Finale
"Quitin' time!" cried Felix as he and the other Nicelanders began their trek down the stairs. Down below, Ralph cleaned himself off and began to help the others in their repair duties.
"Man, was tonight great or WHAT?" the wrecker beamed as he helped Lucy clear some bushes.
"I'll say! I LOVE it when there's a rush!"
"Never worked better!" said Don, tossing a few broken stick into a pile "Everyone did a FANTASTIC job!"
"Y-Yeah!" meeped Meg, the shy little thing trying her best to get in with the crowd of others, her cheeks still blushing as she smiled "I-it's been a while since I've had this much fun on the job."
Seeing the smiles of the others, Meg felt a sense of bravery come about her. In that moment, she pushed her timidity away, throwing her arms up into the air.
"Aw, who am I kidding? I LOVED IT!"
As the little people chattered amongst themselves, Ralph could not help but feel so happy, feel so welcome, feel so whole.
All his life, THIS was what he had wanted. To be apart of the game, to feel as if there was a family within the tiny apartments but through his journey from one game to the next, the man had learned a lot about the Nicelanders as well.
He had always told the Bad Anons that they knew so little of him, that they never understood just who he was but as he was looking back, he could have said the same thing about himself. He DIDN'T know ANYTHING about the Nicelanders.
He had no idea that the things that had bothered him over the years, how they felt about their jobs, how some people had treated them? He never knew that he shared so something so similar with the tiny people but now that he knew, he did feel closer.
And he couldn't have been happier.
"So what are ya guys up to tonight?" the big man asked.
"I haven't made plans yet." Said Nel "Maybe a movie? A concert? Who knows."
"'Ey, I know!" piped Norwood arrogantly"Why don't we all go to Mortal Kombat an' pretend ta act susrprised that Deanna has been takin' lessons there?"
The man felt a heavy hand landing upon his shoulder, the grip so strong but so cold.
"I can bury you in places, NORWOOD." Deanna said with a devilish smile "I can bury you in place and they would NEVER find the code. I would do so HAPPILY."
Ralph had never seen someone turn so white so quickly, the red-head shuffling over and hiding behind Nel.
"H-H-Hey, mama! I'm suddenly feelin' tha urge to stay in! And padlock all the doors for the safety of our lives."
OH, NORWOOD.
Just as Ralph was about to comment on Deanna's latest threat, something popped up in the back of his head.
"Oh GOSH!"
"What is it, big fella?" asked Carlos.
"I totally spaced!" the Wrecker said, smacking his forehead "I got a call from Clyde that there was supposed to be a special Bad Anon meetin' tonight!"
"I thought those were usually held on Thursday….or was it Tuesday? No….Monday?" thought Tony.
Lucy patted her older sibling on the back, "Heh, yeah. Keep goin' through them days, bro."
"Either way, I don't wanna be late! Tha guys always get on my butt if I come even a second late!" the ma said.
"Ralph!"
Before he could take another step, Ralph turned, Gene waving towards him.
"Gene?"
"Excuse me, but has ANYONE seen Mary?" the man said "I was hoping to catch her as soon as the all-clear went out but since then? Not a trace."
"She's not in her apartment?" asked Kal "I mean…I was CERTAIN I saw her during the final win screen."
The other Nicelanders looked at each other, realizing that Mary had indeed slipped their sight.
"Oh gracious." Gene said in slight worry, wringing his hands "I hope she's okay!"
"C'mon Genie, ya now Mary can take care of herself!" Ralph said though he was worried just as much.
"I am not implying that she can not." The Mayor said tartly, adjusting his tie "I'm just saying that it is very unlike her to just up and vanish so quickly once work is over. She is usually down here helping everyone else clean up."
"Tell ya what." Said Ralph "Why don't ya head out with me as I go over to tha Bad Anon meetin' tonight. I'm sure if she's been in tha arcade, someone's spotted her."
"Alright." Gene breathed out, tugging at his cuffs in worry "If you think this is such a good idea."
The two men left together, looking about the station for any sign of the woman in pink.
"Ooooh, where can she be?" Gene fidgeted as he looked this way and that "I don't see a sign of her!"
"Keep your 'stache on, Big Guy! She's okay, I know she is!"
"Hiya, Ralph!" waved Vanellope as she came running from her own game "On your way to tha Anon meetin'?"
"In a sec. Right now, we're lookin' for Ms. Mary!"
"Oh, I think I saw her earlier!"
Gene light up like a star, turning towards the girl "You have?!"
"Uh, yeah." Vanellope meeped, a little surprised to how fast Gene had turned "She was headin' towards Pac-Man."
"PAC-MAN?!" both Wrecker and Mayor declared. They looked at each other and in a second, took off towards the game.
"HEY!" cried Vanellope "What's goin' on?! I THINK I MISSED SOMETHIN'!"
"Ms. Mary, this is GREAT!" said Sorceress as she took another slice of pie "Mmm-MMM! Puts me on cloud nine just eating it!"
"Thank you dear!" smiled the little woman as she held up another pie "Try all you want! There is so much to pass around!"
"Where is boysenberry?" asked Zangief, the fighter looking around "Zangief wanted slice of that but it seem someone has taken it from Zangief!"
"HA! Too slow!" said the frog-girl, holding the pie above the man with her elongated tongue "Try movin' those thighs of yours a bit faster an' maybe you're get some!"
"TINY FROG GIRL SHALL FEEL MY WRATH!"
"Now, now." Mary scolded as she took the big man by his ear "I will had none of that type of behavior over pie! Unless you want to spend the night in the corner, you will wait. I have plenty more so there is no need to fight."
Zangief lowered his head in shame, "Yes ma'am. Sorry ma'am."
"Who wants more?" the woman chirped as she patted the man on the head "Blackberry! Strawberry! Chocolate and cream! All you guys deserve a treat!"
"Ms. Mary?"
The Nicelander turned to see four new comers standing at the door, their eyes filled with surprise at the celebration that was going on within the meeting room of the Anon meeting. Instead of stalling, the woman waved for the bunch.
"Ah, it was about time you got here Ralph!"
"Ma'am, what's goin' on?"
"Well, I was thinking. All this talk about pie and such, I figured that since everyone is getting another chance, I'd start by providing the Bad Anon meeting with some much needed refreshments. I mean stale cookies? Lukewarm tea? You guys deserve much more than that!"
Ralph was amazed as he stood amongst the rest of his Bad Anon buddies, the lot of them enjoying themselves greatly on the freshly backed treats that the Nicelander had made just for them.
Mary didn't have to do such a thing. She didn't have to come visit them, she didn't have to bake such an enormous amount of pastries but she did.
She did so because she WANTED to, because she wanted to see the Anons happy.
The Wrecker felt his heart flutter "Th-thanks, ma'am…."
Ralph looked down to see a figure in blue tottering up to the baker, shaking hands reaching for hers.
"Mary?"
Gene was astonished by what the woman had done, her actions proving to him even more just how much she wanted to help out the arcade.
"I-! Why didn't you tell ME about this? I could have helped you if it were too much trouble!"
"And let you eat all this pie before I got a chance to serve it?" the woman said with a teasing grin as she honked Gene's nose "Not on your life, mister!"
"OW, Mey-wee!"
"Oh hush and help me serve!" the woman said as she grabbed Gene and pulled him next to her at the serving table "And I don't want to hear you crying about how you're hungry or anything! There's enough pie to satisfy even your bottomless stomach!"
"Uh, okay?"
"Here…" said Ralph as he joined the Nicelanders "Scootch over you two, we'll help."
"Really?" said Mary as she looked at both Ralph and Vanellope.
"Sure will!" the girl glitched besides her buddy "After all, tha merrier right, Ms. Mary?"
Mary's face was all a glow at the sweet words of the little vanilla racer.
"Thank you so much, dear." The woman said "And you too, Ralph. Thank you two ever so much."
Gene said nothing, Mary's smile bring forth a sense of comfort he hadn't felt in years. It was the same smile she had given to him when they first meet, that moment where he felt that there was something so special about her, something so wonderful.
Something that could turn something as simple as pie into something that meant so much more.
"Is everything alright dear?"
The Mayor snapped too, straightening up.
"Everything is fine dear, not a problem at all!"
"Alright." The woman said as she placed a hand under the man's chin and gave him a sweet little smooch on his nose "Try to loosen up will you and smile."
"Yeah, Genie. SMIIIIIILE!" Vanellope teased as she made smooching noises towards the to "Ya look only about a QUARTER doofy as ya do when ya don't!"
"HMPH!" the man snorted, turning around and folding his arms against his chest "If that's the way you want to play-!"
"Gene, BEHAVE."
"But Ma-reeeeeeeee!"
"Er, I don't need to separate ya two, do I?" Ralph said, trying his best to scold the tiny Nicelanders "I can set some chairs up an' put ya both in tha corner!"
"PAYBACK FOR ZANGIEF!" the fighter cried from somewhere within the room.
"Don't you sass ME, young man!" Mary said, stomping her foot and pointing at Ralph angrily "Perhaps I should make RALPH PIE? Bake your butt in a giant crust and serve you up with a side of milk?"
"Heh, can I help?" smirked Vanellope "Tha ovens over at MY place are just tha right size for a nice hunka meat like him."
"VANELLOPE, I SWEAR-"
Gene tugged on Ralph's overalls, pulling him over to the side.
"Ahem, Ralph?"
The Wrecker peered down at the little man "Yeah?"
"Tell Vanellope that you guys can come over for tomorrow."
"Say what now, Genie?"
"I made a promise to you guys right?" the mayor said "Well, I intend to keep it. She's going to get her pie like she wanted."
Ralph smiled, shaking his head.
"Heh. Sure thing, Big Gene. We wouldn't miss a chance for some pie."