Here's the revised version of this chapter!
Chapter 23
"I gotta hand it to the bimbo. She's smart," Calhoun said as she glanced around her glass prison trying to figure out a way to escape. So far, the sergeant had not come up with any form of escape. Her weapons had been stolen from her, and the glass was too thick for her to break through. Tamora had never felt so hopeless in her entire life. She knew Red probably had a hold of Felix by now and was using him for whatever destruction the teen desired.
Fix-It... Calhoun slumped to her knees, realizing it was going to be Brad all over again. She didn't think she could handle losing another love.
The sergeant glanced at the other prisoners, some of whom were unconscious and even frozen. Tamora couldn't fathom how her game could be used for such inhumane activity. She recognized some of the prisoners, such as Falco from Star Fox, the teenage angel Pit from Kid Icarus, and the flame swordsman Roy from Fire Emblem among others. The sergeant was wondering what they had to do with what was going on in her game. More importantly, what was Red and that "Mr. Candy" character doing to it. How were they using Hero's Duty to meet their end goal? Those questions were swimming around in Calhoun's head as she was staring at her own glass prison.
How in the hell am I going to get out of here? the blonde asked herself mentally. The brat took all of my weapons, and this glass is made to be strong enough so that Cy-Bugs can't break free.
Suddenly, an idea came to mind as she pressed a button on her wrist, remembering that it was the only place Red and her "minions" hadn't looked. A hatch opened on her wristband, revealing a silver key, similar to one that was given to all of her soldiers in case of emergencies. It was a skeleton key that could open most doors in her game. It wasn't a dagger or any of her main weapons, but it served her well in this situation. Calhoun wasn't going to let a demented brat lock her up like a Rattata in her own game.
Tamora pressed the key to the glass and drew a large oval in the thick substance. She hoped it worked, for Felix's sake as well as the arcade's.
"Alright, only one way to find out." Taking a deep breath, the sergeant pressed her foot as hard as she could to the drawn area, kicking it several times until there were signs of the area giving in. The glass was strong, so the portion gradually slid forward against the pressure of her foot. Calhoun cursed at this, knowing she had to hurry before any guards entered. The sergeant continued to kick, using as much force as she could until the piece finally fell out of its place, shattering upon contact with the floor.
Took it long enough. Calhoun slipped out of her prison as quietly as she could, trying not to alert any guards who could be present near the lab door. She regarded the other trapped characters, knowing they were going to need some help as well. The sergeant couldn't leave innocent people who had probably wandered into her game at the mercy of Red and "Mr. Candy." She had to work quickly, though, before Red or any corrupt minions walked in.
…
"We're not getting a break today, guys," Taffyta said, plopping down on a bench not far from Pac-Man. She sighed as Candlehead joined her on the bench.
"Look on the bright side, though," Vanellope interjected. "At least most of the guys we asked know that brokers exist." The Sugar Rush racers had been asking around Game Central Station and the other games about the broker, hoping to get at least a tidbit of information about him or her. So far, they had come up with nothing.
"Yeah, but it's still no good," Candlehead rebutted. "We've been in every game but found nothing. Nada. Zilch."
That was when Vanellope's eyes fell on Tapper."Except for one." She knew that was the only game they hadn't searched yet, especially when its namesake bartender was the expert when it came to info about Game Central Station.
As the girls entered Tapper, they noticed the many guests squeezed in at the tables and booths, with the bartender taking orders left and right at the bar area. Vanellope and the others found that a little unorthodox, as Tapper normally put a cut-off on entry in the event of an overbook.
"Nice crowd, huh?" Candlehead quipped.
"A bit too nice, don't you think?" Taffyta said. "I mean, look at all these people."
"I wonder what's with the overbook?" Vanellope added.
"Our game's been destroyed."
The three racers noticed Amy Rose, Cream the Rabbit, Big the Cat, and a few Chao sitting at a table not far from them. And from how the pink hedgehog had said it, Red, Ken, or any of Mr. Candy's other lackeys may have struck again. They sidled over to them, curious to know more.
"Hey, Vanellope, Taffyta, Candlehead," Amy greeted with a halfhearted smile. "And sorry if there's no room to sit down. It's just that...once our game was destroyed, we were spread out between the remaining games."
"Kirby went down, too," added Cream, "which is why you see all of these people here." The rabbit gestured to all of the Waddle Dees, Scarfys, Meta Knight, and other characters congregating at the booths and tables.
"Looks like Ken Doll and that Red bitch struck again," Taffyta guessed.
"It can't have been Burn," Candlehead said. "We have him locked up in the Fungeon."
"Ken Doll? Red?" Big repeated.
"Yeah, the whole shitfest's caused by them," Taffyta confirmed with disgust.
"And their boss, Mr. Candy," Vanellope added.
"We've heard of that name," Amy interjected. "Some of the Hammer Bros. have been talking about him. Wonder who this guy is so I can show him the business end of my hammer! Especially if my Sonic's dead. How dare they separate me from my Sonic!" The pink hedgehog stood up, raising her Piko Piko Hammer angrily, earning her numerous glances from the other customers and homeless characters.
"Calm down, Amy." Cream pulled her best friend back down, trying to calm her. "Mr. Surge will find out who Mr. Candy is so we can go home." The rabbit then regarded the Sugar Rush racers. "Right?" Her tone was raised to a pleading tone.
"Yep, and we're helping him out." Vanellope made a fist of confidence. "It's also the only way I'll be able to save Ralph."
Cream gasped in surprise. "Mr. Wreck-It's game's gone too?"
"No, no," the princess rebutted. "Fix-It Felix Jr. is still up, it's just that..."
"How's everyone doing over here? And I see Her Presidency came back to visit. Your game's gone too, huh?" Tapper approached their table to check on them.
"Hey, Tapper," Vanellope greeted. "And no, our game's still going strong."
"So, what brings you here?" the bartender asked. "Want a root beer?" Then he glanced over her shoulder. "Where's Ralph?"
"That's what we came here for." Vanellope noticed Amy and the group watching and listening, then moved in to whisper, "Is there another place where we can talk about it?"
"Yeah, it's kinda important," Candlehead added.
"I have all these customers here whom I have to serve, so I'm a little busy right now," Tapper explained reluctantly.
"Please, Tapper," Taffyta pleaded. "We need your help now. Another game might go down soon, and Wreck-It may not have very long left. Surely the customers can wait for a few minutes."
Tapper thought it over for a moment, which raised anxiety in the Sugar Rush racers, then sighed. He didn't like to leave his patrons, especially when most of them were without a home, but whatever the girls wanted to talk about seemed more important.
"To my office," the bartender instructed.
The racers followed suit, hoping Tapper would have the info that they needed.
The interior of Tapper's office was around the size of a broom closet, with various items cluttered all over. A small desk resided in the middle, where Tapper took a seat and gestured for Vanellope, Taffyta, and Candlehead to sit.
"I know it's a little messy, but I'm guessing that's not important," said Tapper. "Anyway, what is so important? Of course, it has something to do with all the stuff going on in Game Central Station."
"It does," Vanellope confirmed. "And it has to do with Stinkbrain, too."
"Ralph's not doing too good, is he?"
"'Not too good' is an understatement," Taffyta responded. "Try 'infected at the hands of his best friend.'"
"Wait, Felix has something to do with this mess too?" Tapper's eyes widened. "But he's the sweetest guy we all know..."
"Not if he's a virus," Candlehead interjected.
"But the problem is that we don't know how to get Hammer Time back to his sweet self," Vanellope explained. "Luckily, Ken Doll spilled the beans about some broker he bought the virus from."
"We don't know who or where the broker is, though," Taffyta added.
"Brokers, huh?" Tapper smiled slightly, almost with a hint of mischief. "Yeah, they're pretty tricky around here, but I have heard of several, especially some who pass by this game a lot. Luckily, I have the book of all the brokers in Game Central Station. If it'll help save Ralph, that is." The bartender went to a safe next to his desk, but then stopped to regard the girls, who turned around.
"Doesn't trust anyone, does he?" Taffyta muttered as Tapper punched in the combination. Once she and the others heard the sound of the safe opening, they turned around to see the bartender pull out a large, white book.
"Here you go." Tapper plopped the large volume before the young women. "Feel free to take a look."
Vanellope opened the book, which had to have at least three hundred pages worth of information, making the princess and her sisters wonder how many brokers were in Game Central Station and how they were supposed to find the one they were looking for.
"Whoa, that's a shitload of brokers," Taffyta pointed out as she noticed the many people recorded.
"Don't let the length fool you," Tapper clarified, chuckling. "There are fifty in Game Central Station, with at least four to seven pages on each one. Most of them come by a lot to make deals with me so they can sell their stuff in my game."
"What kinds of stuff?" Candlehead asked.
"Upgrades, items you can't find in games, the works," Tapper shrugged. "Of course, I get a piece of their sales in exchange for their selling wares here. Oh, there is one who's been here quite a bit." Tapper flipped through the pages in the book until he stopped at one that displayed a woman who appeared to be programmed to be in her mid-twenties. She had long, wavy white hair, red eyes, a sleeveless dress and fingernails that looked almost like the talons of a bird.
"She looks like a witch." Vanellope stared at the page closely.
"And needs a manicure," added Taffyta, blue eyes on the woman's nails. "I mean, she should know that those things are not attractive."
"Come on, guys. She's not that bad," Candlehead rebutted.
"Candlehead, get a clue," the strawberry racer sighed, rolling her eyes at the birthday racer.
"This is Sora," Tapper pointed to the woman's picture. "And she doesn't just look like a witch, she is a witch."
"From what game?" the birthday racer inquired.
"Some game that came out in 1986," Tapper answered. "I believe it was called Red Moon Racing. It's unplugged now. Sora used to come here all the time after hours to get a drink, before she took up her current job. She and her friend T.K.. T.K. wasn't so bad, either. They were both pretty, which made getting guys no difficult task for them. Too bad they weren't picked as much in-game."
"Tapper, did I not tell you not to air out my private life, especially to complete strangers? And three little girls are hardly an exception."
"Speak of the devil herself..." Tapper and the racers noticed the woman named Sora enter the office with a slightly annoyed look on her face.
"Not exactly little girls." Sora examined Vanellope and her sisters intently, then noticed their outfits. "You three look familiar."
"Well, duh," Taffyta retorted. "We're from Sugar Rush. We're just..."
"You've grown up a little. Yes, I can see that," the white-haired woman cut her off. "Anyway, whatever are you doing here?"
"We're looking for a broker," Candlehead responded. "Namely the one who sold a virus to Ken Doll to infect Fix-It."
"Fix-It?" the witch repeated. "Fix-It Felix, Jr.? Someone infected him? And who might this 'Ken Doll' be?"
"Are you talking about Kenneth?" Tapper asked the girls, which was when Sora started to remember the angel.
"Come to think of it, I do remember selling an item to an angel a few days ago," the witch realized. "But I never thought it would infect anyone, let alone someone as sweet as Fix-It Felix, Jr. I'd love to see what that's like." She let out a playful laugh, but then noticed the girls not laughing. "What? That wasn't funny?"
"Does it look like we're laughing?" Taffyta combatted. "This is serious. The entire arcade's at stake, and you're making a joke out of Fix-It going crazy?"
"Look, I don't know the effects of all the merchandise I sell," Sora countered. "That includes the one I've sold Kenneth. That one...was different from the others."
"How different?" Vanellope inquired. "What's it called?"
"Why don't we go to my makeshift office?" the witch smiled. "I can look it up and try to identify it." Then she turned to Tapper. "Do you mind if I stay a little longer? I will pay you fifty more Silver Coins from my savings."
"That's fine, Sora." Tapper nodded. "Just be sure to leave them on my desk on the way out."
"Follow me," Sora instructed as she left the bartender's office. The Sugar Rush racers followed, knowing the witch definitely knew something. They just hoped it would be proven useful.
…
"It should be clear now," Gretel said as she poked her head out of the bathroom not far from the stairs to the Fungeon, glancing both ways to see if Vanellope was gone. Gretel had been in the bathroom for two hours, hoping to get an audience with King Candy again. She definitely wanted to know more about the ex-tyrant's offer.
When the young racer was positive that it was clear, she stepped out, only to duck back in again when she heard humming coming from the Fungeon. She wanted to guess it was one of the racers, but it sounded a little more mature.
Gretel closed the door to a slight crack, being careful not to make herself known as a woman came up the stairs, her long blonde hair and strapless, black V-neck dress trailing behind her. She also had large, purple bat wings and green eyes. Her dress also revealed parts of her unrealistically-large breasts, which made Gretel look at her own flat chest and wonder if King Candy could make her look like that.
When the woman's emerald glance fell on Gretel, the tween quickly ducked behind the door. She slowly poked her head out again to watch the mysterious blonde head down the hall.
What's she up to? Gretel wondered. Is she working for that "Mr. Candy" guy?
The young racer stepped out of her hiding place, deciding to follow the woman. Gretel wanted to know who that woman was. The woman clearly wasn't from Sugar Rush. Was she working for Mr. Candy? Whether she was or not, what was she planning to do in the dessert racing game? In any case, Gretel knew taking King Candy's offer would have to wait.
…
"Felix, get out of here!" Ralph urged, struggling to get out of bed to stand up to Red, who smirked in amusement at the Bad Guy's attempt. Ralph didn't like to hit girls, but the teen was asking for it.
"You must really have a screw loose if you think you can do damage in that condition." Red shook her head, then regarded Felix, who was assisting the unconscious and infected Snowanna. "Fix-It, instead of helping that cavity, kill her. You know you want to. You find cavities annoying, right?"
"Leave him alone!" Ralph tried to tackle the teen, but she retaliated by pulling her hook out of her basket and restraining him. The rope of the hook wrapped itself around the wrecker, causing him to lose his footing and stumble to the floor. The wrecker tried to break free of the hook's rope, but it was too strong.
"What the hell?" the Bad Guy cursed. "Feels like lead." He always thought that Red had tricks up her sleeve, but he never thought they would include a rope as strong and unbreakable as steel. It felt like every time Ralph tried to fight with the rope, it grew tighter.
"Ralph!" Felix had just helped Snow to her feet, but suddenly felt red binary course through him, causing him to drop the sherbet racer. He fell to his knees, grabbing his head and glitching madly. The Good Guy was starting to lose control over himself again. This time the series of headaches and glitches were more painful and threatened to corrupt every fiber of his code. Felix wasn't going to give up the battle, though. He was still a good guy, and was going to make his good code win the clash against the virus Red had planted in him.
"Don't fight it any longer, Felix." Red approached the Good Guy. "You know somewhere in your code, you want to fix everything." The teen lifted the handyman's head so they were facing each other, making it more difficult for him to maintain control over himself. It was as if every time Felix looked into Red's golden eyes, he was on the verge of losing himself quicker than normal. He felt his will slipping away as he was forced to look into the teen's eyes, whose yellow hue seemed to dominate their once-brown shade. Something about those eyes looked a bit...familiar to Felix. "This is your chance, but there's an obstacle in the way." Red regarded the tied-up Ralph, who was struggling against his bounds but couldn't break free.
"I don't want to kill Ralph! He's my best friend. And I don't want to fix everything." Felix glared up at Red, his blue eyes now crimson. The Good Guy wasn't down yet as he tried to squirm out of the teen's grasp. Besides, Felix wondered why he would want to kill Ralph, as well as why Red was saying such a thing. "It's impossible, anyway. There's no way any one person can fix everything. I mean, that goes against a whole lot of laws, especially the ones outside the arcade like the human world."
"With the power inside you, you can go against those laws," the teen countered. "You just don't understand the full extent of your power yet. Let it break free, Felix. Admit that you do want to kill Ralph, because no matter how many times you fix things, he'll wreck them. And that's just the way it is."
"That's the whole point of our game!" Everything Red was saying to Felix was starting to scare the hell out of the Good Guy. He wanted so badly to understand the reasons behind what Red kept saying, not to mention who the teen really was. Everything Felix was hearing sounded...odd for Red, as opposed to a few days ago when she had been nothing more than a girly girl-type character who only wanted to see the arcade. The Good Guy finally broke out of Red's grasp, then eying the girl carefully. Who is this girl? She's too serious now to be just a cheery character. It has to have something to do with what we saw in Fairytale Speedway's code room. Suddenly another spasm shot through the Good Guy's body, causing him to sink to the floor. He continued his attempts to fight off the virus.
"Oh no, not just your game, but the entire arcade too," Red continued, smiling wickedly. All I have to do is keep pushing Felix's buttons. "There are plenty of 'Ralphs' who wreck the arcade everyday. Not like Wreck-It, but they do just as much damage. You, however, can fix it. Just embrace your power."
"Felix..." Ralph could only watch as the Good Guy was being taken over by the virus. The "villain" hated being useless. He was infected, weakened, and bound by a rope with the strength of steel or any other type of metal Ralph could think of. It was annoying, not to mention entirely unfair. However, life hadn't really been unfair to him for thirty years until recently, so Ralph was still pretty used to it.
The handyman screamed as he collapsed to the floor, convulsing as if he were epileptic. His face paled, and his hair darkened to a jet-black shade. Felix tried to get back to his feet, using the last of his strength to continue his attempts to resist, but this time the virus won out, causing him to scream one final time before he lost his strength.
"Ralph..." Felix struggled to say as he was losing consciousness. "You...gotta...get Vanellope...if you can." His world went black.
Red smiled in triumph, staring down at the unconscious Good Guy. Yes, I've succeeded! Fix-It Felix, Jr. is mine! She jumped up and down in excitement, overjoyed that her plans were moving along. However, in the middle of her excitement, a glitch shuddered through her, cutting her celebration short.
"What the hell's going on?" Red wondered, wanting to know why she glitched so suddenly.
"I can ask the same question." Ralph also noticed the sudden change, which revealed a short, pale-faced man with catlike eyes and a red-and-white jumpsuit before she returned to her Red form. The Bad Guy could not believe it, nor did he think it was possible.
"What isth it now, ape?" the teen spat, a lisp evident. She noticed the Bad Guy's shocked expression. "You're too late! Felix isth mine now, Ralph!"
"Turbo..." the Bad Guy pointed out scornfully.
"Turbo who?" Red glitched involuntarily again, showing the ex-racer persona she was hiding. "I don't know who you're talking about." But then she noticed her reflection in the mirror against the wall and gulped. Oh...
"So you've been posing as Red, huh?" Ralph mustered a smirk. "Looks like you can't fool us anymore."
"No, I am Red! This 'Turbo' you're talking about isth just a disguiseth," Red lied, but when she noticed the Bad Guy's expression. She knew he wasn't buying it any longer.
"Just cut the act, Turbo. I know it's you!"
"So you caught me, Ralph," Turbo said, dropping the Red persona completely and chuckling wickedly at the wrecker. "But that still doesn't change the fact that Fix-It Felix, Jr. isth in my control." The ex-racer then regarded the unconscious handyman. "Now wake up, my virusth."
Felix slowly woke up, rising to his feet with his red eyes screaming hatred and defiance as they regarded Ralph and Turbo. Red sparks crackled around the handyman, who pulled out his white hammer.
"Felix?" The wrecker was growing scared at the sight of the Good Guy before him.
"What the fuck?"
"Get out of here!" Ralph urged when he noticed Rancis having burst into the room. The peanut butter cup racer froze at the scene before him, especially the familiar ghost-faced racer glitching between personas standing over Ralph. He then glanced at the corrupt Felix, who now had his attention on him.
"Kill that cavity!" Turbo ordered, but Felix turned on him.
"No one tells me what to do!" Felix countered, glaring at the ex-racer. "How about I kill you first?"
"You will listen to me!" Turbo demanded.
"I will not!" With that, Felix unleashed a current of crackling red energy at Turbo, reducing the pale racer to submission and sending the ex-racer flying into the side table near the bed.
Ralph and Rancis couldn't believe what had just transpired before them. That was no longer the sweet handyman; it was a virus who refused to listen to anyone. They glanced down at the now-unconscious Turbo, who was now a darkened, smoking heap on the floor.
"Which one of you would like to go next?" The Good Guy slowly approached the Bad Guy, a wicked smirk on his face like a psychotic man ready to murder his victim.
"Felix, stop this!" Ralph urged, but this time couldn't reach out to his friend.
"Listen to Wreck-It!" Rancis pleaded. He was hoisting Snow on his shoulder as he watched the Good Guy prepare to kill the wrecker. "You're better than this."
"Shut up, cavity!" Felix turned to the peanut butter cup racer, fists crackling with red sparks.
However, Ralph wriggled forward, tackling the Good Guy's feet and causing him to misfire and hit a picture on the wall.
"Run!" the Bad Guy urged, trying to put all of his weight on Felix's feet.
"But...not without you!" Rancis, carrying Snow, slowly backed toward the door.
"You gotta leave!" the Bad Guy insisted. "Get Vanellope! Don't worry about me!"
Taking one last glance, the peanut butter cup racer headed out the door.
"That was a big mistake, Ralph." Felix turned to look back at Ralph, retaining that psychotic smirk. The Good Guy threw the Bad Guy off of him, sending Ralph flying backward into the mirror. Felix glitched over to Ralph, ready to finish the job.
These damn ropes! Ralph continued to wrestle with his bounds, attempting to weaken their grip. Turbo sure picked a good character to take over this time. These things are just too strong!It was painful enough putting my weight on Felix.
The wrecker couldn't move, no matter how hard he tried to get out of the way. The Good Guy's last attack severely damaged him and sapped him of all of his remaining strength. All he could do was brace himself for his partner and "brother's" next attack.
However, just as Felix was ready to deliver a killing blow, he suddenly felt a conk on the head, causing the Good Guy to collapse to the floor.
"What the...?" The wrecker then looked up to see Turbo on his knees, weakened by Felix's attack. He was holding Red's basket, and an apple that he apparently had used to knock the handyman out. The ex-racer was trying to steady himself, glaring at Felix, then at Ralph.
"Don't think I did it for you," Turbo breathed, then picked up Felix. "Apparently, he'sth sthill unsthable right now. But I promisthe you, Ralph, I will recover. And I sthwear I'll make sure you take the fall, along with the glitch!" With that, Turbo glitched away, carrying the Good Guy.
Ralph was still tied up, but that was second nature to what had just happened. Where was Turbo going to take Felix? Worse, what was the most hated character in the arcade planning to do with him? The wrecker knew this: it was far from a good thing.
…
Gretel carefully followed the woman down the hall to the throne room, ducking behind poles, doors, and other barriers along the way. Luckily, she hadn't been seen or heard.
The tween hid behind one of the plum-colored curtains not far from the throne, as she watched as the woman checked her surroundings. Gretel tucked herself against the wall, trying to keep herself as hidden as possible.
"I thought some random cavity was following me," Gretel heard the woman say, as the tween watched the woman enter the curtains behind the throne.
Whatever's back there, it must be pretty important. Gretel followed the woman inside.
Whoa, freaky. Gretel took a double take at the metallic pipes and codes channeling through them. This is just like the code room in our game...unless this is Sugar Rush's code room, which means that lady must be working for Mr. Candy. The tween watched as the woman punched in the universal code and entered the dark void. Fear generated in Gretel's code as she wondered what the woman could be planning to do in the dessert racing game. The tween knew it wasn't a good thing.
Gretel dove in after her, hiding in a cluster of minor panels as she watched the woman swim up to a red panel in the back of the darkness. The tween swam closer for a better look at whose code the woman was tampering with. Gretel squinted to see the name "King Candy" written on it, wondering what the woman was planning to do with the ex-tyrant's code. The tween saw the creature pull out a black panel embroidered with foreign letters that were unreadable to Gretel. She was determined to find out more as she watched the woman open Candy's panel.
How long are you planning on taking over my body? The young racer heard what she guessed was King Candy's voice from the panel. She then saw that there were several black patches with the creature's face littering the panel. That raised a few questions in Gretel, as she wondered what was going on between Candy and the woman.
But I saw King Candy in the Fungeon, the tween thought as she continued to listen.
"Hello to you too, old man," the bat creature responded softly in an alluring voice, smiling mockingly.
Honesthly, and here I thought you'd have mannersth. What are you planning now?
"Nothing much, I just have a little...gift for you cavities." The woman held up the black patch.
Milk my dudsth! What isth that? King Candy asked, surprised. He then read the characters on the panel. Asthide from your name being on it.
"My gift," the woman answered. "And don't worry, it's not like you'll feel anything. As long as you're stuck in your own code box, that is." She laughed as she swam away from Candy's panel.
Gretel watched as the blonde carried the black panel over to the center of the codes, grabbing several loose cords to connect it to the other panels in Sugar Rush. It caused a purple electrical current to course through the cords, affecting the panels around it and spreading like a wildfire in the code room. The tween watched as one panel after another turned black and started to flash red, affecting the attributes within the panel. Gretel then noticed that the characters were also becoming consumed by the spreading virus, their attributes becoming polluted by the woman's add-on. Even Vanellope was becoming infected as the add-ons inside the princess's panel started to grow tainted. Gretel stifled a gasp, knowing it was definitely a virus at work. She wanted so badly to do something to stop the woman, but what could she do? Gretel had no special abilities.
She glanced over at the King Candy panel, which was still open and containing the ex-tyrant's hologram.
When my vanilla bean findsth out that it'sth not me, you're going to pay, Candy threatened. You're not getting away with thisth.
"Give it a rest, old man. I already have." The woman connected the last wire to the panel she had brought, smirking."There, that should do it. Now, to slip into something...comfortable." She started to break into green binary, but stopped when her gaze fell on Gretel's hiding place. "But first..."
Shoot! She caught me! I gotta go! Gretel tried to scramble to the code room's entrance, but she felt her body grow numb. The tween struggled to turn around in order to see the woman flying toward her.
"Not exactly a cavity, but I knew there was someone following me." The bat creature caught up to Gretel, lifting the girl's chin so they were facing each other. Fear once more made itself present in the tween's code as she wondered how the woman caught up to her. Gretel also feared what the creature had in store for her.
"What's the matter, sweetie?" The woman asked, her voice sickly sweet. "Meowth got your tongue?"
"What are you doing in here? And what are you doing with King Candy's panel and Sugar Rush?" Gretel managed to say, eyes falling on the black panel. Her body trembled, a chill running through her code as her brown eyes met the woman's cold emerald ones. Something about her raised fear in the tween, but she wasn't going to let the creature notice. "What's the deal with that panel?"
"It appears you've seen a little too much, my dear." The bat creature stared at her with a numb expression. "Quite a miscalculation on my part, as I should have taken care of you before I came in here. But it's still not too late to do that. You see, I can't have my cover blown when I've gotten this far."
"Wait, what do you...?" Gretel was unable to finish her sentence, as she noticed that the woman was gone. "Where did she...?" She then felt a sudden conk on her head, causing her to black out.
…
"Too bad Wreck-It and Fix-It couldn't be with us," said Tails,
"We don't know where they are," Mary explained as she, Deanna, Dyne, and Aika followed the fox down the hallway leading to Surge's office. The two Nicelanders, especially, hoped the arcade guardian knew something about the black patch they found. Whether Surge knew or not, there was still going to be the matter of finding the Good Guy.
"I sure hope they didn't get themselves captured," added Deanna. "Or killed."
"Same with Sonic," Tails said, glancing down at the code-ridden floor as he walked. "We got separated while we were escaping our game. When I got out, I saw Eggman, Rouge, Shadow, and everyone else, but no Sonic. Some other Chao and animals were gone too. I looked everywhere in the arcade for him earlier while I was helping Surge...but nothing. I hope he hasn't died." Tears started to run down the fox's cheeks." Seriously, if Sonic's gone, then getting our game back won't matter. We'll get unplugged."
"Calm down, kid," Dyne assured him. "We'll find Sonic. All we can do is hope he's not dead."
"Or captured," added Aika. The two Blue Rogues, having lost Vyse and Fina, understood what Tails was going through. "Damn, I'm glad we're with Tails and not Pinky. Who knows what she's going through right now."
"Thanks, guys." Tails smiled at the two pirates, wiping the tears from his eyes. "And as for Amy, I know what you mean. She might be blowing hot air right now."
When the group arrived at Surge's office, Tails knocked on the door.
It had not taken long for the arcade guardian to answer, as Surge opened the door to see the two-tailed fox along with the other characters.
"You're back, Miles," Surge said, then noticed Mary and Deanna. "But I was expecting Wreck-It Ralph and Fix-It Felix, Jr. Unless something happened to them."
"We won't know until you tell us what's going on." Dyne stepped up. "And what happened to my son?"
"Besides, we'll relay everything to the boys once we find them," Deanna chimed in. "If it has something to do with our game, we should know."
"Very well, then." Surge nodded as he stepped out of his office, motioning for the group to follow him down the hall. "And it's not just Fix-It Felix, Jr."
Surge and the group traveled down the long, code-ridden hallway until they stopped at a large door locked by the universal NES controller. Punching in the code, Surge led them into another hallway, where another door awaited. Unlike the last door, this one was controlled by a Super Nintendo controller.
"There's something you don't see everyday," Aika said, staring down at the controller-shaped padlock. "How come this door has a different controller from our games?"
"We try to keep this area as secure as possible to the public," Surge explained as he punched in the code, opening the door. "We have four different codes to get to where we're going."
They were stopped by another door, this one sealed by a Nintendo 64 controller. Everyone, except for the Nicelanders and Surge, complained as the hologram punched in the code, allowing entry to the final door, which was locked by a Nintendo Gamecube controller.
"Are you ready?" Surge asked as he punched in the code, causing the door to hiss open.
"Whoa," Aika gasped as she and the others were face-to-face with a void filled with clusters of panels. Unlike the code rooms in the individual games, this one held the codes for all of the games in Game Central Station.
"Sweet mercy!" Deanna was also impressed. "Our game has been plugged in for thirty years, and we've never seen this room before. We never even knew it existed."
"I invite you to come inside." Surge dove in, with Tails following him. "But I will ask you not to touch anything when you do."
"You don't need to worry," Dyne assured the hologram as he stepped in, followed by the two Nicelanders. "Codes are not really our specialty. That's Fina's job."
"Which so reminds me how much we wish she were here right now," added Aika, being the last to jump in.
When everyone was inside, the characters spread out to the clusters of their respective games, examining theirs and their friends' panels.
"Fix-It..." Mary resisted the urge to reach out and touch the handyman's corrupt panel when she and Deanna approached Fix-It Felix, Jr.'s cluster. "We'll find out who did this to you...if Ralph hasn't found him or her already."
"Guys, over here!" Tails' voice was heard.
The two Nicelanders swam over to the Sonic the Hedgehog cluster, where the yellow fox and Surge were examining something in the middle. It didn't take Mary or Deanna too long to recognize it.
"It's the black patch again," Deanna said. "Felix has it in his code, too!"
"We have one of those in ours as well." Aika, along with Dyne, hurried over to the group. "With the Japanese characters, right?"
"Yeah," Tails responded, then pointed at Sonic's flickering panel, a forlorn look on his face. "And it must be how the games are being destroyed and how Sonic..." The mechanic couldn't finish his sentence as he started to burst into tears again. "I was hoping he would..."
"Tails..." The female pirate reached out to comfort the fox.
"This also explains why Vyse is gone too," Dyne added, a hint of anger in his voice as he wanted so badly to take care of whoever dared killed his son. It was unforgivable. "But why are these viruses infecting some of the characters, usually the main ones, and not us?Why is it keeping Vyse in? He's not a glitch."
"Same thing happened to that Stella girl," added Aika, then she glanced down at the sniffling Tails, knowing it wasn't the best time to mention the possibility of Sonic being trapped.
"Now Sugar Rush has been infected," Surge said.
"Sugar Rush?" Mary repeated as she floated over to the Sugar Rush's cluster, where she again saw the panel, which was connected to the other panels of the dessert racing game. "Oh my! That's where Vanellope is!"
"Didn't Sugar Rush already go through that crap with Turbo a few months ago?" Aika asked. She and a still-sniffling Tails joined them. "Haven't they been through enough?"
"Apparently not, Miss Aika," responded Surge regretfully.
"But who's behind these bugs?" Tails wondered, hiccuping. "Whose name is that on the panel? And why aren't we infected by the virus?"
"We don't know for sure if it is a name," Dyne rebutted, he and Deanna catching up to them. "Nor do we know why all of the characters aren't infected. I thought viruses that infect whole games infect everyone in it."
"Unless our 'Mr. Candy' only has a bone to pick with certain characters," the female pirate guessed. "Too bad we can't read Japanese to figure out who it is." She sighed.
"Neither can I," Tails agreed. "Even though we were created in Japan. I'm guessing whatever that virus is, it came from someone from an imported game."
"It's possible, Miles," Surge said. "But the fact that none of us can read this panel puts us at a standstill."
"Didn't we have a few imported games in Game Central Station?" Deanna asked.
"Must've had them a long, long time ago in the 80s, 'cause we haven't seen foreign games," Aika interjected. "We were plugged in in 2001, and I haven't seen any."
"I remember a few," Tails chimed in, remembering the many foreign games in Game Central Station when Sonic was there. "We had Spirits of Darkness, Red Moon Racing, some French nurse game."
"L'Hopital Mysterieux," Deanna corrected Tails about the French game. "That's what it was called. Then she regarded Surge. "You should have the files of the characters of those games, right?"
"I should," Surge replied. "But since those games have been unplugged for a long time, it may take a while to find the file we need that matches the Japanese characters on the panel. The files of those whose games were unplugged are in a separate pile from the active ones."
"We can help you, then," Mary offered. "If it will make the job quicker, that is."
"Normally, I do not allow residents access to the files," the arcade guardian said. "But since we're in the middle of a crisis, I'll need all the help I can get."
"Don't worry, Surge," Aika assured him. "We won't mess anything up in your office."
"Try not to," Dyne warned, placing his hand on the female pirate's shoulder like he would do sometimes with Vyse. He knew Aika's history of getting things out of order.
"Surely once we find this person..." Mary guessed, "we might know how to get an antivirus for Felix and the other games and characters."
"One can hope," Deanna said as she and Mary followed Surge out of the code room. The two pirates and Tails were right behind them. Everyone hoped that they could uncover the answers they needed to save their respective games, and it was all depending on finding a match for the unidentified panel.
…
"I wonder where the hell Rancis went off to?" Gloyd said, stepping out of his pumpkin-shaped house after a quick nap. He had not seen his best friend since the peanut butter cup racer went off to find Vanellope. Rancis had said he would be right back, but Gloyd wasn't so sure.
"Hey, Gloyd, what's up?" Adorabeezle bounded over to the pumpkin racer, an all too chipper expression on her face. The popsicle racer had been in a good mood ever since Gloyd had asked her to the ball. If he hadn't, she would have asked Ken from Street Fighter II. Then again, she doubted the martial artist would be interested.
"Getting ready to look for Rancis," Gloyd replied. "I was thinking of heading to the castle to see if he's there. We need to get our tuxedos finished before tonight, and Rancis is fooling around too much for me."
"That's Pretty Boy for you." Adorabeezle rolled her eyes. "Always distracted, this time by Vanellope, I'm guessing?"
"No kidding. Ever since I heard she said yes, Rancis has been...well, Rancis. Anyway, I'm heading off to get him. Wanna help?"
"Sure." Adorabeeze nodded as the two started off toward the castle.
"And where are our two lovebirds going?"
Gloyd and Adorabeezle stopped to notice Jubileena and Citrusella running up to them, having just returned.
"Oh, stop it, you two." Adorabeezle blushed, waving their question off. "We're just going to the ball together tonight."
"Yeah, um, about that..." Citrusella started.
"What? We gotta pay to get in?" Gloyd guessed. "'Cause I only have two Gold Coins left, thanks to Vanellope and Taffyta."
"No, silly," Jubileena rebutted, giggling.
"There's going to be karaoke this year?" Adorabeezle inquired, dread in her voice. "'Cause if there is, I hope neither Agnes nor Falco sings. Hearing their voices is like hearing nails on a chalkboard."
"And hell no," Citrusella interjected, appalled that the popsicle racer would even mention two of gaming's worst singers.
"Then what is it?" Gloyd and Adorabeezle asked in unison.
"Game Central Station's on high alert," Jubileena explained. "And Super Mario Bros. is blocked off because of a Cy-Bug infestation."
"Which means no ball," Citrusella added. "At least not right now. That's not all, either. We just heard from some dudes at Burger Time that Kirby and Sonic the Hedgehog bit the dust."
"Say what?" Gloyd blurted in surprise.
"Did I stutter?" the goth racer retorted.
"This just keeps getting crazier and..." Adorabeezle wasn't able to finish that sentence, as she was starting to feel lightheaded and was swaying back and forth.
Luckily, Gloyd caught the popsicle racer before she collapsed to the ground.
"Adorabeezle?" the pumpkin racer tried to rouse her awake, but she didn't budge.
"I'm not feeling...too well...myself..." Jubileena said as she also collapsed, followed by Citrusella, who dropped to the bubblegum-covered pavement like a Thwomp in Super Mario Bros.
"What's going on?" Gloyd wondered as he himself was starting to feel weak. The world was beginning to spin, and his feet gave out, causing him to slump to his knees. The pumpkin racer tried to pull himself to his feet, but his body became too heavy as he passed out, losing his grip on Adorabeezle in the process. He tried to keep his eyes open, making one last attempt to maintain consciousness, but failed.
Aw, man. I hope nobody's fucking with our game again.
…
"Made it back at last," Turbo sighed, glitching back to Calhoun's office in Hero's Duty, weaklycarrying an unconscious Felix on his shoulder. He was glad, despite being weakened, that the Good Guy hadn't woken up and started attacking again. It would have caused the ex-racer more grief than he could possibly imagine, probably even kill him.
Turbo was also angry as well as confused. The ex-racer was angry because his Red disguise had failed right in front of Ralph, and confused because he was wondering why Felix was behaving uncontrollably, especially to the point of attacking his own master. It was almost as if the virus Kenneth had planted in the Good Guy had a mind of its own. Or Ken probably went to the wrong broker and didn't get the one Turbo had asked for. The pale racer knew that Ken was known for trickery, which meant he almost always had to be careful when he was around him, despite the angel being his most trusted minion and not really Mr. Candy's. Nonetheless, Turbo trusted that Kenneth purchased the right virus.
"I hope Ken hadn't tricked me with sthome bogusth malware," Turbo thought. "To hell with that Mr. Candy jackassth. I actually had to posthe as that guy for a while to make sure Ken did what I told him to." Turbo could care less about what Mr. Candy wanted. He didn't give a damn who the mystery employer was, which was why Turbo had decided to infect Felix instead of Ralph. He knew that Felix was the perfect candidate for the virus, instead of Ralph. It had been the whole idea of him posing as Mr. Candy for a while before the real one had returned. He just hoped the mystery employer hadn't suspected a thing upon Turbo's escaping the hideout that time.
The ex-racer would ensure that the arcade would bow down before him, not some mystery creature. And Turbo would use Felix to do just that, which started with killing the Bad Guy and the glitch who had caused him hell a few months ago. However, the ex-racer had to actually tame the Good Guy, whom he laid gently on the floor not far from Calhoun's desk.
Felix appeared fairly peaceful when he was unconscious, but Turbo knew he could be as dangerous and unpredictable as the Scarfys in Kirby. That fact alone made taming him easier said than done, especially when a certain glitch could be on his trail.