Chapter 2
*Six months later
Ralph awoke to a rainy earth day morning. Having a few hours before the arcade opened, Ralph headed up to the common room of the Niceland building knowing full well that Felix, Calhoun and a few
Nicelanders would be having their usual morning chat. Ralph entered the room slowly to avoid breaking anything. Nowadays, when Ralph was present, knowing glances and stares were often given to Ralph. Everyone had heard the news from months prior, and he knew it was no secret. Anyone who knew Ralph and Vanellope now know how much of a shock this all was.
"Ralph!" Felix chimed, his normal peppy self filled the room with loving joy, "I saved a donut for you."
"Thanks, Felix," Ralph smiled as he awkwardly sat down on the ground amongst everyone's comfy chairs. He munched the donut and breathed a relaxed sigh.
"We should really try and mix up the bonus levels, today," Felix smiled, looking around towards Calhoun, Gene and Deana. "I think Qbert might like to have a try at my golden hammer!"
"He has no arms, Fix It," Calhoun snapped lovingly towards him.
Qbert chimed in a disgruntled way, everyone laughed.
"Just a thought," Felix beamed, patting Qbert's head.
Ralph smiled and relaxed, his days getting progressively better. He quickly chomped a few bites of the donut given to him by Felix and gazed out one of the big windows of the Niceland building. The morning was quiet and dim as the rain fell outside the arcade. He fell into a small lull in the conversation. Everyone continued on chatting away, enjoying their morning together. Ralph sunk into the background, keeping to himself for a small while. He didn't want to let himself think about Vanellope, but often times he couldn't help himself. It was comfort to him, a safe haven in his mind he could escape to, though trying to avoid pain. He let his mind wander.
Before Ralph could repeat his daily 'what went wrong' thoughts, something outside the niceland building caught his eye. There were people in the arcade? Older, bigger humans. Ralph's eyes widened when he suddenly realized who these humans were. Ralph jolted up, sending the box of donut crumbs flying. Everyone around him bounced in surprise as donut remains and milk spewed everywhere. Ralph quickly bulldozed over everyone, without thinking twice, to get to the nearest balcony of the niceland building. In the process of flinging the balcony doors open, the windows of the doors shattered everywhere. Ralph practically lunged over the railing of the balcony and froze at the sight before him.
"RALPH!" Calhoun hollered as breakfast went everywhere. Felix quickly stood up with his hammer to see if he could fix the situation. Gene grumbled in dismay as everyone's attention immediately drew to Ralph.
"Ralph, what's the big idea?" Felix asked in a concerned and firm voice.
"Sugar Rush," Ralph muttered.
Everyone froze at Ralph's words and immediately scrambled for the balcony Ralph was on, as tiny as it is. Everyone watched in horror as three large human men loaded and unplugged Sugar Rush from Game Central station, and carry it away. As soon as they arrived, they left. Everyone was frozen in disbelief. Not a single breath was heard. Ralph fixed his eyes on Sugar Rush's once solid position in the arcade. It was suddenly an empty husk, indents on the arcade floor where Vanellope's home once stood. Ralph swallowed hard and felt as if his throat was on fire. Not only had the humans moved Sugar Rush's cabinet months prior, making it impossible to even get a glimpse of Sugar Rush's game screen, but now the humans have removed Sugar Rush entirely.
Ralph could feel everyone's gaze slowly shift to him, as if they had questions that Ralph could answer. Ralph inhaled an uneasy breath and suddenly had to choke down the realization that he may never, ever, see Vanellope again. His heart was pounding, as if it was about to jump out of his chest, it ached with pain and sorrow, it ached with what could have been. It ached with uncertainty and rage. Ralph shut his eyes tight and kept tears away.
"Ralph?" Felix said tenderly, putting a hand on his arm. Ralph slowly met eyes with Felix, both their eyes saddened and filled with ruin.
As quickly as Ralph jolted to the balcony, he left the common room.
Everyone stared at the door in terror as they watched Ralph leave.
Suddenly the room was alive with silent questions and mourning.
Each Nicelander exchanged a shocked look with each other before silently cleaning up the mess that was made. Not a single word was shared, but the tension in the room shared a hundred thousand conversations within seconds. Felix inhaled gently and turned around towards the balcony, longingly looking towards Sugar Rush's old position. He was surprised to see the three large humans bring another arcade game in replacement of Sugar Rush. Felix's frown broadened.
Felix furrowed his brow and respectfully took off his hat, he let out a sorrowful sigh, "Vanellope…"
Over the course of the next year, Ralph had grown extremely distant.
His gameplay was poor, and he quite often let Felix and his gamer win the game. Their game was beginning to be unappealing due to how easy it had become, and the Nicelanders were concerned with being unplugged because of lack of quarters. No one dared look Ralph in the face since the Sugar Rush event. No one spoke of Vanellope or Sugar Rush. No one wanted to face Ralph's depressive anger and rage. Felix and Gene would often leave Ralph a piece of cake outside his house, but the only words they ever heard Ralph utter were his famous wrecking lines during gameplay. Once the arcade was closed, Ralph would free himself from the mud and trek home without any communication.
"I hate to be cold, but, he's got to get over this eventually. I thought that maybe he'd have moved on by now, but this is just getting ridiculous," Calhoun exclaimed. Gene, Felix and his bride were gathered at the bar after an uneventful game day.
"Some people just grieve differently, and for longer," Gene said softly while he wiped the counter. "It's a well-known thing for us arcade games. If you were best friends with someone in another game and their game gets unplugged, you have to deal with the fact that you will never see your friend ever again. This isn't uncommon."
"It's uncommon for us Nicelanders…We tend to stick to ourselves save for me and Ralph," Felix sighed as he slumped his face into his hands. His hat fell over his eyes.
"Maybe we should find out what happened to Sugar Rush, maybe then Ralph can have closure," Calhoun suggested as she rested her arms on the bar.
"Who do you think would have information on that?" Gene asked.
"Maybe Surge? He keeps the Game Central Station in tip top running condition, I'm sure he'd know," Felix said softly.
"I don't know if Ralph will appreciate us dumping MORE bad news on him. What if Sugar Rush was corrupted and no one could escape?" Calhoun chimed, "I don't think he'd like to hear exactly why Sugar Rush was put out of commission.
"Maybe we should just go find out for ourselves. Once we know, at least we'll be able to tell Ralph if there's a good opportunity." Felix stated.
"Good point. If Ralph really wanted to know what happened to Sugar
Rush, he would've found out by now. It's been almost a year and a
half since the incident." Gene said.
"If he doesn't step up the gameplay soon, I'm afraid our little ol' game will be shut down for good as well… I think we should talk to him soon," Felix worried.
Suddenly, the train from their game cabinet began to leave. Everyone froze for a second before flinging themselves to the nearest window. Down on the ground far below, they could see Ralph leaving their game cabinet.
"Ralph is leaving!" Gene exclaimed, almost cheerfully. "Maybe he's going to find out what happened to Sugar Rush?"
"No," Felix stated softly, "Tonight is the weekly Bad Anon. meeting held in the Pac-Man cabinet."
"So, if he's going to be out of your game for a small while, maybe we should use this opportunity to ask Surge what happened to Sugar Rush," Calhoun suggested.
"Ok, quickly now!" Felix chimed. Suddenly Gene, Felix and Calhoun left the penthouse and scrambled down to the ground floor.
The three eagerly waited at the train station inside their game. They discussed and worried amongst each other, not caring if they don't get to recharge before tomorrow's game day. The train slowly tinkered into the station, and everyone awkwardly climbed in.
"There has to be a better way to get to and from this game, Fix It,"
Calhoun said in an annoyed tone.
"We're vintage, this is just how it is!" Felix beamed. "This, unfortunately, is something I cannot fix."
As the three entered Game Central Station, Ralph could be spotted moseying into Pac-Man's game. The three beamed and quickly searched around for Surge.
"How do we go about finding Surge? Is he normally just hanging around somewhere?" Gene questioned as he gazed around Game Central Station. "This place is certainly a sight for sore eyes."
"He usually shows up if you are a surge protection threat," Calhoun stated as she threw her cruiser out in front of her. She quickly stepped onto it and zoomed out of Fix-It-Felix Jr.'s outlet. Sure enough, the loud surge alarm sounded and Surge made himself present within seconds.
"NAME?" Surge methodically hollered as he got his clipboard ready.
"Surge! We need to talk to you," Felix pleaded
"Where you headed?" Surge said without looking up.
"Surge, we rushed through the outlet so we could find you," Gene added.
"We need to know what happened to Sugar Rush," Felix stated quietly. Surge looked up at the three in a confused way.
"Sugar Rush? Do you need directions?" Surge wondered.
"Directions? It got unplugged!" Calhoun exclaimed. "We need to know what happened to it. The reason it got unplugged?"
"Unplugged? Bah! Nonsense, Sugar Rush is still in the arcade," Surge said simply as he watched the three before him go silent. "Do you guys need, directions?" Surge added nervously.
"You mean, Sugar Rush still exists?" Felix exclaimed. Other game characters in the Game Central Station began to glance over.
"Of course it still exists! A popular game like that doesn't just randomly get unplugged. It got moved to the other side of the arcade a long time ago. When it got moved, the game was given an update, sort of like a refresh." Surge explained.
"So, the characters still exist? Nothing has changed?" Felix urged.
"Nope, not much has changed. I see Taffyta and the others around here often. They look like they've gotten a bit taller, though," Surge pondered.
"How do we get to Sugar Rush?" Felix beamed as he looked around, "Is it in Game Central Station?"
"I'm afraid it's all the way across the arcade. In order to get there, you'll have to travel through the wall's electric wires. Trips like that could take hours." Surge said softly.
"I think it'd be worth it," Felix said confidently, "Thank Surge! You've been a big help!"
The three quickly rushed back to their train after waving Surge off.
They plunged back into their game with hopeful, high spirits. They quickly regathered in the penthouse and celebrated with a drink, all of them thrilled with the exciting news of Vanellope's existence.
"How are we going to go about this?" Gene questioned eagerly,
"Should we go to Sugar Rush and bring Vanellope back for him? Maybe just tell him that Sugar Rush exists? Surely he'll bombard Sugar Rush if he knew it still existed."
"I think we should just, take a moment and breathe." Felix sighed, "This is too much for my little system to handle"
"You are so 1980's," Calhoun laughed as she nudged her husband.
Felix chuckled and fixed his hat a little.
"I think it'd be wise to maybe think about it for a little longer before deciding exactly what to say to Ralph." Felix smiled.
"What exactly needs to be said to Ralph?" Called a familiar, yet almost forgotten voice.
The three at the bar whirled around to see Ralph standing in the doorway, hunched and awkwardly curious. His eyes were sunk but showed a glimmer of confidence and hope. He gazed humbly towards the three at the bar, all of which looked entirely shocked to be in Ralph's presence.
"Ralph! I, uh.. We were just," Felix stammered as he clumsily got off of his bar stool.
"Spit it out, Felix," Ralph snapped, though his eyes were gazing down at him in a brotherly way. Felix jumped.
"I-I…I don't really, know how to, uh…heh," Felix stuttered.
"Sugar Rush didn't get unplugged for good," Calhoun blurted out.
Ralph gazed at her in disbelief.
"This isn't funny, guys." Ralph snapped, his gaze met Felix's. Felix gazed up at him tried and true.
"Ralph, it's the truth. Sugar Rush got moved to the other side of the arcade. It still exists!" Felix exclaimed as he threw his arms up in the air. Ralph furrowed his brow almost in disbelief. He didn't want to let himself believe it to be true. He didn't want to put his heart on the line for disappointment. He didn't want to feel happiness without knowing it was absolutely true.
"How do I get there," Ralph uttered quickly. The three stared at him, shocked.
"She's not in Game Central Station, Ralph," Felix cooed.
"How do I get there?!?" Ralph bellowed, the whole building shook and everyone jumped. Felix clapped his hands over his ears.
"I-It's a few hours of train rides through the walls of the arcade. I have no idea where Sugar Rush is, but I do know it is in our arcade." Felix said in a shaky tone. Ralph quickly and lovingly ruffled Felix's hat and head. Felix scrunched in slight fear.
"Thank you, Felix. I'll be back before game time," Ralph said loudly, his demeanor switched. He immediately rushed out of the door and was soon seen grabbing his old, make-shift hoodie and taking the train out of their game cabinet.
The three sat in the penthouse frozen. Gene trembled behind the bar, Calhoun slumped her shoulders and Felix shakily fixed his hat. Both Calhoun and Gene fixed their eyes on Felix.
"That, wasn't so hard!" Felix chuckled nervously
