of the other patrons hadn't tipped him off earlier, Sorceress' actual performance made it clear that she wasn't kidding about being a karaoke legend. She sounded nothing like the male lead singer of Styx, of course, but she was a very, very good singer indeed. Occasionally she would look up to read the lyrics on the screen, but for the most part she was singing the words from memory. And it wasn't just her singing that was good. She was acting, too. The emotion in her voice, her facial expressions and body language, they were all as convincing as if she had rehearsed this scene multiple times the night before. And she had, but she was never going to tell him that.

Sorceress was just as invested in this date going well as Ralph was, if not more. It wasn't her first date, not by a long shot. The list of blind dates she'd been on over the years was longer than both her arms together. But this was her first time going on a date with someone she really liked and wanted to be with, a date the two of them had set up themselves without the help of any meddling third parties. That was why she suggested going to Karaoke Night with Ralph. It was something she knew she was good at and could make a positive impression with. So she sang on, pouring all her energy and emotion into the music.

"I look to the sea/Reflections in the waves spark my memory/Some happy, some sad/I think of childhood friends and dreams we had…/We lived happily forever, so the story goes/But somehow we missed out on the pot of gold/But we'll try best that we can… to carry on…"

Ralph, meanwhile, was so entranced by Sorceress' performance that he didn't notice when Tapper quietly took away the empty mugs on the counter and brought two clean ones brimming with fresh Root Beer. The bartender wisely left the mug holding the 8bit daisies untouched.

Then the drums and guitars kicked in, picking up the tempo. Sorceress changed her demeanor to match the energy of the music, and her movements became more lively. "A gathering of angels appeared above my head/They sang to me this song of hope and this is what they said/They said come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with meee, lads!"

A few cheers and claps went up. Sorceress grinned almost wide enough for her fangs to show and waved her free arm up and down, urging the crowd to sing the rest of the chorus with her. To Ralph's surprise, they actually did, and he was grateful she was singing into a microphone or he would have been unable to hear her over the noisy ragtag choir.

"Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me! Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with me, baby! Come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with meee!"

Before he knew what was happening, Ralph got caught up in the lively atmosphere just enough to stop gawking and start smiling again. This latter part of the song was more fun and less emotional, and Sorceress just looked so happy up there with all these people cheering and clapping for her. She was clearly having fun showing off for the audience, and they were eating it up. And so was he, surprisingly enough.

Soon the song was over. As Sorceress let her voice fade out with the music, the cheering and applause grew louder and more enthusiastic. No one was cheering and applauding as loudly as Ralph, however. He was the only person in the bar giving her a standing ovation. She could hear his thunderous clapping over everyone else's noise, even if she could barely see his goofy grin at the back of the room. Taking a bow, she let her long wavy hair fall down to obscure her blushing face and silly laugh. The cheers of the crowd were pleasant as always, but knowing Ralph enjoyed her show was far more satisfying.

"Thank you," Sorceress said into the microphone, standing upright and smoothing her hair neatly back into place. "Thank you, you're all very kind." She took another short bow and the applause started to die down. Then she put the microphone back in its place and left the stage to return to her date.

Ralph was sitting on his stool when she arrived, still grinning hugely and holding up two frothy mugs of Root Beer; a giant one for himself and a normal-sized one for her. "Now that was some great singing!" he praised, handing her the smaller mug. "I gotta say, Sorceress, you've really earned the title of karaoke legend. You're the best singer here, hands down. There's no way anyone else is gonna be able to top that!"

Sorceress blushed lightly at his compliments and took her mug in both hands. "You flatter me, Mr. Wreck-It," she said, seating herself on the stool next to his.

"It's not flattery if it's true," he replied, grin settling into a genuine smile. "Seriously, if I knew there was somebody as talented as you singing like that around here, I would've come out to hear you every month."

"Then you'll have to come back next time," she said, smiling modestly. She paused to make sure the daises in the empty mug were still in one piece. "By the way," she added. "It's your turn now."

Ralph's smile faded. "My turn to do what?"

She arched a pencil thin eyebrow at him. "To sing, of course. You promised to sing after I did. Don't tell me you forgot the deal we made five minutes ago?"

Ralph's face fell. He'd been so spellbound by Sorceress' amazing performance that he'd totally forgotten about their deal. And he still hadn't picked out a song to sing, either. "Oh, uh, right…" he muttered, scratching his cheek with one huge finger. "Um, see, about that…"

Sorceress frowned. "You're not trying to weasel out of it, are you?"

"No, no, of course not!" Ralph said quickly. "It's just that, uh, who wants to listen to a newbie like me sing right after a karaoke legend just blew everybody's minds?" He put on a very cheesy, phony grin and hoped she'd buy it.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. She wasn't buying it. "Don't make excuses, Mr. Wreck-It. We had a deal. I kept my end of the bargain, now you have to keep yours."

"And you did a fantastic job!" he said, raising his big hands defensively. "It's just, you know, it's getting pretty late, and we've both gotta go to work in the morning, so maybe we should call it a night and—"

"You're nervous," she said bluntly.

He flinched visibly. She'd hit the nail right on the head, but if he admitted it he would lose the argument. So he sat up straighter and frowned defiantly. "I'm not nervous."

Sorceress still wasn't buying it. She folded her arms and gave him a very steely, crimson stare. He could hide pieces of the truth from her, but she absolutely refused to put up with anything that was clearly a lie.

Ralph hunched over his mug and squirmed in his seat, trying to avoid her gaze, but he could still feel her eyes burning two holes through him. Argh, she was giving him that look, just like when she was mad at him in Street Fighter yesterday. He was too stubborn to admit that she was right, though, and she was too smart to fall for any of his lame excuses. So he said nothing at all, hoping she'd get the hint and drop the subject.

Then she placed one little hand over his. When he looked at her again her eyes had softened considerably. He felt his resolve waver just the tiniest bit.

"There's no shame in feeling nervous, Mr. Wreck-It," she said softly. "I don't know what all these other people here might think about it, but I for one would love to hear you sing."

Oh, jeez. Now she was giving him the other look. It was hard enough to resist her when she was being all cold and serious, but it was nigh impossible when she was being all sweet and gentle like this. And the worst part was that she wasn't faking it. She really, truly wanted to hear him sing. How could he say no to her now?

Ralph groaned in frustration. Then he looked her straight in the eye, raised one thick finger, and tried his best to sound tough. "One song. I'll do one song, and that's it."

Sorceress lit up and clasped her hands excitedly. "Yes, of course! That's all you have to do!"

He rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples between his fingers, grumbling under his breath and trying to hide his embarrassed blushing from her. At least she wasn't giving him that look anymore. Any longer under that sweet, gentle gaze and he might have melted.

Rising from his stool, Ralph trudged toward the front of the bar, muttering to himself about how he couldn't believe he was doing this and wondering how he became such a pushover. The closer he got to his destination, the quieter the other patrons became. By the time he was standing at the microphone, the bar was completely silent and all eyes were on him. No one had ever seen Wreck-It Ralph in Tapper's on Karaoke Night before, and so no one knew what to expect.

Ralph's mouth went dry and he began to sweat. It was only when he saw Sorceress smiling at him from the back of the room that he felt something close to courage. Do it for her, he told himself. She's the only one here that matters.

He turned to the karaoke machine to punch in the code for his song selection. Then he remembered he didn't have a song to select. What now? Push the buttons randomly and pray whatever song came out was something he knew? Argh, whatever. Just do it and get this over with.

After pushing the buttons at random, Ralph took the puny microphone between his big fingers and turned to look at the TV monitor. Words appeared on the screen; Don't You Want Me by The Human League. Then the synthesized music began to play and Ralph allowed himself to relax a little. This was a song the Nicelanders often played at their parties ever since the 80s. He'd heard it so many times over the years that he could recite the entire thing in his sleep. There was no way he could top Sorceress' outstanding performance and he wasn't going to try. All he had to do was get through this without looking like a complete idiot.

The lyrics came up on-screen. Ralph took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, raised the microphone to his lips and began to sing. "You were working as a waitress in a cocktail bar/When I met you/I picked you out, I shook you up/And turned you around/Turned you into someone new."

Much to the surprise of everyone else listening, Ralph's singing wasn't horrible. His voice was shaky and tense with nerves but it still sounded pretty good, better than anyone would have expected from a big, tough guy like him.

At the back of the bar, Sorceress was attentively watching him. He was doing well so far and she liked his singing voice, but he was still too nervous. She began to clap in time to the beat, hoping it would help boost his confidence. A few people in the audience heard her. Little by little, they started to clap along, too. Seated in the front row with a few of his formerly homeless co-stars, Q*bert bounced happily and made some encouraging beeps and buzzes.

Sure enough, Sorceress' plan worked. Hearing that the crowd didn't hate his singing, Ralph gained a bit more confidence. Maybe he could do this after all. He paused briefly to swallow, trying to moisten his dry throat. "Don't. Don't you want me?/You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me/Don't. Don't you want me?/You know I don't believe it when you say that you don't need me."

He stood a bit straighter and sang the next few lines in a somewhat steadier voice. "It's much too late to find/When you think you've changed your mind/You'd better change it back or we will both be sorry!"

Feeling braver, Ralph tore his eyes away from the screen and faced the crowd as he sang the chorus. "Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh!/Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh!"

The rhythmic clapping of the audience continued as the next verse came on-screen. Just as Ralph opened his mouth to sing, he remembered that this part was meant to be sung by a woman. He froze like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding freight truck. His mind raced. Now what? Was he supposed to sing this part himself? In a high-pitched, girly voice?!

Before he could start worrying about how in the heck he was going to pull that off, he heard a familiar female voice come to his rescue. "I was working as a waitress in a cocktail bar/That much is true/But even then I knew I'd find a much better place/Either with or without you."

Sorceress was standing near the karaoke machine, holding her own microphone and looking far more comfortable in the spotlight. Seeing their superstar making an encore performance, the audience got more excited and gave plenty of appreciative shouts and applause. She waved to them graciously, but her attention was mainly on Ralph. Without stopping for breath, she went on singing her lines. "The five years we have had have been such good at times/I still love you/But now I think it's time I live my life on my own/I guess it's just what I must do."

Ralph flashed a quick, thankful grin at her. Sorceress gave him a wink and gestured toward the screen. It was his turn to sing the next verse. This time his doubts and worries were all but gone. He didn't feel nervous anymore, not with the best singer in the house beside him. "Don't. Don't you want me?/You know I can't believe it when I hear that you won't see me/Don't. Don't you want me?/You know I don't believe it when you say that you don't need me."

The crowd was cheering even louder than before, and they weren't just cheering for Sorceress, either. This was in response to Ralph as much as it was for her. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Ralph noticed that Sorceress had lowered her microphone and was edging away from center stage. It seemed that she was planning to leave because the female singing part was over. But he wasn't going to let her get away so easily. Remembering how she had used acting to enhance her performance earlier, he decided to try some theatrics of his own.

He caught her tiny hand in his, dropped down on one knee, and proceeded to belt out the chorus for her. "Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh!"

Some hearty laughter went up from the audience. Sorceress was both puzzled and startled by his bold behavior. With a playful smirk, Ralph winked up at her and nodded at the microphone that was in her other hand. He wanted her to keep singing with him. Flustered and still recovering from her bewilderment, she decided to comply. This time it was her voice that was shaky with nerves. "D-Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh…"

Ralph chuckled and stood up, still holding her hand in his. Sorceress couldn't hide her embarrassed blushing with him grinning at her like that. It didn't help that the audience was whooping and whistling at them, either. Trying to keep up some dignity, she held her head high and turned to face the audience. Ralph did the same, feeling rather smug about making her blush. They repeated the chorus in unison. Each time the audience grew louder and some people actually sang along with them. "Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh! Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh!/Don't you want me, baby?/Don't you want me? Ohhhh!"

At last the music faded out and the song ended. The crowd exploded into deafening applause with more whooping and whistling than ever. Q*bert and his friends were bouncing up and down like mad in the front row, making all the excited noises they could make with appropriately excited symbols in their word balloons.

Grinning from ear to ear, Ralph and Sorceress bowed for their adoring public. They were still holding each other's hands.

It was one o'clock in the morning when the two Bad Guys finally left Tapper's. After their double act, they hadn't stayed long. Everybody loved their performance so much that every time they tried to drink their Root Beer their new fans were pestering them. Both of them were still feeling pretty euphoric on the train back to the station. When they got there the place was practically empty.

Despite the late hour, Ralph didn't feel very tired. He couldn't seem to stop smiling, either. As he walked from the terminal with his thumbs in his pockets, he turned to the woman floating weightlessly by his side. He wanted to prolong his time with Sorceress as much as possible, so he was walking her home to Blood and Thunder. "So," he said casually. "What's the final verdict for the karaoke superstar contest?"

Sorceress was also in high spirits. She still had the precious 8bit daisies he'd given her at the beginning of the date, only now they were tucked in her hair. They didn't look nearly so wilted anymore. "I'd say it ended in a tie. You were quite good for a first timer." Her expression turned thoughtful. "You know… I really think this might be the best date I've been on in years."

Ralph scratched the back of his head with one hand. This was the first date he'd ever been on so he didn't have anything to compare it with. Still, it was easily one of the best nights of his life. He never thought it would go as well as it had, nor had he thought he'd her say something like this. "You really think so?"

"I do," she replied, nodding. "And you know what else?"

He arched a curious eyebrow. "What?"

She reached to pluck a daisy that was tickling one of her long, pointed ears. "This is the first time a man's given me flowers in years, too."

Ralph didn't know how to reply to this, so he chuckled somewhat awkwardly. Sorceress just smiled at him in a mysterious kind of way.

All too soon they were standing at the outlet leading to her game. For the first time that night, Ralph felt his heart sink a little. He was having such a good time with Sorceress that he wasn't ready to say goodnight yet. "Do you really have to go home so soon?"

Sorceress hovered in front of him at his eye level. She sighed regretfully, gazing down at the little daisy in her hand. It was clear from the way her head was drooping that she didn't want to leave yet, either. "I'm afraid I do. I have so many responsibilities to my game, and my pet spiders miss me if I'm out too late."

He looked down at his bare feet, not quite succeeding at hiding his disappointment. Now that he thought of it, he couldn't stay out too late, either. The only person he'd told about his plans for the evening was Vanellope, and only because she demanded it. He'd said nothing to his co-workers, and Felix was sure to worry about him if he was gone too long. Q*bert and his pals were the only people from his game who knew where he was, and he'd bumped into them by accident. He couldn't have them getting home before him and blabbing that he'd gone out with a woman. A woman he liked more and more every time he was with her.

Sorceress was also deep in thought as she stared down at the daisy in her hand. There was so much more she wanted to tell Ralph, so many thoughts and feelings that she didn't know how to put into words. What it all boiled down to was that, after just one official date, she knew she liked him more than anyone else she'd dated before. And she'd dated a lot of men in her day.

Clearing his throat, Ralph straightened up and tried to play it cool. "Well, uh… I guess this is goodnight, then."

After a moment's hesitation, Sorceress looked up from her flower. "Not quite."

Before he could ask what she meant, she reached out and brushed her fingers against his cheek. She had that sweet, gentle look in her eyes again, the look that made him feel like he was melting. Face heating up, he tried to speak, but he couldn't seem to form any coherent words. All that came out of his mouth was a lot of stammering.

She floated there quietly for a moment, smiling at him tenderly. Then, without saying anything, she leaned forward, closed her eyes and kissed him softly on the cheek. When she pulled away her own cheeks were a shade or two pinker. Smiling dreamily, she caressed his face one last time. "Now it's goodnight," she said gently.

He stood there blinking at her for a few seconds, totally thunderstruck. It was only a quick, light, harmless little peck on the side of his face. If he had a mirror, he would have seen the bright red lipstick mark she left. Even so, he felt as if she'd just zapped him with one of her lightning bolt spells.

Then his face broke into a huge, dopey grin. He still couldn't get any proper words out. All he could manage to say in his stupefied state was a dazed "Uh huh…"

She pulled her hand away to cover her mouth and giggled girlishly behind it. He just looked so incredibly happy with that silly look on his face. Feeling better about parting ways with him, she performed her most polite floating curtsy. "See you later, Ralph."

He nodded slowly as his brain started working enough to let him form real words. "See ya… Sorceress…"

With another girlish giggle, Sorceress turned and floated inside the tunnel and disappeared into the shadows. Once she was out of sight, she twirled around a few times and floated high enough to touch the ceiling.

Ralph stood there outside the outlet with the same dopey grin until he couldn't see her anymore. Then he sighed dreamily. The only thought in his head, besides how wonderful he felt after she kissed him, was that she'd called him 'Ralph' and not 'Mr. Wreck-It'.

Meanwhile, the Surge Protector was standing only a few outlets away and had seen everything. He was so shocked by the sight of Sorceress kissing Ralph that he was standing frozen with a look or absolute horror on his face. His clipboard slipped from his grasp and clattered loudly to the floor.

Ralph was completely oblivious to his presence. Even the noise of the clipboard echoing off the empty station walls couldn't break him from his trance. After another minute of standing there lost in dreamy bliss, he slowly turned around and started making his way across the station. Feeling strangely weightless, he began humming to himself. His huge, dopey grin was still firmly in place.

The Surge Protector continued to stare in open-mouthed, wide-eyed shock at the huge, spaced out wrecker lumbering dreamily past him, still wearing the bright red mark of Sorceress' lipstick on his cheek as glaring proof of what had just happened. Groaning in disgust, the Surge Protector took off his glasses and rubbed his forehead. "Please don't let this last for more than a week..."

Author's Note: First of all I want to thank everyone on Tumblr who gave me suggestions for songs and character cameos. I couldn't fit all of them in here since I like to keep my chapters from stretching too long, but I appreciate all the ideas you guys sent me! Ralph's song in particular was an inspired choice because it's a John C. Reilly reference! He sings Don't You Want Me in the movie "Cyrus." Google it if you want to hear the real Wreck-It Ralph singing. Thanks to notoriouslysketchy for suggesting it!

Second, I want to thank everybody who sends me reviews! I save them all in a special folder to read when I doubt myself (luckily, that only happens every single day).

Third, I should probably put a disclaimer in here since I forgot to do it before. I don't own anything in this story, not even Sorceress. Everything belongs to their respective owners and creators. All that's mine here is my expansion of Sorceress' personality, her powers, her back story, the game she comes from and any other characters from it, and anything else about her that wasn't revealed in the movie. Which is a lot.

Coming up in Chapter 4; Vanellope, Felix and Calhoun will be making return appearances, and we'll get our first glimpse of what the world is like in Sorceress' game, Blood and Thunder. Stay tuned!