Chapter 32
"Which one should I kill first?" Felix glanced from Rancis to Mignogna to Wendee.
"Fix-It, come on!" Rancis shouted. "This is ridiculous! You're a fucking Good Guy! You fix things!"
"And I'll fix you right up." The handyman's wicked grin stretched across his face. Red sparks crackled around his body. "And you'll be fixed, I promise you that." The Good Guy unleashed a stream of red bolts at the trio.
Rancis and the girls leaped out of the way, watching as the crimson lightning splintered the king-sized bed.
"You weren't kidding," said Wendee, staring wanly at the corrupt Felix. "Fix-It means business."
"We need to be careful here," Mignogna warned, glaring at the psychotic Good Guy.
"Duh, sis."
Felix unleashed another stream of bolts, forcing the trio to dodge again.
Wendee responded with a stream of water, and it slammed into Felix, pressing him into a wall.
Felix, however, quickly recovered, as he stood up. Sparks radiated off of his body as his insane smirk remained.
"What the fuck?" the pink-haired siren froze.
"Your water always sucked, anyway," Mignogna sighed. "Fire will put him in check." She turned to Rancis. "I need some help to keep him still for me, Rancey."
The peanut butter cup racer blushed at the nickname. "Okay..."
"Take your best shot," Felix taunted.
"Gladly." Rancis charged at the Good Guy, fists balled and ready to deliver a blow. The male racer had given Felix a chance, and the handyman had blown it. Rancis threw a fist at the waiting virus, who, unfortunately, glitched away.
"Ah, hell," he groaned, then glanced around the room. "Should've seen that shit coming."
"He can't have gotten far," said Wendee, navigating Cody's room.
"I hate glitches." Mignogna regarded Rancis and added, "Except your girlfriend, of course."
"I told you, she's not my girl..." the peanut butter cup racer's protest was cut off by a current of scarlet energy coursing through his code, lighting it up like the Twinklies from Banjo-Kazooie.
"Rancis!" Mignogna and Wendee hurried over to him, voices faint as the male racer's consciousness started to slip away.
"Fix-It..." Rancis managed to turn his head to notice the Good Guy standing over him, ivory hammer raised above him.
"I thought you cavities were better than that." Felix's taunt reduced to an echo as Rancis struggled to recover but his body grew heavier by the second. He couldn't believe that this was how he would die. And he would fall shamefully, too. He'd never win a single race, win any sort of respect on the track, or, more importantly, see Vanellope again. He wouldn't dance with her at the Mushroom Ball...if there would be a ball.
"Rancis!" Mignogna's voice grew more distant by the second, fading into an echo.
"Guys..." the racer managed, then turned to Felix, who was fuzzy in his vision.
"I...hope...you...remember...Fix-It... You have... a wife. And you...fix things...not wreck them."
The only response Rancis received was a blow from Felix's hammer, causing his vision to completely blacken.
"Rancis!" Wendee knelt to the racer's side and shook him, but the racer wouldn't budge.
"He wouldn't shut up," Felix said.
"Why don't you shut up?" Mignogna retorted. "That virus made you nothing but heartless and a monster! You're nowhere near like the Fix-It Rancey described!"
Felix scoffed, then glitched away, leaving the two sirens and Rancis, who wasn't doing well in Wendee's arms.
"How is he, Wendee?" Mignogna joined her sister.
"He's gone," the pink-haired girl replied mournfully.
"What?" Mignogna grabbed Rancis, shaking him violently. "Rancey! Wake up!" When the racer didn't answer, her heart sank.
"I told you, sis."
"He can't... I wanted to go one more round with him before he found Penelope!" Mignogna reached the point of tears. She had actually enjoyed herself with Rancis. None of the men she'd had sex with in the past couldn't compare to her session with the racer. It had been magical and exhilarating. Now she wouldn't have the opportunity again.
That burned her up, as she placed Rancis on the ground, then grabbed two of Cody's bedsheets and covered both the racer and the wizard. She clenched her fist, regarding Wendee with a fire in her eyes as hot as her element.
"Mignogna?" Wendee took a few steps back. "You're scaring me."
"Let's go, Wendee. We're going to find Penelope or whoever she is. We don't know where Felix went so we can find him and kick his ass, so we should go search for Rancey's girlfriend."
"How are we gonna tell her? We aren't the most tactful."
"We'll figure that out as we go."
...
"This place screams hot mess," Snowanna said as she, Takuya, Koji, Chet, and Iggy walked through the destroyed Mushroom Kingdom of Super Mario Bros. Snow watched as Koji had just blown away a cluster of Cy-Bugs, which had been the norm from the entrance on their way to the castle.
The once-azure scenery of Super Mario Bros. was now a darkened, decaying wasteland. Bowser's Castle couldn't top it. Cy-Bugs roamed around, along with some that had features of the characters and foes of the game. Many of the viruses wore mushroom caps, Koopa shells, and other features native to the game.
"Stay down, douches!" Koji conjured her element, sending a gust of wind that sent the Cy-Bugs flying into a dead tree.
"Some of these things look too much like Toads and Koopas and shit." Takuya pointed out the hybrids.
"Sarge said that these things become what they eat," Snow explained.
"Lord Bowser and Surge are gonna have my head for this." Chet cringed.
"Just keep walking and shut up," Koji barked. "Iggy's not complaining. Just be glad I'm not making you as loyal as him, because I can."
The Hammer Bro. sighed. "This is gonna bite me in the ass."
The group arrived at the Mushroom Castle, which was in just as worse shape as the game itself. Its outer structure looked like it had been chewed away, the stained-glass Princess Peach window smashed through, and Cy-Bugs swarming around its perimeter.
"Toadstool's Castle is fucked up." Koji whistled as they approached the door.
"Anybody want to knock?" Takuya asked.
"Girl, I don't know what the hell's waiting behind door number one, and I may or may not want to know." Snow placed her hands on her hips. "And I didn't even agree to enter this game, anyway."
"Okay, that rules you out." The red-haired twin regarded Koji, Chet, and Iggy. "How about you guys?"
"Are you kidding me?" Koji raised an eyebrow.
"I'll do it." The Koopaling raised his hand like a kid in a classroom.
"I'm with Ms. Rainbow," Chet said. "We should turn back."
"You know what? I'm getting sick of you two right now," the blue-haired siren sighed.
"Look, it's bad enough we're in this damn game, okay? We're just digging another hole toward our deaths!" Snow raised her voice at the last word.
"Listen to Afro Girl," the Hammer Bro. pleaded. "Lord Bowser will kill me if..."
"Lord Bowser is already going to kill you," Koji cut him off. "Hell, I don't even think the big guy's still alive at this point."
"All the more reason not to go in there."
The blue-haired twin ignored them. "Iggy, do your stuff."
The Koopaling nodded, his wand glowing green and sending an emerald orb that blasted the door to splinters.
"Always exceeding my expectations." Koji smiled as she entered the destroyed castle, followed by Takuya.
"They're gonna kill themselves." Snow muttered to Chet.
"Lord Bowser, forgive me," the Hammer Bro. whimpered as they brought up the rear.
The interior of the Mushroom Castle was in worse shape than the outside, with the walls Swiss cheese, the doors ripped off of their hinges, and the ceiling leading to the Wing Cap Tower demolished. The decorations for the Mushroom Ball fell in ruins as well, with the mushroom-shaped lights shattered, the streamers in shreds, and the banner collapsed.
"What's with all these decorations?" Koji inquired. "Was there a party?"
"The Mushroom Ball," Chet replied. "The Cy-Bugs totaled this place big time."
"Damn."
"H-Hello?" a faint, weak voice called.
"Someone's actually alive in this mess?" Takuya wondered.
The group noticed a blue-capped Toad stuck under a light fixture along with other who were dead, struggling to crawl free. His blue spots dulled, and his tan complexion was covered in soot and debris.
"Hey." Snow knelt to the weakened Toad's level. "What happened to you?"
"The...Cy-Bugs..." the Toad groaned. "There...were eggs in the basement."
"Cy-Bugs?" Koji repeated. "They were those things you were talking about, right?" She turned to Snow.
"No doubt." The sherbet racer nodded.
"Please...help...me..." the Toad pleaded, grabbing at the floor.
"Don't worry, we'll help you." Snow began to push the fungus-shaped light off of the Toad, but it didn't budge. "A little help here?"
Chet joined the sherbet racer, applying his own strength.
Takuya snorted. "Why are we stopping to help a poor fool who's near death? Just leave him."
Her demand was ignored, as Koji and Iggy made their own contribution to saving the Toad. The combined strength of the four characters caused the heavy light to shift slightly.
"Harder," Snow ordered, and they pushed the fixture harder until it began to roll forward, moving off of the Toad, who still couldn't move due to his already-weakened state.
"Here." Chet helped the Toad to his feet.
"Thank you," he managed.
"Are there any others living?" Koji asked.
"They're locked in the dungeon beneath the ballroom. Bowser, Rosalina, and some others were captured by the Cy-Bugs and Mario."
"Mario?" Confusion crossed Snow's face.
"Mario was eaten by a Cy-Bug. He's one of them." Panic rose in the Toad's voice.
"What?" Koji gasped. "Mr. Nintendo?"
The Toad nodded. "It's like Mario's not himself. It's kinda amazing how being eaten by a Cy-Bug can change even the sweetest of people."
"I bet it can make Taky colder," Iggy joked, earning him a hard glare from the redhead.
"That's a good one." Koji laughed.
"Guys, we need to help the guys in the dungeon and get them out of here," Snow said, regarding the Toad. "Lead us down there."
"I thought you didn't want to be in this game," Takuya reminded snarkily.
"I know what I said, okay? But we can't just leave people to die in here." The colorful racer knew that was what Vanellope would do, and she was going to do the same.
I wanted to split these chapters up so that everyone can absorb a little at a time. It'll be easy to grasp this way. Plus, I want to catch up since I have not updated in about four months.