Here's the second part of the split chapter. One little note: I'm taking a break for a month after the next chapter so I can do some more outlining of later chapters. Also, the fall semester has started up for me, so I'll be extremely busy for the next two months. Thanks to everyone who's been following, faving, and reviewing so far. I'm overjoyed that you're enjoying it. And don't worry, in another month or two, you all will not be disappointed.
That being said, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 29
"Sit anywhere you like, Rancey." Agnes offered once she, her two sisters, and the peanut butter cup racer arrived at the makeshift kitchen, which was larger than what he had originally expected, with a dented oven and stove that sat in the corner of the room, a refrigerator with one of its doors loose, and a cabinet that seemed to have been ripped from whatever wall it came from and was now sitting near the entrance. A table resided in the middle of the kitchen, with one leg shorter than the others and five chairs surrounding it.
Rancis helped himself to one of the chairs, slowly taking a seat out of fear that it would give way beneath him. Wendee took the one opposite him, while Mignogna sat on Rancis's left. Agnes knelt down to the loose cabinet, opening it up to reveal a collection of food, utensils, and other items the siren probably found lying around. However, Rancis noticed a box filled with tea bags as the oldest siren pulled it out, along with a large, black pot.
"Do you care what flavor your tea is, Rancey?" Agnes asked as she carried them over to the stove where she placed the pot down. She regarded Rancis, waiting for an answer.
"Depends on what you have," the young man responded with a shrug. "But if you don't want to go down the list, surprise me, I don't care."
The oldest siren grinned at that response, then shot Mignogna and Wendee a glare. "Well? This thing's not gonna fill or heat itself, is it?"
Mignogna muttered a curse under her breath, while Wendee sighed as she held out her hands, concentrating.
"You may want to stand back, Rancey," Agnes suggested. "This may get messy."
"'Messy?'" Rancis repeated, not understanding. "How?"
But his question was answered, as he saw a bubble of water appear in Wendee's palms. He started to realize what Agnes meant as he watched Wendee open her palms, which caused the bubble to expand until it was the size of a basketball. Taking Agnes' advice, the young man scooted back in his chair until he was far, far away from the table, refusing to become drenched.
"Smart move," the youngest grinned as she started to manipulate the large bubble, which moved from her palms until it arrived just above the pot. When she was positive of the bubble's location, Wendee clenched her fist, causing the bubble to pop and release the water it had been holding, filling the pot halfway.
"Whoa..." Rancis gasped.
"It's not over yet, kid." Mignogna smiled wickedly. "One heated pot coming right up." She clenched her fist, and when she opened it again, a bright red fireball appeared, its heat startling Rancis like Candlehead's candle sometimes did. The peanut butter cup racer scooted further back until he hit the wall behind him.
And here I thought these girls were dangerous before, Rancis thought as he watched as the middle siren caused the stove to heat up like a large bonfire. After a few seconds, however, it settled, becoming a normal blue flame in the eye of the stove.
"I didn't know you guys could do that, too," Rancis said as he scooted back up to the table when he was certain that it was safe.
"We didn't tell him that part, did we?" Agnes asked, pulling up a chair and waiting for the water to come to a boil.
"Apparently not, if he had to scoot far, far, away," Wendee replied, then regarded the peanut butter cup racer.
"What the hell was all of that about?" Rancis asked. "Are you guys witches, too?"
"'Witches?'" Mignogna scoffed, waving his question off. "No way. We know not to hang around witches, especially Sora. She'll slaughter us if she sees us again."
"All because of that fucking T.K.," Wendee added. "Anyway, we have more than just songs on our side." She started to explain. "At least, the five of us do."
"'Five?'" The peanut butter cup racer raised an eyebrow. "There are more of you?"
"Yeah," Agnes said. "Our youngest sisters Takuya and Koji. They live here, too. You just don't see them a lot because they're playing with a victim they found or are hunting for one."
"We don't really know where they are now," Mignogna interjected. "Or whether or not they returned here."
"Anyway," Wendee cut in, "we have elemental abilities along with our siren song. I use water, like you saw, and Mignogna over here's our pyromaniac." She nodded to her older sister.
"Hey, I'm not a maniac," she spat. "Though I did lose control when I burned Lucia in-game during Spirits of Darkness. Good thing none of the players noticed that blunder. I was aiming for Sonia that time, I swear."
"We know, Mignogna." Agnes waved her off. "To continue, I'm an earth user, and Koji is an air user. Of course, we don't use ours too much anymore, not since our game was unplugged."
"And what about Takuya?" Rancis asked. "Does she have one?"
"She does," replied Wendee. "But hers is..." The youngest siren was trying to find the right words to explain it. "Let's just say that hers are different from ours, and how she became the ice queen she is today. She uses spirit, and I can promise you, if she threatens you inside your head, she's using telepathy. She wants only the victim to hear her."
Rancis's eyes widened with intrigue, though with a hint of fear in the mix. "I don't think I want to meet Takuya, then."
"And you couldn't be more right," Agnes agreed. "Especially when what Takeru did to her that time still hurts her."
"What did she do to Takuya?" Rancis inquired. "Or better yet, what's Takeru's story? Considering how you call her a bitch, it's not a very good one."
"You catch on quickly, kid," Mignogna praised. "I like that."
"Anyway," Agnes cleared her throat, then continued. "I think we should start from the beginning."
"Okay, then." Rancis nodded blankly, shifting a little in his chair as he prepared himself. He knew it was going to be a long story.
"Our game was plugged in in 1983-one year after Fix-It Felix, Jr. and that bastard's game I'd rather not name right now," the oldest siren started. "We were villains of our game Spirits of Darkness next to Lucia, the main bad girl who loves raising the dead to try to take out Sonny."
"'Sonny?'" Rancis repeated.
"Sonia," Wendee clarified. "Most of her friends like Lucia call her Sonny."
"She's the main protagonist of the game who always kicks our asses whenever the player gets to a level featuring us."
"Yeah," agreed Mignogna. "Our siren song doesn't work on women, so we usually resorted to our elements, which ended up sucking every time we fought her."
Rancis whistled. "I don't think I want to meet Sonia, either. If she's that tough, I'll bet she can kick my ass, too." Especially as I am now.
"And we also sucked in the arcade outside of our game," continued Agnes. "Everytime we sang to some unlucky idiot in Game Central Station, the man either clapped for a job well done, laughed at us, or just outright ignored us. We couldn't even pay a man to fall for us our first year."
"You were close with this guy from Donkey Kong," reminded Mignogna to Agnes. "Jumpman, right?"
The oldest siren nodded. "Unfortunately, that Pauline broad slapped me shitless before I could do anything further. Good thing she died with the game. Fuck her and good riddance."
"Long story short, we sucked our first few years." Wendee summed it up. "At getting men, that is. And we called ourselves sirens back then." She sighed.
"Three years later, though, that all changed," Mignogna took over. "When you-know-who and her game was plugged in."
"Red Moon Racing," added Wendee. "That was after Turbo Time bit the dust with that Roadblasters game, and I have a feeling everyone knows how that went. And where 'going Turbo' came from."
"Please don't get us started on that," groaned Agnes.
"Hey, Ralphie did it, so..."
"Moving right along," Mignogna cut Wendee off before the pink-haired woman could go any further. "That was when we met T.K. and the last year Taky was all shy and weak-willed."
"And also the time when started becoming real sirens," added Agnes.
"Let me guess..." Rancis folded his arms and smirked. "T.K. was a siren too and knew what she was doing."
"No to the first part, and yes to the second," Agnes replied. "Takeru Nightrose was a succubus, not a siren, so she couldn't sing like we could. But she could sure get any guy she wanted, and I do mean any guy. She could even charm Surge without the use of a song. T.K. had a killer body and used it well."
"She actually came over to us," added Mignogna. "Apparently we were more interesting than her fanboys. When we told her what we were and what we were trying to do, T.K. agreed to show us the ropes. She said we were missing something when we approached men, which was probably why our songs weren't cutting the mustard."
"I wonder what that was?" Rancis studied the trio, completely interested in their story. A siren song sucking? But Mignogna's seemed to work on me when she forced me in her bed. Was it something she did that she learned from this T.K.?
"So she took us under her wing for a year, from 1986 to 1987, teaching us how to lure in the guys, from small dances and stripteases to staring into the man's eyes until you saw what he was feeling. I've gotten stripteases down and learned to pin and feel up a guy. I took the aggressive approach there, until the man gave in. I only reserved stripteases for in-bed use." Mignogna grinned wickedly just remembering how it went. "Of course, I didn't use it on you, Rancis."
"Gee, thanks," said the peanut butter cup racer sarcastically.
"Each of us took something from T.K.'s drills," the brunette continued. "Hell, she even did demonstrations with some werewolf named Yamato from her game. He was hot, even hotter when he becomes a wolf." The middle siren fanned herself, swooning under the memory.
"We learned so quickly that we had almost every man in GCS begging for sex with us," said Wendee. "I've straddled nearly six Kritters from Donkey Kong Country within one month that year, which was a far cry from my previous performance."
"Taky and Koji were becoming friends pretty quickly with T.K. as well. They almost saw her as a mother, especially when our game got unplugged that same year," said Agnes.
"How did that happen?" Rancis inquired.
"Kids stopped playing our game, and more games were coming, so Litwak had to unplug the ones that weren't doing well. Donkey Kong Country bit the dust, too," Wendee continued. "That was when Takeru offered us the chance to live with her outside of arcade hours."
"Her place wasn't a hole like ours in our game," added Mignogna. "It was somewhat of a cottage or something, but had an underground. It was clean, and that was all that mattered. During arcade hours, we stayed put while the mistress was racing. After arcade hours, T.K., my sisters, and I went hunting."
"That is, until New Year's in 1987," put in Agnes. "The arcade was closed, Litwak was out on vacation like now, and we had our own New Year's celebration in GCS."
"And that was when the shit between Takuya and T.K. started," added the brunette. "And when T.K. turned into a dictator or queen bee."
"Yup, she showed her true self that day," added Wendee. "Psychotic and vain, not to mention selfish."
"So what did Takuya do to piss T.K. off?" Rancis asked.
"Takuya danced with someone who wasn't hers," responded the pink-haired girl. "And he was a hunk, I have to admit."
Rancis started to list the handsome characters he had heard of. "Ken? Ryu? Zangief?"
"None of the above," rebutted Mignogna, shaking her head.
"Then who else could be a hunk?" The peanut butter cup racer was at a loss now. Those would've been my first choices to dance with if I were a girl.
"Wreck-It Ralph," Agnes finally answered, which caused Rancis to jump back a little.
"Wreck-It Ralph?" he repeated, giving the trio a befuddled look. "How can he qualify as a hunk? His arms and stench could drive an entire mob away...in that time period, at least."
"That wasn't what Takeru thought." Agnes shook her head. "Or Taky. One look at Ralph, and Taky had a crush. She totally fell for the big guy and even mustered up the guts to ask him to dance. And he did. We were happy for the two, screw the fact that Takuya was programmed to be in her early twenties and Ralph in his thirties. She truly liked him, and she didn't even need a siren song for him to like her back. Well, Ralph only liked her for a friend."
"But T.K. wasn't too pleased," added Mignogna. "In fact, she was royally pissed. Apparently, neither Taky nor we knew that Ralph belonged to Takeru. Koji was over there watching, I was sure. She would never let anything happen to Takuya. They were twins, so they cared for each other a lot. But Takuya was the weaker-willed and shy one of the two, so didn't take bullying well."
"Oh, but Takeru didn't care about that, did she?" Rancis guessed.
"You catch on quickly, Rancey." Agnes grinned. "No, she didn't care how nervous or sensitive you were. If you crossed her, you were going to pay for it dearly. And the odd thing was, T.K. didn't quite set any rules for living with her."
"But she did after that," Wendee continued. "And staying away from Ralph was one of them. She even made an example out of Takuya to prove her point when we returned home. She made us watch it, too. T.K. slapped her around and even made quite a few wounds with her whip. It was horrible, especially when she dared us to jump to Taky's defense, threatening to punish us too if we did."
"Taky was sobbing by the time T.K. was done. Takuya was hurt," Mignogna added. "Hurt like you wouldn't believe it, even to the point where she was scared of Takeru."
"That's abuse," Rancis said. "Serious abuse." He felt sorry for Takuya, even though he hadn't met her. If Vanellope or any of the other Sugar Rush girls were in that situation, the abuser would not have emerged alive, especially if it were someone as bad as T.K.
"It didn't stop there," Wendee resumed the story. "It happened every time Takuya made contact with Ralph. She came back with shiners, split lips, lashes on her arms, you name it, lasting for around three weeks. And we, not even Koji, could do anything to defend her without getting the whip ourselves. But three months later, Agnes had enough."
"And that was a transition for me," agreed the oldest. "After that experience, I started teaching myself how to play big sister and mother to the others, which meant I wasn't going to stand by and watch Takuya get abused any longer." Then she added, "That was when Taky changed, too, for when I went up from the basement where we stayed, I saw T.K. and Takuya going at it. And I've never seen Taky stand up to her or anyone before. Takuya was staring her down the same way she does with everybody today. And sometimes when she does that, her power could be at work. I told you earlier that Takuya's a badass with spirit, right?"
"Well, you said she used spirit," Rancis reminded. "Not whether or not she was any good at it."
"Okay, sorry," Agnes sighed. "But now you know that she's good at what she does."
The peanut butter cup racer nodded, then asked, "How did she use that to stand up to T.K.?"
"Telepathy," the oldest siren said simply. "The user directs a thought to the recipient, and only the recipient can hear it. And that was what Taky did. She directed a thought to Takeru. I didn't know or find out what it was, but I was certain it was a threat because T.K. slapped her again. But Takuya still held that defiance, which led T.K. to pull out the whip. That was when I couldn't take any more of it."
"Agnes stood up for all us," Wendee interjected.
"Yeah, and I gave T.K. a piece of my mind," added Agnes. "I jumped between them and I told her that I wasn't going to let her abuse Taky or any of my other sisters any longer. I care too much for them to let others mistreat them. So I challenged T.K., and yes, we got physical. If she could scratch and bite, I could, too, and I wasn't holding back. I strangled her with my vines, crushed her with rocks, and even summoned dryads and golems to do my dirty work and kick her ass..At first, I had the upper hand, but I forgot that T.K. was in her game and could recover. And she came back at me stronger, giving me the business end of the whip on every part of my body. T.K. wanted to let me know who the queen was in her home, but I wasn't standing for it."
"Unfortunately, T.K. didn't accept that for an answer," the pink-haired woman continued.
"What did she do?" the peanut butter cup racer inquired.
"T.K. gave me a choice," the blonde replied. "And it was either abide by her rules or leave. So I chose to leave."
"I would have chosen to leave," Rancis added, imagining himself in Agnes' shoes and the pain that Takeru would hand out. It wouldn't have been a gentle experience, that much the racer knew. He also imagined the serious damage he would have taken if he were in the oldest siren's shoes. It would have felt a lot worse than what he was going through now with the virus. "T.K. didn't have the right to do that, especially to Takuya."
"Tell that to Takeru, and she'll make you suffer worse than Ganondorf strangling Bowser in a wrestling match." Mignogna warned. "T.K.'s sense of right and wrong is determined by her rules. According to her, standing up to her is insubordination and disrespect, and Agnes and Takuya crossed that line, even though we knew it was actually the right thing."
"It was also how we ended up living here," added Wendee. "After Takeru put us out, we didn't feel like living with anyone else because we feared that our next landlord would be like T.K., so Agnes decided to take care of us, and is doing a damned good job of it. But we'll never forget how T.K. kicked us out or what she did to Takuya after that party."
"T.K.'s abuse scarred all of us," Agnes interjected. "And it changed Taky drastically to the point where she's just plain cold to everyone. She never forgot about what T.K. did to her; it shattered her happiness completely. One time, when it was still in the arcade, she even took her anger out on some idiot from Darkstalkers when he only said hi."
"His mind was fried until he returned to the game," Mignogna chimed in. "Anyway, Takuya's an ice queen now because of Takeru, and approaching Taky is like walking a tightrope."
"Now I really don't want to meet her," the peanut butter cup racer decided, then noticed steam coming out of the pot behind Wendee and Agnes. "Your pot's boiling!"
"Shit!" Turning around, Agnes bolted out of of her chair to cut the heat a little. Even though it was magic fire, she could still use the dials to raise or lower the gas, which made it easy. She then dropped a tea bag in the steaming pot, then regarded Rancis again when she was positive it would be fine for another few moments.
"Anyway, that's how T.K. left a bad taste in our mouths," she concluded.
"And why we don't ever mention her name too much anymore," Mignogna added. "We hate her, and if we ever see her again, we'll let her know that."
"I'm pretty sure she might not have anything to do with Mr. Candy," Wendee said. "But at least you now know about her."
I haven't thought about that one, Rancis realized as he processed what he'd just learned about the sirens' ex-mistress and how he doubted that she had anything to do with Mr. Candy and the danger afoot. He wasn't even sure whether or not Takeru Nightrose was still alive, nor did he even want to meet her if she was, considering the story the trio had told him. Besides, the peanut butter cup racer had more important things to accomplish than a succubus character from twenty-five years ago.
"I need to go," Rancis decided, rising from his chair. "Really, this time. I need to go find Vanellope."
"But you're still weak, Rancey," Wendee rebuffed.
"Look, I feel better than I was upon being dragged in here, okay? Maybe it was because of your weird-ass hospitality." He glanced pointedly at Mignogna, who smiled impishly in response, which was when he quickly looked away and tried to refrain from blushing red. "In any case, I have to run." He started off.
"Do you even know where your Penelope is?" the middle siren asked, grabbing his arm to stop him.
The peanut butter cup racer froze at her touch, realizing that she asked the million-coin-question there. He had been running around blindly in Game Central Station in search of the president, with no luck or leads whatsoever. And the virus that hit him wasn't helping matters, either. Finally, Rancis sighed. "I don't have a clue."
"That's what I thought." Mignogna pulled Rancis back toward her before he could advance any farther. "You're definitely staying here."
"What?" Rancis blurted out, not believing it.
"At least until we know where your Penelope is," Agnes added, then noticed the peanut butter cup racer's unwavering tension. "Don't worry, we're going to help you find her, okay? We may be hungry for a little fun sometimes, but we're not wicked like T.K. We can be quite helpful when we need to be."
"Yup, especially when our little resident is pretty good at finding objects and people," added Wendee.
"You have another guest here?" The racer asked. "Besides Snow and me?"
"Yes, we do," Agnes confirmed, heading over to her grounded cabinet to pull out four cups. "You need to have tea first, though. Then we'll introduce you to him. I can feel the tension rolling off of you right now. I'm guessing you also stress out like this during your races in Sugar Rush."
"Hardly," Rancis replied. Worrying about getting last place on a daily basis is nothing compared to what I'm going through right now, especially when Vanellope could be hurt or even killed right now.
…
"What the hell happened to us?" Taffyta mumbled, slowly opening her eyes to find herself face-to-face with a pale-faced brunette she recognized. "Vanellope?"
"Yup, it's me, Taffyta," the president confirmed.
"Did a train run into us or something?" Candlehead groaned as she lifted her head up to regard her two sisters.
"Or something." Taffyta tried to rise to a sitting position, but found herself struggling as her head and body felt like lead. "Why am I having a hard time getting up?"
"I'm having the same problem, Taff." The birthday racer was trying to raise her body higher, but dropped back to the floor.
"I gotcha." Vanellope grabbed Candlehead's shoulders to help her sister sit up, then glanced around the room. "Where's Tapper? He told me he only went to check on the Wicked Witch of the Computer, but he's sure taking an awfully long time."
"Tapper?" Taffyta repeated, making another attempt to sit up and this time gradually succeeding as she pushed herself off of the floor with her hands. "Tapper's with us?"
"We're in his room," the princess said. "He carried us in here to rest after we passed out."
"That explains how cramped it is in here." The strawberry racer glanced around the bartender's small room. "I wonder how he holds parties in here?" she joked.
"But what happened to us?" Candlehead cut in, pushing herself up with her hands and letting Vanellope take care of the rest of the process, which was hard to do considering how much of a dead weight the green-haired racer was.
"Do us a favor, Candlehead," the president suggested as she finally managed to sit her friend upright. "Lay off the fries and colas in Burger Time. Anyway, as for what happened to you two, I don't have an idea yet, but if I had to guess, it would rhyme with someone whose name starts with a T."
"As if we haven't been through enough shit in our game," Taffyta sighed. "I knew that asshole was lying about not being Turbo."
"And Gretel thought King Candy was not Turbo," Candlehead added. "That just shows how much she doesn't know about him."
"However, we aren't getting anywhere yet," Vanellope interjected. "Not until White Hair's looked up Ken Doll's profile." Then she glanced at the door. "They sure are taking their sweet time."
"And another thing's bothering me," Taffyta said, noticing Vanellope. "Why are you unaffected?" The lollipop racer was glancing up and down at the lead racer's form, confusion crossing her face.
"That's what I'm wondering, too." Candlehead also found herself staring at her president's healthy form. "We both were hit, so why not you, Vanellope?"
"That's another excellent question." Vanellope scratched her head. "And one that I want to answer, but don't have an excellent response for." The princess gave that abnormality thought for a few moments, wondering why she was the only one unaffected by the virus. I'm just like every other racer in Sugar Rush, so why am I the only one...
However, the president's thoughts were cut off by the click of Tapper's door, which opened to reveal the bartender and Sora. Both had grave looks on their faces, meaning that the news didn't sound good.
"Tapper? White Hair?" Vanellope stood up to approach them. "So? Did you find anything?"
"Yes." Sora nodded, expression still grave. "But what I found may not be anything you'd be happy about."
"Um, excuse me, lady," Taffyta interjected. "We haven't been happy lately, so really what you're about to say can't be worse than Fix-It going bananas or Mr. Candy or King Candy or whoever screwing our game over."
"You may want to correct that oversight," Sora continued, an edge to her voice. "And watch who you're talking to, or you'll never be happy again." Her red eyes burned into Taffyta's blue ones, making the latter flinch a little.
"Sorry." The pink-clad racer apologized stiffly.
"It's the vodka talking, don't worry," Tapper assured Taffyta. "And what she found out isn't helping matters, either."
"What did she find out in Kenny Boy's profile?" Vanellope asked. "Apparently it's no laughing matter."
"And worse than Turbo," added Candlehead.
Sora sighed, calming down and fixed her still-serious gaze on the trio. "The virus that Kenneth bought from me to install into Fix-It's code..." The witch froze, voice growing uneasy as she spoke.
"What?" Vanellope moved closer, interest peaking. "What is it?"
Sora took a deep breath, then continued. "It came from an ex-friend of mine whose name I'd rather not mention again." Anger was evident in the witch's tone.
"Why? Is this ex-friend that bad?" Candlehead inquired, studying the witch intently.
"Very bad. Downright wicked, to be exact," replied Sora stiffly. "And someone you shouldn't take lightly."
"So? Who is she? We'd like to know the name of this ex-friend," Taffyta pressed, growing annoyed. "If she has one, of course. Otherwise, we won't know who we're up against, for shit's sake."
"Taffyta!" Vanellope scolded.
"Sadly, she's right. You do need to know everything about her, and I promised I'd help you out, especially when she is indeed involved in this."
"Again, who in the fuck is 'her?'" The strawberry racer was at the end of her rope with Sora's beating around the bush.
"Her name is Takeru Nightrose," Sora finally responded. "Or T.K. for short. And she's not the best person to be around."
"What do you mean?" Candlehead then regarded Tapper. "You told us about her earlier, Tapper."
"Only briefly," he corrected.
"But how you were talking about her made it sound like she was kind," Vanellope remembered.
"And that she and Sora were still friends," Taffyta added.
"That is all in the past," Sora stated firmly." And our relationship was not any of your business to begin with, but I can tell you that T.K. was never the person you could describe as kind and caring. Ever since we were unplugged in 1986, she had been all kinds of wicked."
"Well, we weren't even thought of in 1986," Candlehead reminded. "So we wouldn't know what went on with this Takeru."
"So I see." The witch nodded. "I guess I'll have to enlighten you, then."
…
"W-What...hit me?" Snow mumbled groggily as she struggled to open her eyes, which closed in response to a bright light shining on her. "Ugh! So bright! Is this...heaven? Ah shit... I'm...dead..." However, when she turned her head away from the bright light and tried opening her eyes again, Snowanna found herself facing a gray, graffiti-stained wall, which was when her eyes suddenly snapped all the way open.
"What the...?" The colorful racer gasped. "This ain't like any heaven I've seen. Not even close." Snowanna turned her head to the other side to see more graffiti. "Unless heaven has excellent artists...not."
The sherbet racer tried to rise slowly to a sitting position, but fell backward on the mattress she was lying on top of, which had seen better days with its springs poking out in all directions.
"Okay, strange," she murmured. "And why am I having a hard time getting up?" Snow made another attempt to sit up, this time leading with her head. Then she used her hands to push herself upward in order to reach a sitting position, but once again found herself falling backward.
"Damn, it's like my body weighs a thousand Thwomps or something. If I'm dead, then why do I feel so heavy?"
"Are you from Sugar Rush?" came a nasal voice.
"Okay, now I'm hearing things?" Snow shook her head, still confused.
"Hearing things?" the voice repeated. "No, I'm right here."
"Right here? Who's right here?"
"I am."
Snow raised her head once more, but could only raise it high enough to get a glimpse of a tall plant sticking upward. However, as the owner closed in on her, she could make out a green, spike-shelled Koopa sporting a pair of glasses. She didn't recognize him.
"Who the hell are you?" the sherbet racer asked. "Did you die, too?"
"Die?" the Koopa repeated, cocking his head to the side. "Did you hit your head or something? Please, I'm far from dead...and so are you." Then he took a long stare at Snow. "Although you're not looking too good."
"What?" Snow was confused, then craned her head again to get a look at herself which was a far cry from her former self, even though she was only able to see parts of herself. Snow caught sight of her now-faded skirt, which was a dull violet rather than the vibrant shade, and her shirt, which now looked ripped and tattered. The sherbet racer then looked at her hands and gasped when they were covered in spots darker than her complexion.
"What the hell happened to me?" she questioned, regarding the Koopa. She wanted an explanation, hoping that he would have one.
"I dunno. You tell me." He shrugged, looking down at her as she was trying to get an explanation from him.
"Apparently, you don't know." Snow led with her head again, then slowly pushed off with her hands, the Koopa moving behind her to help her sit upright. He was having just as much trouble, though.
"You're kinda heavy, you know?" he commented, carefully pushing her upward.
"Yeah, well, I don't think I planned it," Snow retorted as she finally reached a sitting position, then glanced around at the dark surroundings, namely the many tunnels that decorated the place. "Where am I?" She regarded the Koopa. "This ain't heaven or Sugar Rush."
"Iggy! There you are!" A feminine voice was heard.
"Lady Koji!" The Koopa named Iggy responded with unusual excitement in his tone. "I was just heading out to..."
"Yeah, right. And who's the girl on the mattress?"
"Koji?" Snow repeated, wondering who Iggy was answering to.
A few seconds later, a blue-haired young woman stepped out of one of the tunnels, followed by a redhead. The blue-haired woman had a petite figure, with a flat chest, shoulder-length blue hair, and cerulean eyes that seemed to intimidate Iggy as they gazed into his multicolored ones.
The redhead, on the other hand, was taller, almost as tall as Waluigi from Super Mario Bros. She possessed an average figure, with a larger chest and hips than the other girl. Her crimson, wavy tresses cascaded like a fiery waterfall to the middle of her back, her emerald eyes skewering into Iggy's as well, except they seemed to freeze the Koopa's soul. Both were pale, clad in sleeveless, one-piece black V-necks.
"I-I'm terribly sorry, Lady Koji." Iggy bowed in respect to the azure-haired woman, then regarded the ginger. "And Lady Takuya, please don't kill me! I was just out here to grab some food for you two."
The redhead named Takuya said nothing in response, only glared.
"As if there's ever anything in the kitchen to eat." Koji rolled her eyes. "You know Aggie never bothers to go out to the hub to grab anything. We have to fend for ourselves. She's probably out with Mignogna and Wendee seducing some idiot." Then she regarded Snow. "And again, who's thechick?"
Takuya glared at Koji, as if responding.
"She's from Sugar Rush," Iggy interjected, gesturing to Snow, whose head was still swimming with so many things happening at once in what felt like twenty seconds.
"I've already heard it from Taky, but thank you." Koji smiled at the Koopa, then regarded the racer again. "And I can tell by the clothes." She studied her up and down. "But you look a little...fucked up. Mind sharing what happened to you?"
"Back up." Snow held up her hand to stop Koji from going any further with that discovery. "Who the fuck are you guys and where am I?"
"Sorry, where are my manners?" The blue-haired woman laughed lightly. "I'm Koji, and this is Takuya, my twin." She gestured to the redhead, who only greeted the sherbet racer with a glare.
"She doesn't say much, does she?" Snow raised an eyebrow at Takuya, studying her, namely her aloof attitude. "And she's not too friendly, is she?"
I try to be, said a cold, harsh voice in Snow's head, causing her heart to nearly jump out of her chest. At least for everyone's sake around here. So deal with it.
"Damn! What the hell?" The snow cone racer searched the room for the voice's owner. "Who said that?"
"I did," Takuya responded, which caused Snow's attention to snap back to the redhead.
"What kind of talking is that?" the racer questioned. "More like thinking, if you ask me."
"It's telepathy, okay?" Takuya's voice still retained that icy edge. "Deal with it or leave. And I think you already know Iggy Koopa." She gave a slight nod to the Koopa.
"He's a Koopaling we picked up just outside of Super Mario Bros. a few days before this whole mess started in the arcade," Koji explained. "He's quite faithful to us as you can see." She motioned to Iggy, who stared up at the petite woman with simpering, lovesick eyes. "He loves us dearly."
"Correction: he loves you," Takuya clarified. "I still haven't secured a catch yet, and you were supposed to be helping me." Her glare was focused on Koji.
"I said we'll hunt again later," the other woman assured her.
"You said that two days ago after you bagged Iggy," the redhead reminded, her voice lowering to a growl. "Sometimes I wonder when to believe you when you make a promise. We're going out right now to fetch another victim, preferably another Koopaling."
"'Catch?' 'Victim?'" Snow was lost. "What hell do you mean? Who are you? Or should I ask, what are you? And you still didn't answer my question as to where I am. What is this place?" The racer glanced around the dark, graffiti-ridden cavern.
"So many questions, woman." Koji huffed. "You must be the nosy one in Sugar Rush?" She sighed. "Why did we get stuck with someone who almost makes you get cavities just looking at her? Anyway, you're in one of Game Central Station's many alleys."
"Well, that explains the art all over the walls and the smell," realized Snow. "How the hell did I get here? The last thing I remember is being in Sugar Rush watching over Wreck-It...until crazy Fix-It came and attacked." She shook her head. "I jumped in between them, and then...he grabbed me and I started to feel weak. Weak to the point of passing out. But what happened after that?" The snow cone racer grabbed her head to scratch it, but when her hands made contact, she realized that something felt off about her hair, which felt flat for some reason. "What the...? What happened to my hair?"
"That was my next question," Iggy cut in.
"Here's a mirror." Takuya pulled out a small, round mirror from her neckline and handed it to Snow. "And don't ask or thank me. Just take it."
"You're a cold bitch, aren't you?" The sherbet racer took the pocket-sized looking glass and narrowed her eyes at the redhead.
"This is who I am, okay?" she snapped.
"Sorry." Snow held the mirror up to her face for a look at her reflection, which was definitely a shadow of its former self, namely her once-colorful afro. What was once vibrant and full was now colorless and flat, now a deflated beach ball on her head. The racer then moved the mirror down to look at the rest of her. As she had seen earlier, her clothes were in tatters, holes dotting her shirt, skirt, and tights, all of which were now baggy, loose, and pale to the point of colorless.
"How did I end up like this?" the sherbet racer wondered once more.
"You tell us." Koji scoffed.
"Does it have anything to do with how I got here?" Snow inquired. "'Cause I wasn't like this when I was fighting Fix-It."
"You might want to ask Agnes when or if you run into her," the blue-haired woman suggested. "She might be able to answer that." I doubt it. "We didn't drag you in here nor do we have the ability to infect you."
"You said you were fighting Fix-It, right?" Iggy interjected. "You don't mean Fix-It Felix, Jr, do you?"
"Um, there's only one Fix-It in the arcade, dude," the sherbet racer reminded.
"Wait, you were fighting Fix-It Felix, Jr.?" Koji closed in on Snow, interested. "Why? Does he have something to do with the dangers going on around here?"
"More than you know," Snow said, and no sooner had she mentioned Felix around five times so far to the trio, it hit her, namely how the Good Guy had grabbed her and weakened her. "Wait, could Fix-It have infected me? Just like he did Ralph?"
"I still don't understand what you're talking about." Koji was confused, scratching her head and staring at Snow with curiosity. "How can Fix-It Felix, Jr. have..."
"Can we walk and talk?" Takuya was at the end of her rope with all of the chit-chat. "I need a victim, and the sick girl's not helping."
"What in the hell's your problem?" Snow demanded, already tired of the redhead's ice queen-espue attitude.
"Taky's a little hungry, don't worry," Koji assured the racer. "She gets like that when she doesn't feed."
"Or have a partner to satisfy me," added the redhead.
"'Partner?'" Snow repeated. "You guys have boyfriends? Or need one in your case?" She regarded Takuya, who delivered her still-chilling stare to Snow. Unlike Iggy, she wasn't the least bit intimidated. Something tells me that we are not going to be friends. I hope I don't have to drag her to a corner by the hair and deal with her. I may be infected, but I can still kick this bitch's ass if I need to.
"No, we don't have or need boyfriends," Koji answered. "We seduce men with our song and have them do our bidding. Like Iggy." She gestured to the Koopaling. "He was an easy catch, and the other six should be pieces of cake, too once we get a hold of them."
"So, you guys are mermaids or something like that?" the sherbet racer inquired.
"Mermaids, she says," Takuya muttered, laughing cynically. "Yeah, we have fins and swim around like everything's fine in the world. That Taiki and her crappy Outlet Central game makes me retch. She sings like she's an angel, but she's far from one. Her and that player-two wench Oikawa."
"Anyway..." Koji continued, darting a glare at her twin. "We're sirens."
"Sirens," Snow repeated, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, we're from Spirits of Darkness, a game from 1983." The petite siren noticed the racer's expression. "And judging from that befuddled look, I can tell you've never heard of it."
"Sugar Rush came in 1997," Iggy filled in, nodding to Snow, "So she wouldn't know, my lady."
"Thought so." Takuya nodded. "Now, can we get going? I want a Koopaling from Super Mario Bros. Let's continue this chit-chat on the way, okay?" She darted her trademark scowl at Snow, who was ready to give her something to glare about.
"Okay, Taky," Koji sighed. "We're going." She, Iggy, and Takuya started for the exit from the caverns...until Koji stopped to regard Snow, who was still sitting on her makeshift hospital bed.
"You can tag along if you want," the blue-haired siren offered with a smile. "Maybe you'll get to understand us more if you watch us work."
"Seriously, Koji?" Takuya questioned, darting a look at her twin that screamed disbelief. "What if we catch what she has?"
Koji ignored her, offering the sherbet racer again. "What do you say?"
Snow shrugged. "Why not?" Maybe I'll run into Pres. on the way. She'll love to know what happened to me and how crazy Fix-It is now. And User, I hope I won't have to knock some ginger bitch the fuck out on the way to or in Super Mario Bros. I've only known her for ten minutes, and she's already working my nerves.
…
"Vanellope!" Ralph called, running aimlessly in a dark void. "Vanellope!" he yelled again, hoping to find his candy-littered friend somewhere out in the darkness.
The wrecker had been wandering through the pitch-black chasm for what felt like forever, with no end or exit to the blackness or sign of life. The Bad Guy had no idea how he ended up in the empty world, nor did he know where he was. Ralph only hoped to find someone soon, and quickly.
"Ralph!" a feminine scream was heard coming from his left, filled with fear. He recognized the cry immediately.
"Vanellope!" Ralph hurried in the direction of the desperate shriek. "I hope she's not hurt. If she is, I..." The wrecker didn't know what he would do if the president was hurt or killed. That motivated him even more to race down the dark space, though he was unable to see what lied in front of him besides his large hands and feet. The princess was like a sister to him, and he didn't want to lose her.
Please, User, he prayed as he sped up with each step. Please let Vanellope be okay.
"Ralph! Help!" came her voice again.
"I'm coming, kid!" Ralph promised as he fought his way through the darkness with the hope that he'd find and save the president. "Just stay where you are."
A few moments later, Ralph arrived at an area with tall lights lining the perimeter. The wrecker stopped, glancing around.
"Vanellope?" He carefully advanced forward, raising awareness of his surroundings in case someone or something were to jump out and attack. "Where are you? Vanellope!"
Suddenly, a light flashed in the center of the room, revealing a chair...with Vanellope tied to it. She stared at the Bad Guy with fear in her eyes. A fear that Ralph had never seen before in the lead racer.
"Ralph! Get me outta here!" she cried, struggling against the ropes binding her to the chair like a restless animal.
Surveying the area once more and certain that it was clear, Ralph started toward Vanellope with a burst of speed he didn't know he had.
However, when he arrived halfway toward her, Ralph felt a force subdue him to the ground, pinning him down. The wrecker tried to move and squirm out of the grasp of whatever was holding him to the floor, but couldn't; it proved itself too powerful for him, like fighting against a weight that was a hundred tons. To him, that was ridiculous, as he was programmed to possess overwhelming strength. Ralph tried to turn his head to get a look at his captor, but his head was forced to face forward.
"Why don't you watch the show instead of me?" the mystery person suggested, a sinister edge to his voice as he directed the wrecker's attention to Vanellope, who still continued to fight against her bounds at the sight of her Stinkbrain pinned down.
"Ralph!" she shrieked.
"You should worry about your own asth, glitch," a familiar, lisping voice echoed from one of the tunnels and grew louder as its owner approached the room.
"That voice..." Ralph growled upon recognizing it. He knew that voice all too well; he had met its owner recently back in Sugar Rush.
"Well, well, look who dethided to come watch my little show." The voice's owner emerged from the corridor behind Vanellope, joining the princess's side as his catlike eyes burned into Ralph's brown ones.
"Turbo..." the Bad Guy hissed, struggling against his captor's grip. The white jumpsuit, pale face, and red T were unmistakable.
"That'sth my name, Wreck-It Ralph. Justh try not to wear it out." The psychotic racer laughed maniacally.
"How in the hell did you come back?"
"Oh, I have my waysth, Ralph." Turbo sneered, then produced what looked like a silver dagger from his pocket and moved it to Vanellope's throat. "But I'm sthtill angered at how you killed me lasth time, stho here'sth my ansthwer to that." The racer moved the blade closer to the princess's throat, causing tears to flow in her eyes.
"If you hurt Vanellope..." Ralph started.
"You'll do what?" Turbo asked mockingly. "Wreck me? I don't think stho. Not in the posthition you're in, esthpecially when your little friend hasth you pinned down."
"Friend?" Ralph repeated, trying to crane his head once more to get a look, but his captor wouldn't allow it.
"You'd best keep facing forward, Ralph," it ordered again, and this time Ralph noticed a little of the Southern twang in the voice, which made the Bad Guy freeze in disbelief at who was pinning him down.
"Felix?" Ralph finally guessed, then remembered. He's still infected.
"That's my name, Ralph," the Good Guy continued. "And I promise you that Turbo's gonna make this show as exciting as possible."
"Felix! Come on, buddy! It's me, Ralph!" The Bad Guy tried to jog the Good Guy's memory. "This isn't you! You've got to remember!"
"You know what? I'm tired of you and that Tammy preaching at me and telling me to 'remember.' I know who I am! And I'm going to prove it!" Felix pressed down on Ralph's head, proceeding to crush the latter's skull. Then he regarded Turbo. "Can I kill Ralph?"
"I wasth justh going to make him watch histh glitch'sth death," Turbo rebuffed, then his face brightened. "I know! We can kill them at the sthame time. That sthoundsth good, right?"
"What?" Ralph's eyes widened in fear.
"I like the sound of that." Felix smirked psychotically, his free fist crackling with a current of crimson energy. "Did you hear that, Ralph?"
"Felix, stop!" the Bad Guy pleaded as he tried to break free again, but the corrupt handyman's grip was like chains wrapped around a dog.
Felix ignored him, still regarding Turbo. "Will it be on your count or mine?"
The former racer snickered. "Mine, and on three. One..." He pressed the blade into Vanellope's throat to the point where a few drops of blood trickled from it.
At the same time, Felix pressed Ralph's head to the floor, the wrecker's neck showing as the handyman's fist hovered over it. Ralph knew it was pointless to try again; Felix, or the demon in the form of him, was too powerful.
"Two..." Turbo pressed it further, ready to deal the killing blow to the president, who managed to choke out "Ralph" when she saw the wrecker at the mercy of Felix, whose energy was intense and deadly at that point and ready to end the wrecker.
"Ralph!" Vanellope shrieked, as Turbo finished the count.
"Three!" The ex-racer ran his knife across Vanellope's throat.
"Vanellope!" Ralph screamed as Felix's crackling fist made contact with his neck.
Ralph's eyes flew open in complete, utter shock and fear. He breathed heavily, trying to recover from what he had just seen, then found himself staring up at a purple ceiling with an overhead fan emitting air down to him.
Where am I now? Ralph turned his head to his left to notice a closet with purple robes and clothes and some of the familiar candy-based furniture, which gave him the sign that he was still in Sugar Rush.
It was just a dream. The Bad Guy breathed a sigh of relief, reaching to check his neck to ensure that there was no sign of Felix's mark on it. It was clean, aside from being infected.
It felt so real. The Bad Guy remembered the dream-or rather, nightmare-in all of its horror. Felix was insane. Scratch that, he was almost...homicidal. What the hell had Turbo done to him? He was definitely not the hero I recognize; that was a monster. And Turbo...he just went off the deep end, making me watch him kill Vanellope. The Bad Guy released another relieved breath, but then his anxiety peaked. I hope it didn't turn into a reality. I just hate being useless. I should be out there helping her, and I would if Felix hadn't given me this bug. Ralph remembered the infecting touch of the Good Guy and how it drained every ounce of strength he had, shutting down every fiber in his code like a robot or a computer. And Turbo binding the Bad Guy with the lead ropes hadn't helped, either, which made him realize something when he had checked his neck.
"I'm...free...?" Ralph wondered, craning his neck upward to see as much of himself as he could. Sure he was still infected, with his faded, colorless overalls and shirt overridden with holes and rips, but he was indeed liberated from the rope Turbo-disguised as Red- had thrown at him. His arms and legs were free, as he started to move them around. "But how?"
"You shouldn't do too much, dear Ralph," crooned a silky, feminine voice.
"What the...?" the Bad Guy questioned. "Who's there?" He craned his head upward a little more for a glimpse of the voice's owner. It wasn't Vanellope's voice, that much he knew. However it did sound familiar, like that of a seductress, especially when she spoke again.
"You remember me, my sweet Ralph, even though it's been quite a while. Say, fifteen years?"
That was when the Bad Guy's eyes widened with surprise. "No...way!" When the wrecker managed to raise his head as high as he could, he saw his captor in the form of the last person he expected to run into. At first, Ralph thought he was still dreaming, pinching himself. Unfortunately, he felt pain, which meant that the situation before him was indeed real.
As the Bad Guy faced the woman, it was unmistakable, even though it had been a while. Years, to be exact. The curvy, buxom figure, pale skin, bat wings, waist-length blonde hair, and V-neck evening dress were not hard to forget or miss. And her sensual, sultry posture raised several red flags in Ralph's head, as he remembered exactly who she was.
"Hello, Wreck-It Ralph," the woman greeted as she leaned against the wall near the door in a seductive pose, lips curved into a smile as her green eyes were fixed on the Bad Guy.
"T.K..."