The first thing Crumbelina felt was the seering pain at the back of her head. The second thing she notices that was when she tried to rub the throbbing wound, her hands here were tied up. The drowsiness was beginning to wear off and Crumbelina finally got a good look of her surroundings. Instead of her luxurious manor, Crumbelina was tightly bounded to chair by red licorice in a gingerbread house seated in front of a graham cracker dining table filled to the brim with various sweets and pastries. If Crumbelina wasn't so frightened, she'd be stuffing her face right now.
"I see you are awake, my beloved biscotti."
Crumbelina growled under her breath and she spotted a girl walk down a staircase, a devious smile on her face. The girl was the same height and chibi proportions as most of the Sugar Rush racers, with bright green eyes, honey brown hair tied back in long pigtails, and a honey tan complexion. She wore a peppermint stripes trench coat with small Hershey buttons, red stockings with white polka dots, black boots with gingerbread shaped hearts on the sides, and mint green gloves. "Muffy Breadgingers," she seethed.
"You look at me with such distaste, my love. Are you not satisfied with the all-you-can-eat buffet I have prepared for you?" Muffy asked, her voice deflated. She picked up a blueberry muffin and held it in front of Crumbelina to eat, but Crumbelina quickly turned her head away and bit her lip. "Do not be so stubborn, my precious. Tis is the holiday season, no? Have you lost your Christmas spirit?"
"How did you break into my house? I rigged every entryway with milk! I even set up an alarm system!" Crumbelina yelled.
Muffy smirked and sat on Crumbelina's lap, facing her, and took a bite out of the muffin. "Do you think I would be as so careless to step into such a trap? I had a feeling you would attempt to pull a stunt, so I used the chimney to get in," Muffy explained, a small pout sticking out. "I do not understand, mausebär. Why do not wish to spend time with me? I am your number one devoted fan! Ever since my game was plugged in ten years ago and I saw you race, I have been entranced by your beauty as well as your racing skills, with the way you go about on that track with such fierceness and such elegance! I knew I was in love with you, but I why do not to reciprocate my feelings?"
"Because you're crazy! You hurt other people just to get to me! I know that killing candy zombies are your thing in your game, but in Sugar Rush, chasing someone around with a machete isn't okay! What part of 'I'm not interested' don't you get, Breadgingers?!" Crumbelina screeched. "Now let me go!"
Muffy remained calm and smiled, casually nibbling on her muffin. She smiled and undid Crumbelina's buns, watching it cascade down past her shoulders, and brushed it gently. "I'm afraid I cannot do that, my beautiful tiramisu, for you are mine and mine alone. Whether you like it nor not, we shall be together forever." Fear danced in Crumbelina's eyes as she watch Muffy lift herself off of her lap and ascend the chocolate bark staircase, gulping down the remainder of her muffin. "When you are ready to be fed, mausebär, alert me and I shall fill you to the brim with my love!"
When Crumbelina was certain she was alone, she freely allowed the tears to trickle down her face. She wants to believe that someone will find her and save her, but even she doesn't know where she is. "Please... anyone... save me," she whimpered below her breath.
"Crumbelina! Where are you?" Jubileena shouted.
The group padded through the white ice cream carpet on of snow, searching for any signs of their friend. Adorabeezle led the group along, tapping away on her tablet, and glanced around. Since Adorabeezle and Nougetsia's house wasn't far from their location, they stopped by her house to pick up her satchel. "This is where the signal ends. Muffy must have taken Crumbelina somewhere around here," she mumbled. She dug into her bag and handed Gloyd and Rancis. "We'll have to split up and look for clues. Gloyd and Jubileena, you go left. Rancis and Vanellope, go right, and I'll head up the mountain. If you see anything, let us know over the walkie talkie."
"Roger that, captain," Vanellope saluted her.
With a nod of confirmation, the group dispersed. Vanellope and Rancis walked to the right side of the mountain, swinging their hands between them. "You know, if we weren't trying to find Crumbelina right now, I'd consider this date. Maybe when you're free, I'll take you out to for skiing," he suggested. Vanellope scoffed and shoved her boyfriend aside, causing him to fall back onto the soft ice cream. "That wasn't very nice, Nellie."
"Aw, you gonna cry to your mama, Fluggerbutter?" Vanellope teased.
Rancis got up from the ground and launched himself at Vanellope, but Vanellope was quick and glitched herself out of the way, watching Rancis fall face first into the gound. "You know sometimes, I hate that glitching of yours," he muttered, glaring at Vanellope as he got back up on his feet, jogging over to her side. Vanellope smirked and glanced around. "I don't get it. How did this Muffy chick get Crumbelina out here anyways? You think we'd be able to track some footprints or tire tracks or something!"
"Muffy's a cunning girl. She's like Taffyta, only packed with crazy. Lots and lots of crazy," Rancis chimed. "No matter how much Crumbelina plans to foil her plans, Muffy's a step ahead of her. I'd say she's in love with Crumbs, but obsessed is the better terminology for a situation like this."
Vanellope hummed and decided to lean against some Airheads White Mystery to rest, but she felt something hard behind the candy. She shoved the taffy candy bars aside, revealing a hidden cave entrance, blue rock candy stalagcites decorated the cave roof. Vanellope grabbed Rancis' hand and dashed into the secret cave, their footsteps echoing off the walls. "I can't believe this! A secret cave in Ice Cream Mountain! How come I didn't find it first?" Rancis grumbled. "I could have used this to get away from Gloyd's pranking!"
"Who cares, Rancis! Look!" Vanellope's voice dropped down to a whisper. She yanked Rancis behind a nearby stalagmite and eyed a gingerbread house. Through the window, the two could clearly make out Crumbelina, who was still tightly bound to the chair. "There she is! Let's grab her-"
"Nellie, wait! It's too dangerous to march in and grab Crumbelina! You haven't dealt with Muffy Breadgingers before, and even though she's less of a threat than Turbo, she's still hazardous," Rancis argued, holding up. He pulled her back behind the rock candy stalagmite when he caught sight of Muffy walking over to Crumbelina and held up his walkie talkie. "Guys, it's Rancis. We found Muffy's hideout in a secret cave in the mountains. What you want us do, Adorabeezle? Over."
It was silent for a while before the walkie talkie crackled to life. "Tell us your exact locations and stay where you are. Jubileena, you and Gloyd go grab some cherry bombs from your place. I have an idea."
"Darling, please, you must eat something. It is nearly noon and you have yet to eat. Just a nibble of glazed donuts?" Muffy pleaded.
Crumbelina bit her lip and shook her head. As tempting as the sugary buffet laid out in front of her was, she reused to succumb to Muffy and allow her to feed her. What if the treats were laced with poison of some sort? Crumbelina didn't want to take that chance. Muffy sighed and once again sat on Crumbelina's lap, straddling her and gazing deep into her eyes, swinging her legs back and forth in a carefree manner. She unbottoned her trench coat and shrugged it off her shoulders, exposing a brown dress with red gumdrop buttons with white icing running down the sides. "Mausebär, please do not make it more difficult for the both of us. I can hear your chibi tummy wummy just begging to be fed. Open up and let your Muffykins feed you," Muffy purred, batting her eyelashed.
"You are not my Muffykins!" Crumbelina exclaimed.
"But of course I am, my love! Stop fighting and just accept the fact that we were destined to love each other. It's in our code," Muffy insisted. She wrapped her arms around Crumbelina's neck and tucked the restrained girl's hair back behind her ear. "I love you, Crumbelina Di Caramello! I will do anything and kill anyone who dares step in between us! I will kill this game's current ruler and make you the new princess if that is what you so desire! Tell me and I shall make it a reality! Why do you continue to reject my purest devotion to you?! Why do you refuse to love me as much as I love you?!" Crumbelina screamed and pain as Muffy grabbed her hair and yanked at it, distressed etched on her face.
"Help! Somebody help m-mmmph!" she screamed.
Crumbelina was cut off when Muffy pressed her lips against hers, her eyes growing to the size of plates. Crumbelina's cheeks was tinted red and her mind momentarily shut down. Muffy's lips were oddly soft, softer than she expected, and tasted like peppermint and sugar cookies. Crumbelina had reasons to believe she wasn't in the right state of mind, because her lips twitched and molded at the same pace as Muffy's lips were going. It felt so wrong, but with the way she was feeling, it felt so right to her. Was as the same feeling Vanellope has when she kisses Rancis? Crumbelina will have to ask her sometime.
'What are you doing, you idiot? This is Muffy Breadgingers you're kissing! Snap out of it!' Crumbelina's conscious was screaming in her head.
Muffy wrapped her arms around Crumbelina's neck and played with her hair, humming with happiness. Just then, a loud booming sound was made outside the gingerbread house. Muffy looked up at the ceiling, graham cracker crumbs raining down on her and Crumbelina and peeked out the window. Outside, Jubileena and Gloyd were igniting cherry bombs and tossing them in the air, watching them explode in the air. "Tch, how annoying! We cannot have a moment of us time without being interrupted! Do they not have anything better else to do?" Muffy groaned. She slid off of Crumbelina's lap, pecking her lips one last time and grabbed a candy cane sword on her way out. Crumbelina sighed with relief as Adorabeezle, Rancis and Vanellope tiptoed in, a smile on her face."It's okay, Crumbelina, we're to save y-why is your face red?" Rancis questioned, cutting the .
Crumbelina turned her away and averted her eyes anywhere but the six pair of eyes that were staring at her with confusion. "Who cares? J-Just get me out of here!" she yelled.
Rancis, Vanellope, Crumbelina and Adorabeezle held hands as Vanellope glitched them out of the gingerbread house and ran towards the exit. Muffy pinned Jubileena to the ground, but stopped when she watched Crumbelina flee away. "No! I won't let you taKe my love away! Give her back to me!" she screeched angrily, hurdling her sword in the Crumbelina's direction and watching it impale a stalagcite. Giving a a final punch to both Gloyd and Jubileena, she dashed after her crush as fast as she could. When she stepped out of the cave, Adorabeezle Rancis, and Vanellope, sped off from the mountain, Crumbelina, sitting on the pink wafer of Vanellope's kart. She spots Jubileena's Cherriot nearby and hopped inside, switching it on and sped off. Jubileena ran out of the cave and stomped her foot, deflated.
"My kart!" she whined. "Gloyd, we have to stop- are you eating?"
Gloyd froze in mid chew and glanced at his girlfriend, a cupcake in hand. "What? I'm hungry!" he defended himself, continiung to eat down the buffet. All Jubileena could do was sighed and shake her head.
"Is she gone?" Rancis shouted over the roaring of his engine.
Crumbelina glanced over Adorabeezle shoulder and from a distance, spots Muffy driving closer to them in Jubileena's kart, a smile on her face. "No, she's still after us! What are we gonna do? She's relentless when it comes to me! She won't stop until she has me!"
"Then we'll let her do just that! Just follow my lead!" Vanellope stopped in front of a Candy Cane tree and began hopping on onto the gumdrops, climbing up the tree. Rancis, Crumbelina and Adorabeezle shrugged and followed her lead, being mindful of the double stripes up to the top. Muffy screeched to a stop and hopped out of the kart, glaring up at the tree. "Crumbelina Di Caramello is mine and mine alone! Give her back to me right now!" she screamed, the tips of her ears burning red. Vanellope smirked and curled her fingers, beckoning Muffy forward.
"You want her? Come and get her, chump!" Vanellope challenged.
Muffy snarled and ran over the gumdrops, hastly climbing up the tree. Her lips split into a Cheshire grin, fire danced within her emerald green orbs. "You cannot escape me, my precious mausebä-aaaah!" Her sentence was cut off when the double stripe branch flickered and disappeared, letting her hurdle down to ground. Muffy screamed and grabbed the cloest branch, hanging on for dear life. "Aw, come on, Breadgingers! Come up here and get Crumbelina from us! You're not going to let a double stripe get in the way of your love for her, are you?" Vanellope taunted.
"Why you little freak accident!" Muffy screamed. She scrambled up the tree again, Vanellope's jeer echoing in her head. She was so close, Crumbelina was so close to Muffy. Close enough for Muffy to grab and pepper her face with kisses. Muffy climbed onto a branch, stretching her hands and attempting to grab a hold of Crumbelina's pajamas. "Any last words, glitch?"
"Two words: double stripe," Vanellope said.
Muffy glanced down at the invisible branch and screamed as she once again fell down the tree, falling directly into the green taffy pond. A moment later, Gloyd drove up the to the tree, waving up at the four with crumbs all over his face and a half eaten donut in hand. Jubileena got up from his lap and ran over to her kart, immediately inspecting it for any types of injury."Hey, guys!" Gloyd yelled. "What are you doing up there? Where's Breadgingers?"
The four shared a glance between them and stared down at the Halloween themed racer. "Um, let's just say say she decided to swim with the Swedish fishes," Rancis chuckled.
Crumbelina stood outside her manor, watching the creamy snow sprinkle down onto the game with a cup of hot cocoa in her hand. Back inside her manor, the whole game came to her White Elephant party, dancing and exchanging gifts. All was having a good time before the arrival of Santa Claus. Crumbelina took a sip from her hot cocoa, swirling the cup around and watching the marshmallows swim around.
"Whatcha doin' out here, Crumbs?"
Crumbelina turned and smiled a bit at Jubileena, shrugging. "It's a beautiful night, Vanellope. Thought I'd admire it a bit," she asnwered. Vanellope nodded stood beside her, leaning against the pockey made railing. "I didn't get a chance to express my gratitude for what you guys did for me. Thank you."
"Anytime. You don't have to worry about Muffy, okay? Wynchel and Duncan fished her out of the pond and locked her up in the fungeon. She won't be going nowhere for a while," Vanellope assured her. Crumbelina only hummed in reply, staring intently at her kart. "Crumbelina, what's wrong? Aren't you happy that Muffy's locked up? You look pretty down. Everyone's having a blast but you"
Crumbelina sighed and adjusted her cap on her head, her nimble fingers gripping the mug tightly. "It's just... nothing, Vanellope. Forget," she mumbled dejectedly. Vanellope frowned and nudged her, urging her to let out her trail of thought. "Muffy Breadgingers is psycho for me. Like Harley Quinn psycho. I mean, she kidnapped me from my home in the middle of the night and held me captive in a gingerbread house stashed away in a hidden cave up in Ice Cream Mountain. Every year, she pulls some crazy stunt when I'm in the midst of planning my party and she ruins it because she's in love with me! I'm mad at her because she's crazy and out of control... but I'm mad at myself even more for not putting a stop at it."
Vanellope watched as fresh tears slip down Crumbelina's face, dropping into the hot chocolate. "I met Muffy ten years ago, when her game was just plugged in. She was game hopping and came to Sugar Rush during the Random Roster Race. At the time, Taffyta was teasing me because I had came in last place, but Muffy came in and defended me. Ever since then, she just became infatuated with me. It was cute at first, with her jealousy with me being friendly with the other racers, but it turned into something more diabolical when pummeled nearly everyone at my White Elephant party. And the rest is history," Crumbelina confessed. She turned to Vanellope, her honey amber eyes moist. "Muffy's insane, there's no argument when it comes to that, but she makes me feel regal. There's just something about the way she expresses her feelings to me that makes me both terrified and happy. Am I a bad person for loving what she does for me?"
"Of course not, Crumbs. Love just works in weird ways, ways that none of us can really explain," Vanellope assured her. "I mean, look at me and Rancis! Nobody thought I'd be dating probably the most vain and most narcississtic guy in Sugar Rush, much less the entire arcade, but I am. Nobody really knows how sweet and loving Butterfingers is when it comes to me. He's the only person who has the okay to call me princess. Why? Because I love him. Half of the time, even I wonder why we're together sometimes. But if anything, the heart knows what it wants, even if you don't."
The front door opened and Jubileena poked her head out, beaming at the two. "There you guys are! Everyone's ready for Crumbelina to start the gift exchange," the cherry racer infomed them. Vanellope walked over to the door, but noticed Crumbelina still staring out into the distance. "Crumbs? You coming?" she asked. Crumbelina turned to Vanellope and smiled, walking back into the warmth of her home.
On the other side of the game in Vanellope's castle, Muffy smirked and twirled a spear baton style as she casually walked down the castle corridor. Behind her, oreo guards lied on the ground, groaning in pain, while Wynchel and Duncan were binded together by a marshmallow rope, screaming against their Hubba Bubba gag. Muffy snickered, which morphed into a loud cackle, her laughter echoing throughout the entire cackle.
"Where are you hiding, my pretty mausebär? Muffykins wants to be with play with you!" She singsonged, her eyes glinting with excitement.
*Mausebär= German for Mouse Bear
*Muffy Breadgingers was inspired by the Gingerbread Man cookie. Her theme is centered around Christmas treats, such as Gingerbread cookies and peppermint. Since the Gingerbread Houses were originated in Germany of the 16th century, Muffy's ethnicity is German.