Chapter 27
Gretel's eyes grew wide. "The Super Horn?"
King Candy nodded. It unleashesth a sthonic boom that destroysth all itemsth or opponentsth around you.
"But how's that gonna help me get out of here?: The tween was still confused. "We're not in a race."
I know, but I did sthay "sthonic boom." Candy was trying to clarify his point. If it can desthroy itemsth and knock out racersth around you...
Gretel's face brightened as she started to understand what the king was trying to say. "It can destroy this cage?"
Yesth. Candy nodded. But there'sth the matter of actually getting to it.
"And whether or not it's infected and will be effective." Gretel stared at the floating item not far from the cage, knowing it could be her only hope of escape. More like trying to reach it without getting shocked. The tween remembered the supercharged bars, understanding that she had to exercise extreme caution. She gulped. Okay, Gretel, the horn's not that far away. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and pushing her fear back into the deepest recesses of her code. Gretel also stretched her arms and legs a little to make sure she was loose. I can do this. I have to.
…
"I really don't think this is a good idea," Rancis said, anxiety in his tone as Mignogna pushed him onto her ratty, full-sized bed that was only covered by a simple brown blanket and one pillow. To the siren, it felt like heaven, especially when she had a guest. And she won the racer fair and square after a round of rock-paper-scissors.
"Oh, don't be so modest, Rancis," the brunette rebuffed him as she grabbed his arms to prevent him from escaping.
The peanut butter cup racer was squirming, trying to move his arms in the hopes to break free, but it was no use. Mignogna's grip felt like iron around his biceps. Even kicking free wouldn't do much, and Rancis wouldn't dare think of kicking a woman, ignoring the fact that she had him pinned down.
Damn this freaking virus. Rancis sighed, blaming the bug Candy injected into Sugar Rush, namely how it weakened his super strength. When I get back to Sugar Rush- If I get back there, I'd like to have five minutes alone with the jerk who did this. Especially when I could've had other important things to worry about than this. The peanut butter cup racer glanced up at Mignogna, taking care not to stare into her eyes like he had been forced to do earlier, and instead focused on her chest. That still didn't help matters, either, but it kept him from being entranced a second time.
"You must have trouble looking me or something." She guessed upon noticing the racer's attention on her breasts. "It seems my boobs are more interesting than what I have in store for you and how I'd still like to know about Turbo. I promised my sisters I'd get that info."
"And I'm still wondering what Turbo has to do with your ex-mistress Takeshi or Takuya," Rancis retorted. "Not to mention that I kinda like being thrown in a dangerous position in your room." Sarcasm dripped from Rancis's voice as he took in the grungy, worn surroundings, which composed of a vanity in the corner that had seen better days, with its mirror cracked and the chair missing one of its front legs, and a wardrobe that lost both of its doors. The peanut butter cup young man thought he had seen messier rooms, but Mignogna's seemed to top every room that he could think of.
"Trust me, if my girlfriend were here, you'd be dead," Rancis continued.
"'Girlfriend?'" The siren repeated as if the word were foreign, then smiled. "Interesting. I never guessed that you were already dating."
That's because it's not true, Rancis thought. As much as I want to make that true in reality. But if lying's gonna get me away from her... However, those thoughts were dashed once Mignogna spoke again.
"No matter, I can make you forget her." She chuckled, then grabbed his chin so they were facing each other. "Especially when it's clear that you desire this."
"What in the hell are you...?" Rancis froze mid-question as he glanced further down to see that the bulge had returned between his legs. His jaw dropped at this. "Again?"
"I'm afraid so," the siren confirmed, her voice now taking on a softer, silkier tone. She moved one hand from Rancis's chin to grasp his bulge through his ripped pants, causing the peanut butter cup racer to let out an eep and jump a little at the firm touch. She gripped it hard, not believing how rock-solid it felt in her hand. "So hard, too. I've never even begun to realize you were that interested in me."
"I'm not!" Rancis continued to deny it, but he knew he was merely kidding himself, which only succeeded in feeding into Mignogna's prying even more. He had to admit, she was in every way attractive, from her silky, brown hair to killer body. It reminded him of Calhoun and even Lara Croft. All traces of Vanellope or even catching up to her was long forgotten as Rancis took in the creature of beauty before him. Rancis was forced once again to look into Mignogna's green eyes, which seemed to grow more luminous as opposed to earlier. He couldn't take his eyes off of them, as he moaned under the brunette's touch, slumping once again as he gave in. The continuous warning bells in his head that reminded him about Vanellope soon sounded like whispers in his head, but Rancis could still hear them, as he tried to use the last ounce of his waning will to fight back.
"Look..." the peanut butter cup racer said dreamily, trying to push the siren's hand away from between his legs. This time he was a little clumsy in his movement. "I said I have a girlfriend...and I need...to..."
Forget about her, Rancis, Mignogna sang, cutting him off and swatting his hands away. She pinned them to the bed again, her grip more firm this time. She isn't your concern anymore. I'm the one you desire, Rancis. She moved her hands back to his face and caressed his cheeks, humming.
The song was the final blow for Rancis, as Mignogna's sweet, silky voice filled the room as well as his head. It was beautiful, unlike any other song he'd heard, soothing the racer and disabling and final attempts to resist. The warning bells in Rancis's head was silenced, and any memories of Vanellope or what he originally had to do vanished.
All that mattered was the woman on top of him, appearing as hot as ever. Probably the most gorgeous woman in the arcade. The siren moved down to kiss Rancis, her lips crushing his in an intense passion. It lit Rancis like Candlehead's candle, as the peanut butter cup racer pulled her down, deepening the kiss. Fire coursed through his body, especially once their tongues met, with Rancis feeling pointed fangs in her mouth and winced a little as his tongue made contact with them. The slight pain from it was nothing compared to the taste in the creature's mouth, which was of something Rancis couldn't quite place but he knew it tasted sweet like the candy in his game.
And it tasted delectable on Rancis's tongue, as he savored every bit of the taste, which felt like drops of honey on his tongue.
When oxygen became vital again, Rancis and Mignogna parted, still staring into each other's eyes as the former still held the siren by the hips, all traces of resistance gone.
"I desire you, Mignogna," Rancis said breathlessly as he gripped her hips.
That was music to the siren's ears, as she replied, "Good, my sweet." Mignogna still retained that silky voice, which shifted to her singing voice again as she continued. Now, you do want more, right? You want to go further. You desire more of me.
Rancis mindlessly nodded in response, watching as Mignogna positioned herself so her legs were on either side of the racer. Whatever he'd been thinking about earlier, it didn't matter to him. He was only concerned about what Mignogna had in store for him. He wanted her, truly and desperately.
The siren continued. "Well then, you know what you have to do, right?"
The peanut butter cup racer nodded again.
You will tell me everything that's happening with Turbo and how he came back.
"Damn, took Mignogna long enough," Wendee whispered, her ear as close to the door as possible without disturbing her sister's rendezvous with Rancis. "It should be me in there. Why did we have to choose rock-paper-scissors?"
"Because it has an even playing field," Agnes replied, standing next to the pink-haired siren and trying to listen in on what was transpiring in Mignogna's room. "We know how much you cheat in straw-drawing. No wonder why Taky and Koji don't want to join in."
"They haven't been in any of our fun lately," said Wendee. "Maybe it has everything to do with their new toy they just can't part with for a minute."
"You mean that nerdy Koopaling that Takuya picked up in Mario Bros. not long after this shit in the arcade started?" Agnes scoffed at that. "Please, that's no achievement from them. That's a fail."
"And Takeru would call it such if she were here."
"Wendee." The blonde's eyes narrowed into her second younger sister. "We all agreed that we would never mention that name again."
"But you mentioned her earlier, and..." Wendee tried to remind her.
"I simply referred to her as 'our mistress,' not...well...that name, okay?" Agnes managed, venom in those two words. "I'll never forget or forgive what that bitch did to us that day, and I know Takuya has never let it slip her mind."
"Yup, Taky sure was in tears that day. She nearly took it out on some poor sap from Sonic the Hedgehog. Forgot the dude's name, though. What T.K. did still hurts her, too. Turned our little Takuya into an ice queen and everything. I'm even surprised she actually got a catch. Maybe Koji helped her out this time. Anything to get Taky's mind off of T.K."
"Wendee." Agnes glared at the pink-haired siren again.
"What? I can't even use her initials? Dammit, Aggie!" The third siren threw her hands up in frustration. "That's so dumb."
"And necessary," the oldest added with finality. "Now, while we're arguing like a married couple, we're missing some juicy stuff going on between Mignogna and Rancey." Agnes returned her attention to the business going on in her younger sister's room.
"'Rancey?'" Wendee repeated, eyebrow raised. "We're nicknaming him now?"
"Let's just shut up and listen!"
…
"I'll have to admit: the cotton candy bushes needed to be trimmed and reformed, anyway," said Jubileena as she was kneading the white cotton candy bush before her. Crumbelina and Swizzle were on either side of her, each working on their own bushes and not enjoying it.
"Hey, Jubileena? This isn't our idea of the usual chore, okay?" Crumbs retorted as she was concentrating on her bush with a pair of hedge clippers provided by the guards.
"I was just lightening the mood." The cherry racer sighed. "I mean, we've been in the Fungeon for what felt like flippin' forever, so..."
"Hey, speak for yourself." Swizzle shook his head as he was molding the edges of his bush into curves. "At least you guys haven't been dragged to work the second you returned to the game. I'll tell you, those guards shove hard."
"Yeah, we felt it ourselves," sympathized Jubileena, as she darted a glance at Swizzle, who was kneading away at the cotton candy bush and reforming it. She couldn't get over how much of a far cry the male racer was from his appearance before the virus.
Swizzle was infected just like the others, with his usual red, green, and blue attire dull and devoid of its clear, vibrant quality. His hat was threatening to slump off his head, and his jacket, shirt, and pants were in the same state as the girls'-ripped and filled with holes. His already-dark orange complexion was paler, nearly matching the color of a Boo, and his brown hair was matted and sticking in all directions. Swizzle wasn't a pretty sight to see, and Jubileena and Crumbs knew that, especially when he also looked exhausted and ready to topple backward from working so hard.
He had also told the girls about how he, Minty, and Torvald had been manhandled by a pair of guards in the form of the candy spectators that had once cheered the racers on. All three of them had been dispersed to different tasks around Sugar Castle, separated from one another. He was assigned to working on the bushes, and had been ever since, which explained his rapidly-waning strength. And it was taking all of Swizzle's willpower to avoid fainting.
"I wonder what got King Candy obsessed with roses?" Crumbelina was snipping carefully at her bush as she glanced periodically at her fellow racers. "I mean, I have nothing against them or anything, it's just that it's...strange, you know?"
"Hey, you're asking questions we don't have the answer to," Swizzle replied as his left foot felt like it was going to give way beneath him. His vision started to blur as he was trying to maintain his bearings.
"Are you okay?" Jubileena asked, turning in the unicorn pop racer's direction as the young man groaned a little.
"I'll be okay, Jub," Swizzle insisted, but then slumped to his knees.
"You obviously aren't, Swizz," Crumbs rebuffed. She stopped trimming, placed the hedge clippers aside, and knelt down to assist Swizzle, who struggled to give up but couldn't. "Here, I'll help you up." The posh racer draped one arm around his shoulders and slowly lifted him to his feet with the other. The process was easier said than done, despite Swizzle having an average, though slightly scrawny, build. It wasn't like Rancis's or Gloyd's, which were both muscular, but Crumbs still had a hard time helping Swizzle rise to his feet. "Especially when I care about you."
Swizzle glanced at her in confusion. "What?"
Crumbs blushed, realizing what she had just blurted out. "Um, never mind." The truth was, however, she did care about him. Even before the upgrade, Crumbs always had a soft spot for Swizzle, especially when he'd always congratulate her after a race. He wasn't Rancis or Gloyd, but she didn't care. Crumbs liked Swizzle, specifically for his cool personality, which was why it was important for them to survive the turmoil in Sugar Rush.
"This is just inhumane," Jubileena said as she joined Crumbs to help, taking the male racer's other side. "Someone needs to complain."
"Yeah, no kidding," agreed the posh racer. She then noticed something in one of the castle windows at the top of her vision. Glancing up at Sugar Castle, Crumbs caught sight of two silhouettes in one of the higher windows of the castle, presumably the second or third floors.
"What are you looking at, Crumbs?" Jubileena asked, feeling Swizzle slump under the girls' combined grip. "And just so you know, Swizz needs help here." The cherry racer was trying her best to maintain her grip on him without dropping him. "Besides, it's just some of our other friends getting put to work."
"Yeah, but who?" Crumbs maintaining her hold on Swizzle and helping Jubileena lift him, squinted her eyes to make out who the two silhouettes were. However, she only succeeded in getting a slight headache. "I can't tell who they are from where I'm standing. They're too high."
"Maybe I can give one of you a boost," Swizzle offered as he managed to rise to one foot with Jubileena's help.
"What?" The two girls asked in unison as they regarded Swizzle. They couldn't believe what the unicorn pop racer was offering.
"But you're exhausted," reminded Jubileena.
"And?" Swizzle darted a hard look at the cherry racer. "Who said I was totally exhausted?"
"Your slumping did," Crumbs retorted, giving her own look to Swizzle. "No way are you going to push yourself any further."
"Look, I want to help you get up there, okay?" the male racer insisted, craning his head to glance up at the window. "Especially when it can give us some knowledge of what King Candy's up to. If that's him up there." Then he sighed. "It's still a mystery how he came back. I know you said that his panel returned, Crumbs, but it's confusing the heck out of me."
"It's sorta confusing us, too," Jubileena said. "I mean..." Then she turned to Crumbelina. "It was just there in the code room, right?"
"To my knowledge, yeah," the posh racer replied. "We still don't know how it appeared."
"Guess the only way to get some more info is to go up there and try to eavesdrop." The cherry racer pointed up to the window, where the two silhouettes were still moving about. "One of them has got to be King Candy."
"I'll go up there and listen in," Crumbs volunteered, then glanced at Swizzle. "Are you sure you feel up to it, Swizz?"
Swizzle rolled his eyes. "Not this again. Look, I can do it, okay?" He shrugged the two girls off of him, squirming out of their support and tried to stand on both feet. "You weren't the ones who sent everyone flying with their tornado assault." The male racer tried to put on his cool and collected posture, but the virus complicated things as he found himself in a small coughing fit.
"Don't remind us of that," Jubileena groaned, remembering how Swizzle had been in last place in the Random Roster Race...until he had picked up his tornado special ability and blew away a cluster of racers in front of him, sending them spinning in mid-air. It had allowed Swizzle to overtake most of them without a hitch. It hadn't been enough to pass Vanellope, Taffyta, or Candlehead, but it had put him in fifth place right behind Snowanna. However, it still annoyed the hell out of the cherry racer, even when they were being forced to toil until they dropped.
"I wasn't trying to," Swizzle said, but the smirk on his face betrayed his words as he continued. "I was trying to say that my tornado ability can get you up there."
"Yeah, that's all you were saying." Jubileena folded her arms, playful sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Anyway, I should be fine once I get up there," Crumbs said. "I can mold a platform when I'm there." She headed over to the castle to wait near the wall below the window.
"Okay, then." Swizzle took his position near the castle, standing in front of the posh racer.
"What am I, then? Chop liver?" Jubileena complained. "Okay, so I don't have an ability that can help in this situation. But that doesn't mean I should just stand by and watch you guys have all the fun." The cherry racer joined Crumbs by the wall. "I'm going up there, too."
"I don't think my power can lift two passengers," Swizzle rebuffed. "Especially when we're at less than half strength."
"Looks like we'll just have to find out, then, huh, Swizz?" The cherry racer shrugged. "Now, let it rip."
Sighing, the male racer thrust his hands forward, concentrating on the ground below the two girls with the strength he had left in him. Come on, this has to work. Fight the virus, baby.
The two girls closed their eyes, standing their ground as they were waiting for the strong gusts of wind to kick up and levitate them to the out-of-the-way window. Jubileena gripped Crumbelina's hand tight, slight anxiety running through her as she waited to take off. After a few seconds, however, nothing came.
"What's going on?" Crumbs opened her eyes and glanced down to see that she hadn't lifted a foot off of the ground. "What's the hold...?" The posh racer was soon cut off when she and Jubileena felt a slight breeze surrounding them.
"Look, I told you this virus isn't helping any," Swizzle reminded, a little irritation filling his voice. "It might take a few minutes for my power to work. Just be patient; it's doing its job right now as you can see."
"That feels good," the cherry racer sighed as the light winds from Swizzle's ability hit every fiber in her code, calming her nerves. It felt as if a hundred-ton weight was being lifted off of her, as her mood transformed from hostile and fear-stricken to relaxed within a matter of seconds. She glanced over at Crumbs to notice that the posh racer was also feeling relaxed from the mini-tornado.
"Hey! What the hell's going on out here?" came a loud, irate voice.
The light gust ended, along with the calming period, as both girls and Swizzle noticed a rotten candy subject and a quartet of cookie subjects rushing toward them, looking none too pleased at the activity ensuing near the castle walls.
"Oh, great." Jubileena groaned. "You guys again. What is it this time?" She gave the candy subject leading the pack a bored look. The subject had been one of Taffyta's spectators, its once-pink body now blue and its face showing a scowl in lieu of the smile it had when cheering for the lollipop racer. The other four, which were blackened teddy bear-shaped cookies, held similar expressions as they were trying to comprehend what the trio was doing.
"Yeah, us guys again," the Taffyta fan mocked. "We were just wondering why you fools were over there by the wall and not tending to those bushes. You know His Majesty won't be too happy when he sees that his roses aren't there."
"Yup, we know how that is," the cherry racer said sarcastically.
"Why does he want roses, anyway?" Swizzle asked, wiping sweat from his brow. He couldn't believe how much strain using his ability caused, but realized that it was probably a result of the virus.
"That's none of your business," said the spectator.
"It's not ours, either," added one of the teddy bear cookie guards behind it.
"Shut up!" the Taffyta fan spat at the cookie, then turned back to the trio. "And you know what? I don't really care what you were doing, but I know for sure you'd better get back to work or things will get ugly for you. And trust me, the king will make your punishment as uncomfortable as possible."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it, okay?" Jubileena waved the minions off, annoyed with their attitudes. "Just buzz off and let us work in peace. We'll make sure King Butthead has pretty roses, sound good?"
"They'd better be gorgeous," the candy fan growled as it and the other former spectators headed back around the castle's corner.
"You'd better keep walking." Jubileena pulled her bottom eyelid down and stuck out her tongue behind them as they disappeared around the bend.
"Now that that's been taken care of..." Swizzle smiled victoriously, "Let's continue what we were doing."
"We're not trimming any bushes, are we?" Crumbs asked, smirking mischievously. She already knew the answer to that question.
The unicorn pop racer scoffed. "Hell no. We said we were going to eavesdrop on Candy, and we're gonna eavesdrop. Now ladies, if there are no objections, assume the position."
…
"Anything so far?" Tapper asked, entering Sora's makeshift office, where the white-haired witch herself was tapping away at her holographic computer, which displayed screens full of emblems and symbols the bartender couldn't read. The only thing he recognized, though, was the many pictures flickering one by one across the screen, which meant that Sora was still working.
"Still looking for Ken," replied Sora, sighing and rubbing her temple. The witch had been browsing for the angel's customer profile for hours and still hadn't arrived at it yet. She cursed the fact that her computer didn't have a search feature, and instead had the customer's profiles in order by transaction date. "I know I'm going to need an upgrade for this thing soon. This is pissing me off big time." The witch took a swig of the bottle of vodka by her keyboard, allowing the liquid hellfire to slide down her throat and rejuvenate her before continuing her search.
"Just calm down, Sora." Tapper moved to her side to get a look at her screen himself as she continued scrolling. "You'll find him." He knew that she was tense from her browsing session, but resisted the urge to massage Sora's shoulders out of fear that he would suffer the wrath of her spells.
"You're right. I should," she agreed, to the bartender's surprise. Sora relaxed a little bit and took deep breaths as she focused on each profile as she scrolled through them, taking care not to miss the one she needed. "And I'm still displeased at how you aired out my personal life to those little girls earlier, especially when a certain ex-best friend was mentioned."
"I just thought Vanellope and the others would be interested in you and T.K.," Tapper shrugged. "I don't know what the big deal is, Sora."
"The big deal is that T.K. really did it that time!" Sora's voice rose a few octaves in anger as her ruby eyes shifted dangerously in the bartender's direction. "It was truly unforgivable! If I ever see that bitch anywhere in Game Central Station, I'll..."
"Okay, Sora!" The bartender cut the witch off before she could continue any further. That's definitely the vodka talking. "T.K. can wait. You just need to focus."
"Thank you," Sora squeaked as she calmed herself down again and turned her attention back to the screen, where she scrolled through two more profiles she could care less about. On the third, however, she stopped, lifting her hands from the keys.
"Finally." She breathed a sigh as she and Tapper arrived at Kenneth's profile. They took a rough glance at it, where the angel's info and customer profile were both present. There wasn't much information in either section, especially when Sora's eyes fell on the items Ken purchased.
Or rather, item, for the witch and Tapper only saw one displayed under the box that showed the angel's purchased items. The item was a black box with red symbols. Sora knew she had sold it to Ken, but now that the Sugar Rush racers had brought the effects of it to her attention, it intrigued her more.
"That's an odd-looking upgrade you sold," Tapper pointed out, reaching forward to tap the screen, but Sora smacked his hand away.
"Hands off." Then the witch continued. "Anyway, that's what I thought it was at first, but apparently, I didn't check this one."
Sora clicked the black panel, then zoomed in on it to try to make sense of the scarlet symbols. It may have been too late to reverse the transaction, but she could still find out about the virus so that she and the Sugar Rush racers would learn how to negate it. When the symbols became enlarged for her, Sora realized that they were definitely Japanese characters upon scanning the zoom box across them.
"Too bad I'm not a Japanese language game," Tapper said, staring at the symbols. "Because I can't make hide or hair of what that says."
"You're lucky have me, aren't you?" Sora laughed lightly as she slowly ran the box over each character to read it, and when she did, her cackle faded, quickly giving way to shock and slight fear.
"What's wrong?" Tapper asked, confused by the sudden change in Sora's mood.
"Not her..." was all the witch said as she stared open-mouthed at the series of Japanese characters.
"'Not her?' Who's 'her?'" Then the bartender realized there was only one person to whom Sora was referring. "Wait, you don't mean..."
"Yes, Tapper," Sora replied with a nod, trying to remain as calm as possible.
"This isn't a good thing for the arcade, is it?"
Sora shook her head grimly. "Especially when I know how much of a bitch she is. Or has been. And I know those little girls need to know about this; they definitely can't be blind to this news."
…
"So, this Takeru slut, what's her story?" Aika asked, sitting back on the couch, interested in what the bat woman's hand was in everything that was going on.
She, Dyne, the Nicelanders, Tails, and Surge had been shelving the unwanted files after they had found the match in Takeru Nightrose. The arcade guardian always preferred a clean, orderly office, and that time was no exception.
Now the group was sitting on or congregating around the couch before Surge, who moved his chair from behind his desk and faced them grimly, pushing up his wire-rimmed glasses.
"Well, Surge?" Deanna pressed, barely able to sit still on the couch next to Mary. Deanna, especially, was dying to know. "What does Takeru have to do with all of this?"
"We still don't know that, to be honest," Surge replied with a sigh. "All the file gave us was her profile." While everyone had been busy returning the other files to the shelves, the arcade guardian had been trying to look deeper into Takeru's file in the hopes to find more information other than the fact that she was the owner of the odd panels that were scattered around the code room. However, he hadn't secured much luck.
Aika sighed. "After all of that labor you made us do while you were doing that. And here I was expecting at least a tidbit of new info about what she was planning, but nooo, we get a big fat nothing."
"Aika, stop!" Dyne scolded, shooting a glare in the female pirate's direction, which was hard to do because he was sitting on the floor in front of her, forcing him to turn and crane his head to regard her. "Surge is doing the best he can, okay? If you're not going to give positive input about this, be quiet."
"But it's driving me nuts." Aika folded her arms in annoyance. "Everything Surge has done so far has gotten us nowhere. I'm ready to find this Takeru bitch and kick her ass."
"You're being too cocky, Ms. Aika," Surge reminded.
"Besides, we don't know where T.K. is now." Tails chimed in. "Or where she was last seen. I'm pretty sure she's still alive because her virus is around, so my guess is that she's probably in hiding."
"We haven't seen her since that incident," said Mary.
"What incident?" Aika inquired, with Dyne regarding the Nicelander. Both raised eyebrows with interest.
"That's right, you guys weren't plugged in at the time," Mary remembered. "It happened in about 1997, the year when Sugar Rush was plugged in."
"Okay, four years before us." Aika nodded. "And I'm guessing T.M.'s game was pretty popular before Vanellope and her troops rolled in."
"You're totally wrong there," Tails rebutted with a shake of his head. "Red Moon Racing was nowhere near as popular as the other games in Litwak's, even after Turbo Time and Roadblasters got unplugged. It wasn't a fan favorite for the kids, but it was for the adults and teenagers, who were not common then and are not common now. Most of the characters like Mimi, Davis, and even Cody were okay with it, as long as it helped them prevail in the arcade."
"They were good people, too," Mary added. "Especially when Cody came for pies every Friday. We had the best visits." Then the Nicelander's voice dropped to a grim tone. "But Takeru is an entirely different story."
"I bet she was like Turbo," Dyne guessed.
Surge shook his head at that assumption. "Ms. Nightrose is ten times worse than Turbo, sir. And it showed throughout the early years of the arcade, especially when Ms. Lightblossom was involved."
"Poor Kari," added Deanna with a saddened sigh. "She didn't deserve what Takeru had put her through. But I do sympathize with T.K. on the reason for her spite toward Kari."
"And why is that?" Aika inquired. "Isn't T.F. a bitch?"
"T.K. wasn't picked a lot in-game," the Nicelander replied. "Actually, she was hardly picked at all. Even her friend Sora was picked more than Takeru was. And Kari was the main character of Red Moon Racing, so she was used a lot."
"Those reasons were pretty much enough to tear her up inside," Tails continued."They made T.K. hate Kari, even though Kari didn't do a thing to her. In fact, Kari was the sweetest witch you ever met. She always helped people and everything. Well, from what we've seen in Game Central Station during that time. It sure made her popular with everyone in the arcade and the game. Something T.K. wanted so badly."
"But she never got it, did she?" Aika asked.
"I'm afraid not." Surge shook his head. "I may not have all of the details as to how she treated Ms. Lightblossom in-game, but from how she was nasty and hateful to Kari in Game Central Station, I know that Takeru was jealous of Kari. And her relationship with Wreck-It Ralph didn't remedy the situation, either."
"Ralph?" the female pirate raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"How so?" Dyne asked.
"Considering Ms. Nightrose is a succubus, she can have any man she wants. And Wreck-It Ralph seemed to attract her, and vice versa."
"Wait a minute." Aika tried hard not to start snickering. "Ralph and T.P. used to be boyfriend and girlfriend? As big a primate as Ralph is? Not to mention his stench."
"Yeah," Dyne agreed. "I wouldn't think of Wreck-It as the type to fall in love."
"Well, he was in love with T.K.," said Mary. "He was kind of...taken by her, somehow."
"Did she seduce him?" Aika inquired.
Mary shook her head. "Ralph really loved her. Ever since Red Moon Racing was plugged in in 1986, they fell for each other. I've seen them around Tapper having drinks and enjoying each other. It was sort of his little break from us, especially Gene."
"They also understood each other," Deanna added. "We ignored Ralph, and the players didn't really pick Takeru in-game."
"And T.K. was a true beauty," Tails interjected. "Ralph couldn't say no to her."
"Must've offered good sex," Aika guessed, snorting.
"I'm not so sure about that one," the two-tailed fox continued. "But I know their relationship didn't last."
"Should've seen that coming," the female pirate interrupted once more. "So what did Ralph do? Wreck her?"
"Aika!" Dyne chastised. "Just listen."
"Sorry." She pouted. "I was just getting a little too interested there."
"And Mr. Wreck-It did not 'wreck' Ms. Nightrose," Surge clarified. "However, he did reject her, and Takeru did not take it well." The hologram paused for a second to clear his throat before speaking again. "When Sugar Rush was plugged in in 1997, Red Moon Racing started losing players' interest, even the teenage and adult audience. Apparently, the players preferred sugary cuteness over creepy atmospheres. Everybody in Red Moon Racing was having a difficult time handling it, especially Takeru, who wasn't popular to begin with. But Litwak saved them...at least, that's what they thought."
"Litwak installed an upgrade into Red Moon Racing," Mary put in. "He ordered one for it, even though they didn't need one. Litwak cared for all of his games and still does to this day. Red Moon Racing was no exception, so he was doing everything he could to save it in order to help it keep up with Sugar Rush's features, but when he installed it into the game..."
"It gained new karts, new tracks, new appearances for the characters, and all that stuff?" Aika inquired.
Mary, Deanna, Tails, and Surge all shook their heads.
"Quite the contrary, Ms. Aika," replied the arcade guardian. "There were no new and improved karts or tracks. The upgrade was more of a graphics enhancer in an attempt to match those of Sugar Rush, which was 3-D unlike Red Moon Racing which was 2-D. It did indeed improve the atmosphere and the characters' appearances. And Takeru became more..." he was trying to find the words.
"Provocative," Deanna finished. "It enhanced T.K. greatly. And I'm sure you know what she looks like. We've seen her profile, after all."
"So she wasn't always the slut." Aika realized.
"As for the upgrade not bearing positive results..." Surge continued, "it carried a virus. At least that was what I've heard. It destroyed the entire game and took most of its characters with it. Only a few survived, and nobody knows where they went. Although I've heard rumors that Sora Thistleweed has been seen roaming the arcade. I do not know where, though."
"But what did the upgrade have to do with her relationship with Ralph?" Dyne asked, more curious about how the upgrade affected Takeru's relationship with the wrecker.
"He didn't like T.K.'s new...er, voluptuous look," Deanna said, trying to think of words that cleanly described the succubus. "It felt like he was dating a different woman. A prostitute, even. Yes, Nel, Lucy, Mary, and I snuck a few peeks outside from our Fix-It Felix, Jr. apartment at them, and eavesdropped on their conversation that time."
"Takeru was in every way angry when Ralph told her the bad news," said Mary. "Well, we only caught the tail end of the conversation about that. T.K. seemed to mention something else before that, but we didn't catch it. We're not that nosy." The Nicelander chortled lightly. "We didn't like Ralph too much at the time, after all."
"I know K.T. didn't leave it at that," Aika assumed, certain there was going to be more after the break-up.
"You guessed right," Mary confirmed. "She wasn't letting Ralph go that easily. She loved him and wasn't letting anyone else have him. And it showed, too."
"This ought to be good." Aika grinned.
"Takeru continued to plead her case," Deanna explained. "She kept insisting that she was the exact same person from before the upgrade. And while I agreed with her on that, the decision was up to Ralph. And he made his decision clear when he said that he didn't love her anymore."
"But he was still persistent," Deanna continued. "She would not take no for an answer; she would make Ralph love her again. If she couldn't, she'd surely try."
"She must've been pretty bold," said Dyne.
"She was bold, all right," Mary confirmed. "More than bold. Takeru pinned Ralph to his pile of bricks, which was his home at the time, saying that she was going to make him beg for her."
"Sure sounds like forcing sex," Aika assumed.
"No kidding," Tails agreed. "This is the first time I've heard about this."
"So? What happened?" Dyne asked, cutting the small chatter.
"Well..." Mary was trying to find the right words for what she was going to say next, but then gave up when she couldn't think of anything. "Okay, I'll just say it. Takeru took her clothes off. Yes, all of them. Then she threw herself at him commanding him to... F-word him." The female Nicelander was not a big fan of swearing, especially the F-word.
"That must've been pretty brave of T.K.," Dyne said. He couldn't help but smirk and chuckle at that. "She's pretty lucky that she's a girl and Wreck-It couldn't hit her."
"That didn't stop Ralph from defending himself," Deanna rebutted. "Especially when T.K. was getting ready to rip his clothes off. Ralph wasn't going to allow that, though."
"I hope he didn't hit her," Surge interjected. "Because if I were to have witnessed this, I would have arrested him."
"No, he didn't hit her," Mary assured the arcade guardian. "But he did grab her and pin her to the bricks. And we didn't hear what Ralph said because he was talking so low in her ear. But we were pretty sure that he was trying to drill it into her head that he was done with her."
"I hope it sunk in," Aika said. "Because obsession with one person can't be good for her. It's not healthy, after all."
"We assumed that Takeru got the message," Deanna stated. "Because she shoved past him and left."
"Not before whispering something in his ear," added Mary. "We didn't get what she said, but I was pretty sure it was a threat."
"It had something to do with love, I'm sure," Tails guessed.
Aika whistled. "She was a desperate one, then."
"More than desperate," corrected Deanna. "And we can tell you that she was a person who always aimed to get what she wanted. Or shall I say, is, for I'm pretty sure she's still around."
"No doubt that she is," Surge said. "Especially when there hasn't been any reports on Miss Nightrose dying that had crossed my desk, so she's definitely in hiding somewhere."
"Probably fucking some poor sap in one of the alleys," Aika added nonchalantly.
"A few questions still nag me, though," Dyne spoke. "What does this T.K. and her story have to do with what's going on now? What's her hand in this?"
"Again, I don't know," Surge answered. "But we can safely assume that the panel that we saw in the code room bearing her name cannot be anything positive."
"Especially when she put Skies of Arcadia out of business," the female pirate chimed in.
"And my son with it," Dyne added.
"Don't forget about what she did to Felix," Mary piped up. She would never forget how the virus completely flipped the Good Guy's attitude 180 degrees. She still remembered how Felix had snapped at her and Deanna when he and Ralph had checked Fix-It Felix Jr.'s code room.
"And maybe Fashion Trendy and Frogger," added Deanna. "Of course, we weren't there, but we heard about what happened to those two.
"I'll tell you, T.P.'s got a serious grudge against the arcade if she's getting Mr. Candy's help," Aika said. "Killing heroes and crap."
"So, how are we supposed to find T.K.?" Tails asked. "All we have as a lead is her profile and her panel." Worry was evident in the two-tailed fox's voice as he remembered the fate of Sonic the Hedgehog and possibly Sonic himself. Though he didn't get a look at the virus that had caused it, Tails was certain that it was definitely Takeru's virus, especially when everyone had seen it in the main code room.
"I don't know that, either," answered Surge. "Our best bet is to look up Red Moon Racing characters and find out who's still alive. Then we can ask one of them."
"You said that Sora might be still alive," reminded Deanna. "So we should begin with her. I'm pretty sure she remembers T.K.."
"That's a good start." Aika smiled approvingly. "Because the quicker we find T.J. or J.B., the sooner I can make her wish she'd ever..."
"Aika!" Dyne cut her off, nearly at the end of his rope with her comments. The former Blue Rogue leader did sympathize with her, though, for what Takeru had done to Vyse was indeed unforgivable.
Suddenly, a knock was heard at the door, startling everyone out of their thoughts.
"I'll get it," Surge rose from his swivel chair to answer the door.
When the hologram opened the door, he was surprised to see an exhausted Calhoun, panting with a wild look in her muddy blue eyes.
"Mrs. Calhoun?" Surge was confused, eyes falling on the sergeant's baggage as she was breathing heavily in exhaustion. He noticed that the baggage consisted of a weakened Kohut on Calhoun's shoulders, but when he glanced down at the unconscious, pale form under Tamora's arms, the arcade guardian paused. "What in the world?"
"What's going on?" Dyne wondered as he and the others turned to find out what Calhoun was doing at the door. When his gaze fell on the pale form under her arm, he was beside himself, along with everyone else in the room.
"What...the...?" Tails couldn't find the words for the situation. He, the two Nicelanders, and Aika cringed at the sight of the familiar figure other than Kohut.
"Why the hell is he here?" Aika demanded. "Better yet, how the fuck is he alive?"
"Long story, pirate," Calhoun growled, her voice steeped in heavy exhaustion. "Real long story."