*Chapter 12*

The two left Ralph's house and began heading towards the train station. Ralph's game cabinet quickly began to hum with life as other Nicelanders and Qberts characters began to leave their houses and mingle. They waved at a few Nicelanders on the way to the train station. Vanellope stayed close to Ralph, feeling more comfortable with him with each passing day. They walked almost in sync, the harmony about them still relevant. They quickly boarded the game cabinet's train and putted into Game Central Station.

"I'm not looking forward to tomorrow," Ralph chuckled as he helped Vanellope out of the train. They stepped out of their outlet and into Game Central Station.

"Why not?" Vanellope questioned as they stopped outside the outlet. Ralph looked around with a smile.

"Having yesterday and today off has spoiled me," Ralph chuckled.

Vanellope rolled her eyes playfully as the two began to walk to Power Strip's station. Ralph walked a step or two ahead of her, just for the sheer fact that his larger stride got him farther. Vanellope skipped a few times to keep up; she suddenly realized that this is something she's had to do within the whole time span of their friendship. Even though she had just finally realized it, she understood that it was mildly annoying. She wanted to avoid nagging him to slow down. She pondered before gazing down at his hand by his side. He waved at a few other bad guys that they passed, Game Central Station was slowly becoming active with life.

Vanellope bit her bottom lip and subconsciously held her breath. She gently reached out and slipped her hand into Ralph's. He instinctively clenched his hand tight around hers but looked down at their hands in a confused manner. He slowed his pace and gazed down at her with a mildly stunned facial expression. She avoided eye contact with him but pushed into him a little, holding his bigger hand tight. Ralph immediately beamed and tucked her hand tighter into his. He inhaled deeply, puffing his chest a little and straightening his back. He suddenly felt this sense of pride sweep over him; he not only was thrilled at Vanellope's small act, but with that one simple action, he suddenly had a gorgeous girl on his arm. Something he never thought would happen. He hoped everyone was watching as he gladly slowed down to tend to Vanellope's pace, getting the hint.

Both Ralph and Vanellope melted into a comfortable, knowing silence. They both suddenly seemed to glow; instantly, all eyes were on them. People smiled and began whispering to each other. Vanellope smiled and put her other hand on Ralph's lower arm. He softly tugged her closer to him, causing Vanellope to chuckle a small, girly laugh. Suddenly their little ember of love was being fanned. It was now out in the open, and they radiated confidence as they practically parted the crowd in Game Central Station. They finally made their way down to the Power Strip's station, mostly all eyes on them. The train hadn't arrived yet, so the two casually stopped in the waiting zone, still locked hand in hand. Vanellope tried to hide her beaming, closed mouth smile.

"You pull off the bare foot look quite nicely," Ralph said softly, only audible to her. Vanellope's heart jumped as she gazed up at him through tender, hazel eyes.

"Ralph inspired," Vanellope sneered playfully as she wrinkled her nose. Ralph chuckled and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand as the train quickly pulled into the station; its doors slid open.

The gamers that were standing around suddenly began to pour onto the train. Ralph and Vanellope squeezed onto the train, still locked hand in hand. When it came time to sit down, Vanellope figured they'd end their little hand holding session, but to her surprise, Ralph hung onto her. She beamed, obviously not minding. They sat close to each other, the train more than half full. She squeezed his hand as if to silently thank him for not letting go; she enjoyed this new venture of theirs, she excited for what could possibly come. She heaved a long sigh and smiled at him casually, though their hand holding suggested otherwise.

"I'm interested to go back to the lake," Ralph said softly, knowing it was still their secret, "What if Rancis is alive?"

"He's not," Vanellope said softly, "He… He sunk, pretty fast. It'd be a miracle if he broke free from that icy grip."

"I'm just bummed that Felix now knows our secret," Ralph frowned.

"I doubt he knows how to get back there," Vanellope said gently, "And even if he did, I'm sure he'd respect the fact that it's something we want to keep secret."

"I'm sure he would," Ralph said confidently with a smile.

"It's not really a place I want my people knowing about anyways," Vanellope said softly, "It can be pretty dangerous."

"Other than the incident with Rancis?" Ralph questioned.

"Yeah," Vanellope deeply inhaled, "The Lake is a place of truth. If you want to know your core, the inner depths of yourself, you step into the lake. If it stays it's icy, white self and claims you, it means that you have done wrong; and I mean a LOT of wrong."

"Rancis," Ralph stated, Vanellope nodded.

"But, you can learn a lot about yourself from the lake," Vanellope continued, "If you step into it, you never know what color it will turn, what exactly it will do. It's tricky, because you could assume you've been a great gamer, but even one wrong in your life that you haven't made right, and the lake could easily send the creeping red vines on the lake's bottom to drown you, wiping your code clean off the map. It's like a code black hole."

"I-I'm, not so sure I want to go back anymore," Ralph chuckled as he lulled his head, "And here I thought I was doing something nice taking you to this place."

"It was nice!" Vanellope laughed as she gently squeezed Ralph's hand, "It's just, if you know you've done wrong and haven't made them right, I'd suggest not taking a swim."

"What would happen if you have made every wrong, right?" Ralph asked curiously, "Would you just be swimming in water then?"

"No one really knows. All I know is the lake would transform to show you the true state of your inner self. Ultimately, the lake would boast your inner beauty. The lake would become you, as your code is written," Vanellope explained, "Though many people have gone mad in front of the lake… It's not a place you visit if you aren't a confident soul."

"This is all a lot more complex than I thought," Ralph chuckled as he shook his head.

"I'm just forever grateful you stumbled upon it," Vanellope beamed, "You don't know how many people have gone searching for it ever since our very first reset."

"What was that reset for?" Ralph asked.

"There was a power outage mid game, I'm sure you remember," Vanellope sighed, "For some reason, it caused our game to totally reset, wiping gamer's scores clean. I can't remember much of anything before the power outage. Turbo took that as his shining opportunity to take over Sugar Rush."

"I see," Ralph sighed as he looked down at their locked hands. He smiled a little. The two were silent for a few moments before Vanellope scooted closer to Ralph.

"Ralph? I-I have a question," Vanellope started gently and softly, almost whispering.

"Mhmm?" Ralph smiled down at her, his heart beginning to race at how close she was.

"What, you said last night," Vanellope started gently, looking down, "Do, you really still consider me a kid?"

"No," Ralph breathed with a chuckle, gazing down at her sincerely, "I'm really sorry about that, Vanellope. It was purely out of habit."

"I-I mean, I don't mind if you call me that," Vanellope smiled, "I-I just, hope you know that I'm not really a little kid anymore."

"I do," Ralph smiled, though his face instantly grew red, "Your update is very becoming. If I can also add, y-you look, beautiful, with your hair down."

"Thanks, Ralph," Vanellope smiled and looked down at their hands, her face blushed.

The two spent the rest of the train ride chatting about the lake and it's many mysteries, though the last ten minutes of the ride was in silence between the two. Many others on the train continued to chatter, but Ralph and Vanellope sat in each other's comfortable silence, still hand in hand. Vanellope gently put her free hand on top of Ralph's, the one that was holding hers. She knew that these subtle, yet obvious hints towards something more than just friendship were bound to come spilling out eventually. She figured it was best to just ease into it. The two seemed to silently be on the same page.

The train finally reached End Of Line Game Station. The two stepped off the train and began to slowly walk towards Sugar Rush. Vanellope was continuously surprised that Ralph still held onto her hand, and kept her pace. She beamed as the two slowly moseyed into the station. Once again, game characters stared. Some confused, some pleased; either way, Vanellope was thrilled at this new hand holding thing. She resumed her position with her free hand on Ralph's lower arm. She felt secure and safe with him as she held her hand in his firm yet gentle grasp. She knew he was a softy deep down but she didn't know how much of a softy he truly was until now. His large hands were designed for wrecking, demolishing brick buildings, yet he was tenderly holding her small hand in his with care and purpose. She knew she hit a gold mine when it came to finding a gentleman. Just as they stepped through Sugar Rush's outlet, the surge alarm went off. Ralph immediately groaned and threw his free hand in the air.

"Hold on, there," Surge said quickly as he appeared before the two. He quickly shook his head and looked at Ralph and Vanellope in shock, "O-oh, I didn't expect to see you in End of the Line Station, Ralph."

"We're just headed to Sugar Rush," Ralph stated, mildly annoyed. Surge inspected the two.

"Oh, you know what, I think the outlet didn't recognize you two because you're holding hands," Surge said plainly before giving Ralph a knowing look. Ralph and Vanellope gently let each other's hands go. Vanellope's face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"S-sorry," Ralph said sheepishly.

"Not to worry," Surge beamed as he quickly evaporated away like an electric current.

"That was awkward," Vanellope laughed as the two pushed on into Sugar Rush, their hand holding venture awkwardly over. Ralph chuckled and rubbed the back of his head.

"It doesn't have to be," Ralph boldly suggested as he reached his gentle hand out towards her. Vanellope blushed and tried not to seem too eager to hold his hand again. She slipped her little hand into his, loving his warmth. She suddenly glitched, making Ralph's arm glitch a little bit as well. Ralph laughed and shook his head as if a small electric current had just shot through him.

"Still not able to control that glitch of yours, I see," Ralph chuckled as they hopped onto Sugar Rush's train. It sped through the wires once they were settled.

"Yeahhh," Vanellope looked away, her face bright red, "I-It sometimes gets the better of me. Sorry."

"It's no burden to me," Ralph smiled, "I think it's cool."

"Thanks," Vanellope smiled gratefully. The train stopped at Sugar Rush's entrance and the two quickly got out, still hand in hand. Vanellope suddenly looked out to her game and glanced at hers and Ralph's entwined hand. She suddenly felt her heart drop, worried that if Taffyta or Candlehead spotted them, they'd make quick work of her and Ralph. She bit her lip as the two moseyed into Sugar Rush hand in hand. She figured she'd let it happen, but she was worried it would drive Ralph away. She prayed to User that none of her friends were hanging around.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta hollered from afar. Vanellope uncontrollably glitched, causing Ralph's whole arm to bulge with awkward code. They quickly let go of each other's hands as Ralph gazed down at her in a confused manner; he shook his head as if to shake off a lingering electric current. Vanellope gazed up at him pleadingly as Taffyta came skipping up, her facial expression pleased and confused. She eyed Vanellope.

"What are you guys doing?" Taffyta questioned with charm in her voice. She glanced up at Ralph before giving Vanellope a knowing look.

"We're just, headed to Diet Cola Mountain," Vanellope smoothly fibbed, "We're going to see if we can possibly bring Felix here later to fix the bonus level inside the mountain."

"That would be awesome," Taffyta stated as she looked up and pondered, "So I guess I'll be seeing you guys around?"

"Yeah, we'll be around," Ralph said kindly as the two pushed past Taffyta and headed towards the candy tree forest.

"See you later!" Vanellope sweetly called. Taffyta eyed them as they began to vanish into the forest.

"What was that about?" Ralph laughed as they were out of ear shot from Taffyta. Vanellope sighed in distress.

"I-I don't know," Vanellope frowned, "I can't seem to control my glitch today. I don't know what my problem is."

"Are you getting sick?" Ralph asked gently.

"No, I'm okay," Vanellope smiled up at him, her face bruised with a blush, "Do you know exactly where to go?"

"Yep," Ralph stated confidently with a smile.

"I guess I should pay attention then," Vanellope laughed.

The two pushed through the candy tree forest with purpose, Ralph was confident in his stride. He tried to stay conscious of Vanellope's pace and stayed close to her. The tall candy trees towered over them, the sweet smell of peppermint filling the atmosphere. After a good long while of trekking, Vanellope was worried that Ralph was for sure lost. She glanced up at him in a worried way, but his face was still confident and determined. She decided to keep her mouth shut and let him lead the way, hoping that they weren't suddenly lost. Vanellope tried her best to remember exactly where they were going, but every single candy tree looked the same.

"Almost there," Ralph softly stated, hoping not to startle Vanellope out of their long stretch of silence.

"Really?" Vanellope lit up, "How can you tell?"

"The candy trees are getting thicker," Ralph said softly as he stopped at a large candy tree, "Also, something else that's an indicator is, the sides of the trees facing the lake are frosted over," Ralph smiled as he rubbed his hand on the side of one of the trunks. Sheer, white frost flaked off.

"You really know a lot about this, don't you," Vanellope smiled in awe as the two pushed on, "I'm impressed."

"All those days of trying to find you in this forest have paid off I guess," Ralph laughed, "I never was able to find you, but I found Vanilla Lake."

"I don't think I'd have it any other way," Vanellope laughed, "You found the lost Lake, and I was the winner."

"Very funny," Ralph chuffed as Vanellope laughed.

Suddenly, the black bark of the familiar cherry trees were seen through glimpses between the candy trees. The two quickly began to run, feeling this pull of excitement and thrill. They immediately began pushing past the rest of the candy trees before emerging at the opening before Vanilla Lake. Vanellope beamed and gazed up at the monstrously tall cherry trees, its long vines dipping down to almost kiss the icy vanilla lake. It swirled and calmly kept is current like before, each tree swaying gently in Sugar Rush's sweet breeze. The two gazed at the sight in awe, taking in all the warm colors.

"This place is so pretty," Vanellope breathed as the two stepped closer to the bank of the lake. Its current churned like vanilla ice cream, sparking brighter than the Milky Way in a black sky.

"It is," Ralph smiled as the two stood together. They stood still in silence, the only sound present was the sound of the soft, rustling cherry blossom leaves in the wind, the churning of the lake methodical and gentle.

Vanellope gazed down at the lake, as if to be hypnotized. She inhaled deeply before letting a small smile spread over her face. She quickly reached up and pulled her mint green hoody off of her body. Ralph glanced at her before throwing his gaze away from her, hoping not to see anything. He nervously glanced back at her to see her wearing a light green tank top underneath her hoody. She put her hoody on the ground, now only wearing her tank and dark brown pants; her hair long and down. Her face was full of purpose as she very slowly began to step forward towards the lake. Ralph widened his eyes.

"Vanellope," Ralph quickly urged as he grabbed her hand. Vanellope gazed back at him with a small smile.

"It's okay, Ralph," Vanellope said gently, squeezing his hand, "I'll be ok."

"You don't know that," Ralph urged, gripping her hand, "I-I won't be able to save you," Ralph pleaded.

"Ralph," Vanellope smiled as she put her free hand on top of the hand that was holding her other one. She gave him a sincere look, "Everything will be fine. I promise."