A/N: Chapter 3...In which a lot of talking gets done, but the plot isn't very much advanced in any way. My apologies.

Chapter 3: Explanations

"Well," Yuni started. "Upgrades aren't really anything to be scared of, but they tend to be easier when you're ready for them." She conceded.

"Make sure you're in your game before the upgrade starts. If you're out of game then you're in for a world of hurt when you go back in." Yuni warned.

"Why does it hurt?" Vanellope asked.

"Upgrades put a lot of new code into the system. Included in that is knowledge of how all the new stuff works. Like new dance moves... or in your case I guess it'd be where all the turns in the new tracks are. But it's a lot of information. If you're in the system while the upgrade is going on you get that information a little bit at a time while everything is being updated. But if you go into the game after the fact then you get all of that data put into your character at once, and that REALLY hurts." Yuni explained.

"Trust me, the first time we got upgraded we didn't know what to do. We knew that Mr. Litwak was going to turn off the power, so we thought we should evacuate the game to be on the safe side. The update finished faster than normal, because it didn't update any of our information. But when we all got back into the game the whole system crashed trying to get to all of us at once. It was so painful, like you were about to burst at the seams." Yuni said, reminiscing on her own experience.

"But... if the power goes off won't we all be reset?" Vanellope asked. She clutched Ralph's arm. She wondered briefly if she could stand the pain. None of the other racers would be too concerned with being reset because they didn't have much in the way of friends outside the game, and surely having to update just ONE character wouldn't make the game crash. If she could face it then staying outside the game would solve everything.

Ralph reached his other hand over and patted her clutching arms gently. He just couldn't imagine a Vanellope who didn't know who he was, but he'd rather that then wish any pain on her.

"Oh no. That's only being unplugged. The arcade gets power outages from time to time and nothing ever comes of it. What happens is there's a switch on the back of the cabinet that someone flips. That cuts the power without hurting anyone and then they plug in the upgrades." Yuni answered.

"So... we'll all be fine as long as we all just stay in the game and don't panic?" Vanellope asked hopefully. "And I won't forget anything that happened before?"

"Nope. You won't forget a thing. They do it that way so that high scores won't be lost. Players get so mad when their high scores get erased. So the game cabinet has to keep it's stored data. Pretty convenient, yeah?" Yuni said with a chipper attitude.

Now that Vanellope's worst fears were assuaged she felt like she could get to the smaller ones.

"Clyde said that the upgrade came with improved graphics and new avatar design..." Vanellope started. "Does that mean we're all gonna look completely different?"

"New avatar designs, in my experience anyhow, just means a new outfit and hairstyle. I guess they might change the shape of the body template a little, they do that sometimes. But it's not likely to be anything really major, so I wouldn't worry TOO much about that. And a graphics update just means you're all going to be in higher definition." Yuni said as she thought about it.

"You've never come out of an upgrade looking completely different, have you?" Vanellope asked, trying not to sound too worried.

"No... the most dramatic change I ever got was when the made my pigtails curlier than they used to be. The last upgrade we got made everyone's legs longer though. Better for dancing." Yuni answered.

Vanellope's grip on Ralph's arm finally let up as she let herself relax. This upgrade thing didn't sound too bad now that she had some explanation.

"So, when does Mr. Litwak usually do the upgrades?" Ralph asked as he felt Vanellope's worry drain out of her grip.

"He usually does them when the arcade is closed on Mondays. It's a bummer to miss a day off, but ah well, it's only once every three months." Yuni shrugged.

Before any more questions could be asked a blinding white strobe light went off over the dance floor.

"Ahhh! What's going on?" Ralph hollered as he covered his eyes. The music was already an assault on his ears, he didn't need another sense damaged.

"Oh, that's the warning light. The arcade will be opening soon. We use the strobe so that people have enough time to get out and back to their games." Yuni said as she got up from the table.

Ralph stood up quickly and tried not to panic.

"Don't worry. There's plenty of time for you to get back to your power strip. People come from all over the arcade to hang out here. We learned to set the strobe off early." Yuni remarked as she saw Ralph's expression.

"I can see why! They place is waaay cooler than Tappers." Vanellope said as she looked around the dance floor. They people from other games were starting to filter out now, leaving a good look at the actual space of the club.

"Hey! I'm gonna tell Tapper you said that you little spore. See if he gives YOU any more free root beer floats." Ralph scolded.

"What? Nooo, you big meanie." Vanellope whined. Ralph gave her a mock frown and picked her up around the waist and held her tightly under his arm.

"Nice talking to you Yuni." He said, waving goodbye to the cheerful blonde.

"Bye Ralph, bye Vanellope." Yuni replied. "Come visit again sometime."

Vanellope struggled and kicked half-heartedly as Ralph made their way to the exit, easily clearing a path through the crowd due to his large size. Once they finally made it out Ralph set Vanellope down near her kart, which she'd driven through all three wires like a lunatic.

"So, you feelin' better about the whole thing kid?" Ralph asked.

"I wasn't the one who was worried, remember? It was Taffyta and all of them." Vanellope insisted.

"Well, now you've got something to tell them about the whole thing. You think what Yuni said will make them feel better?" Ralph asked, going along with the ruse.

"Oh yeah, no sweat. I bet it'll make them all feel a lot better." Vanellope said confidently as she got into the drivers seat.

"Glad to hear it." Ralph said as he got on the back of the kart and patted Vanellope on the head.

"Ralph?" Vanellope asked before she started the engine.

"Yeah?"

"You'd still like me if I wasn't cute and adorable anymore, right?" She asked.

"Whatdya mean? If you looked less like an adorable winner and more like a giant stinkbrain?" Ralph replied.

"Yeah." Vanellope answered.

"Well, you still like me even though I'm a giant stinkbrain, right?" Ralph said, posing the question to her.

"Of course." Vanellope dismissed him with a roll of her eyes and a wave of her hand.

"Well then, I can say with confidence: The same goes double for me." Ralph said with a smirk and a ruffle of her hair.

With that Vanellope started down the tunnel so they could quickly get back to their games before the arcade opened for the day.

A/N: In the next chapter we get a little bit of a look into Ralph's brain as the update is going on. So that'll be fun. Potentially.

Review Response:

BoredParanoia: I tried to make the set up entertaining anyhow... So there is that.

MiniMoose: As correctly predicted, you are in the minority. But I'll try to find some middle ground between fast and more content, just for you. I really rather prefer going fast, if I'm honest. I tend to run out of enthusiasm for my fanfics (please note the 9 other only just started fanfics on my profile) so if I don't get to the interesting bits more quickly then the fanfic doesn't really happen at all. I don't know if you know how that is or not.

To those interested in Vanellope's upgrade: I've got my own plans for how old she'll be and what she'll look like. I'll let you wait and see. I'll probably also draw it as soon as my new tablet comes in the mail. So keep an eye out for that sometime next week.