Chapter 41
"You were Mr. Candy?" Turbo asked Takeru.
"Yes," responded the succubus, closing in on the ex-racer until only inches separated them. "And you fooled me pretty well with your Red disguise. I used that same one, too... when you weren't working against me behind my back. I actually thought you were working for me."
"Disappointed, aren't you?" Turbo sneered, backing toward the switch. He reached for it, but pulled his hand back upon experiencing a shock from a barrier surrounding the switch. "What the...?"
"What is that?" T.K. wondered.
"Looksth like Sthurge wantsth to make sthure no one fucksth up the arcade," said Turbo.
"The little bastard's smart. Gotta give it to him." T.K. examined the shield surrounding the switch, then looked up at Ralph, an idea generating. "But maybe Ralph can break through the barrier. A virus might be able to shatter the shield, and Ralph's infected." Takeru gestured to the switch. "Ralph, try to break the barrier and hit that switch."
The Bad Guy approached the blue switch, reaching for its barrier, but the defense mechanism repelled him the same way it had Turbo. Ralph tried again, but felt an electrical current once again.
"What the fuck is going on?" T.K. wondered. "I've infected Ralph with my virus, and I'm certain viruses can shatter that barrier." She stared at the Bad Guy intently. "Unless...Ralph didn't suffer from my virus, but a spawn of it. And spawns are only duplicates, contracted from someone who's infected by the main virus. So who's got the main one?"
"Wait a minute," Calhoun interjected. "Are you saying you're the one who infected my husband?"
"Your husband?" T.K. raised a blond eyebrow.
"Fix-It," said Tamora. "You infected him."
"I did?"
"Don't play the idiot with me!" Calhoun charged her, but T.K. threw the sergeant into a wall with her whip.
"I'm not, you insolent child!" T.K. hissed. "I had no idea I corrupted Fix-It Felix, Jr. I meant to corrupt Ralph to exact revenge and bend this arcade to my will. Unless..." The succubus regarded Turbo. "You did it, didn't you?" She grabbed the collar of his jumpsuit. "You undermined my orders and infected Felix instead of Ralph."
"Guilty asth charged," Turbo confirmed. "I never cared about Mr. Candy or you. I only wanted my revenge and had my own way of doing it. You made one miscalculation regarding your virusth. The strength of the virusth isth inversthely proportional to the victim'sth sthize. Stho, the bigger the character, the lessth effective the virusth and the smaller he or she isth, the more effective. Felix wasth a better choicthe than Ralph. And if you were asth smart asth you are sthexy, you'd know."
Turbo's last comment enraged Takeru, as she sent Ralph to pin down the ex-racer. The wrecker tackled Turbo, pressing him against the wall next to Tamora, who just recovered from the succubus' whip.
The sergeant fired her rifle at the net holding Mary, Deanna, and the others. "Get out of and take the others with you!"
Nodding, the Nicelanders tried to awaken Lucina, Shulk, and Rosalina.
"Wh-what's going on?" Lucina woke up first, glancing around. "Where are we?"
Before either could answer, a sudden stream of crimson knocked the two Nicelanders off of their feet, killing them instantly.
"Bloody..." Shulk trailed off as he and everyone else noticed an infected Felix at the doorway. Instead of the maniacal expression he once wore, the Good Guy's face displayed confusion.
"How did I get here?" Felix wondered, entering the room. He scanned his surroundings. "Did someone call me?" He regarded T.K. "Who are you?"
"Fix-It! Stay away from her!" Tamora urged. "And Turbo! They're dangerous!"
"You again?" Felix turned to the sergeant. "Haven't you learned nothing you say to me will change me?"
"You're the one Turbo infected." Takeru joined the Good Guy.
"Who the hell are you?" the Good Guy asked.
Takeru cocked her head, but then realized he was the real recipient of her virus and therefore was connected to her. That explained how Felix appeared where she was. Her influence had called him to her, even though she hadn't verbally summoned him. T.K. smiled wickedly.
"I'm the one who summoned you," she finally said.
"I'm still confused," said Felix.
"If you break the seal around this switch..." T.K. gestured to the pedestal. "Everything will clear up to you."
"Really?" Felix asked, and Takeru nodded. The Good Guy started for the switch, but Calhoun stepped in front of him.
"I can't let that happen." Tamora readied her rifle. He wouldn't hesitate this time; she didn't view the Felix before her as her husband. He was her enemy.
…
"What the hell is a 'key?'" Taffyta asked as she, Vanellope, Snow, Sora, King Candy, Citrusella, and Candlehead exited Sugar Rush, with Minty, Adorabeezle, and Gretel deciding to head to Fairytale Speedway – one of the few remaining untouched games – mainly to keep Gretel safe. Gretel had protested at first, but eventually caved in after reluctantly admitting that she couldn't do anything further to be of any help. The tween was no fighter, anyway. "Where is this key?"
"That's what we're going to find out," said Sora as the group zeroed in on Tapper.
"Along with where T.K. headed off to?" added Vanellope. "Wherever she went off to, she was pretty angry and wanted to be there in a hurry."
"Try pissed," corrected Citrusella. "And we don't know that yet."
"That's why we're headed to Tapper to discuss it and come up with a plan," said the witch. "We already know partly how to purify the other games. The question is how to do that in one shot using Vanellope's power and defeat Takeru."
…
"When are you going to free us, Erholtz?" Tails asked, knowing it was a dumb question.
"Until Mr. Candy takes over the arcade." The angel smirked. He'd been watching Kohut, Tails, and Surge for around an hour under his master's orders, and so far they hadn't been too unruly other than fighting futilely to escape and asking a lot of questions.
"Why is Ta.. I mean, Mr. Candy doing this?" Kohut asked. "Why does he want to take over the arcade?"
"Alas, I do not know, my armored friend." Erholtz twirled flamboyantly. "Besides, you already have a battle to fight." He nodded to the trio's suspended state. "And you'll have to observe my beauty for the next period until your deaths." The angel flipped his ankle-length white hair.
Tails perked up at this, as he came up with an idea. He knew Erholtz's vanity well even before he was infected, and was certain the plan that came to mind would kill or at least bruise the angel's ego.
"Your beauty?" the fox questioned, then scoffed a little. "I bet even Mr. Candy is more beautiful than you. He may not have wrinkles under that hood of his."
"What are you doing, Miles?" Surge asked.
"Play along," Tails whispered. "I know what I'm doing. I'll explain later."
"What is Tails up to?" Kohut wondered.
"No idea, but he wants us to play along," said Surge, noticing a scowling Erholtz, whose glare burned into Tails in reaction to the fox's beauty comment. Then the hologram's eyes widened in realization.
"I'll have you know Mr. Candy does not hold anything to my gorgeous exterior!" Erholtz spat, pulling out a rose and inhaling its sweet scent.
"I suggest you look in a mirror." Surge joined in "If you do, you'll see that King Koopa, Dr. Robotnik, and even Mr. Luigi are more handsome than you."
That ignited Erholtz's rage like a match struck against its box. "How dare you!" His hands glowed with bronze energy as his fury locked on Tails. "I shall kill you first." He hurled the energy at the fox, who braced himself for the attack.
But when Tails opened his eyes, he found himself unscathed. He only noticed Erholtz's shocked expression, then felt his bounds loosen from his wrists, followed by his ankles. The fox thudded to the floor, increasing the angel's shock even more.
"What...?" Erholtz took a fearful step back.
"Frustration clouds your focus and your aim...which is why you missed," Tails explained. "Assuming that you were trying to hit me."
"You little..." Erholtz started for the fox, who dodged out of the way and clipped him with his tails, then knocked the angel out.
"Excellent, Miles," Surge praised.
"For a mechanic, you can hold your own," Kohut pointed out. Both men watched as Tails pickpocketed a bronze-hilted dagger and a jagged garnet sword. The two-tailed fox used the dagger's fine point to pick the locks on the men's bounds. Once they were free, the trio headed down the corridor Erholtz had emerged from.
"We need to get to Sugar Rush!" Surge urged.