*Chapter 48*

"Ralph," Taffyta hollered, her hands cupped over her mouth, "You're never going to get a double striped branch like that!"

"How do you know?" Ralph hollered back to Taffyta as he was awkwardly perched on a very high up branch up a tall candy tree.

"You have to just happen upon them!" Taffyta yelled, "You can't just seek them out, you'll be up there for hours!"

"Ugh, fine!" Ralph hollered as he awkwardly began to climb back down. After a few moments of Taffyta and Tammy nervously watching Ralph crawl down the candy tree, Taffyta winced as his large hand absent mindedly wrapped around a double stripe branch. It bleeped a few times before vanishing in his grip, sending Ralph rocketing to the ground. He hollered in protest before hitting the ground with a loud thud.

"That's gonna leave a mark," Taffyta mumbled as her and Tammy scrambled over to Ralph.

"Uncle Ralph!" Tammy hollered, "Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine," Ralph mumbled with a few coughs as he clumsily stood up. He shook his head and glared up the candy tree, "I grabbed a double stripe branch, didn't I."

"Yyyep," Taffyta lulled her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ralph barked down to her.

"By the time I noticed, it was too late!" Taffyta yelled back.

"This is going to take forever," Ralph grumbled as he looked around, his eyes landed on a few double stripe branches before him, "Taking the branch off of the tree is no problem. The issue is getting it to not disappear."

"Maybe you have to just hold onto it really tight?" Taffyta inquired.

"Or maybe you have to put it somewhere really quick?" Tammy prodded as well, both girls gazed curiously up at Ralph.

"Hmm," Ralph grumbled as he trekked towards a low hanging double stripe branch that he spotted.

Ralph stared at it for a moment; it's shiny, outer candy shell glistened in the evening sun. The double red stripes seemingly taunted him. Ralph inhaled sharply before rocketing his large hand at it. In one swipe, he snapped the ten foot branch clean off of the bark of the tree. He quickly held onto it with both hands and eagerly gazed down at it. It remained solid in his hands before blinking twice and vanishing. Ralph yelled in protest before slumping his shoulders and letting his now empty hands hit the ground.

About an hour had gone by of the same torture. Ralph must've broken over two dozen double striped branches, all of which disappeared. Some would vanish upon touching it, some would linger and be a tease. It was a long while before Ralph grew angry with this impossible venture. He suddenly rocketed his fists into the trunk of a candy tree, yelling in rage. The whole tree shook to its core, each branch trembled from the aftershock. Tammy and Taffyta froze as Ralph shoved his back to the candy tree and slumped to the ground. Taffyta chuckled and lulled her head to the side as she approached him.

"Maybe Tammy is on to something," Taffyta smiled, "Maybe you need to put it somewhere before it disappears."

"But where?" Ralph urged, his facial expression sullen; Taffyta was silent for a few moments as she gazed down at Ralph.

"Ralph," Taffyta soothed, "You knew, getting into this, that this wouldn't be easy."

"I just want to know how Rancis did it," Ralph barked as he quickly stood, "If that little hologram could get it, surely I can! Look at me!"

"Ralph, you have pure, unimaginable strength," Taffyta hollered, trying to match Ralph, "But Rancis had a lot of wit! You have to outsmart these branches."

"Is that all I look like to you? A big, dumb heap of strength?" Ralph hollered though he tried to remain calm so he wouldn't scare Tammy.

"Ralph," Taffyta laughed as Ralph whirled around and gazed out at the forest.

"It'll be a miracle if Vanellope says yes to me," Ralph barked, his voice barely trembling. He looked down and sighed, "I won't have a ring to give to her."

"Uncle Ralph," Tammy suddenly chimed as she marched over to him, she quickly grabbed his hand and tugged on it as she gazed into his eyes earnestly, "You're forgetting what this is all about."

"What do you mean?" Ralph furrowed his brow.

"You shouldn't be angry," Tammy urged, "This is an exciting time, for all of us. Getting angry over a little bump in the road isn't worth ruining this adventure."

"Tammy's right," Taffyta agreed as she came up to Ralph and Tammy; she placed a warm hand on Ralph's lower arm, "We're here to find a ring, sure, but User forbid this doesn't work, you won't walk into your marriage with Vanellope empty handed."

Ralph heaved a long sigh and gaze around at all the looming branches; they were gorgeously lit by the evening Sugar Rush sun.

The red and white stripes cheerfully stared Ralph in the face; some of which were double striped, even triple striped. Ralph glanced between Taffyta and Tammy, both of them eagerly and loving gazing up at Ralph.

"Sorry, you guys," Ralph breathed gently, "I'm glad you two came with me to do this."

"You certainly would be here a lot longer if it weren't for us," Taffyta laughed as she pat Ralph's arm.

"Probably right," Ralph sighed as he stood up straight and locked his eyes on what Taffyta and Tammy thought was a double stripe branch; Taffyta caught eyes with the same branch before beaming up at Ralph.

"Go get 'em," Taffyta urged as she pushed on the back of Ralph's arm.

Ralph glanced down at her before nervously marching over to the branch. He sighed gently as he approached the long branch. It loomed just over his head, it was about ten feet long. Ralph wrinkled his nose as he drew closer to it. Not only did it have the familiar double stripe, it also had a sliver of three more stripes that crisscrossed around the branch in a delicate, swirling way. Small, mint green stripes mixed with the usual red double stripes the way down the branch. Ralph widened his eyes and felt his breath catch. He could feel Taffyta's and Tammy's eyes laid on him, and he wondered if they had caught on by now. He felt the urge to turn around and exclaim his findings; he knew for certain that crossed stripe branches were an absolute rarity.

Ralph inhaled a breath and kept his eyes fixed to the branch. Before he could think too hard about his decision, he quickly swiped down on the branch, breaking it clean off of the bark it was attached to. Ralph inhaled sharply and grabbed the branch with both his hands. He quickly held it over his head and gazed down at the ground below him; he felt as if the world was moving in slow motion, molasses captured him in this sticky, divine situation. He shut his eyes tight in fear as the branch made its first distinctive beeping noise. Using all his force, he sent the branch rocketing into the ground in front of him, broken end down, for reasons he wasn't even sure of. As if it were programmed into him to do so. The ground trembled underneath the force as Ralph gripped the branch with all his might. He gazed hard into the branch as it made it's second, usual bleeping noise. He gripped it as hard as he could, hoping that somehow it wouldn't escape his hands.

Ralph held his breath and anticipated its departure after its second bleep. Ralph blinked a few times as it suddenly beeped for a third time; the branch sent a shuddering, gold sheen across itself before solidifying. Ralph exhaled in surprise and gaped as he took a few steps back from the branch, it stuck out of the ground like its own, new tree. Ralph put his hands on the side of his head and breathed a surprise chuckle; he quickly whirled around and gazed at Tammy and Taffyta, who were both wide eyed.

"Ralph!" Taffyta exclaimed as both girls slowly stepped over to Ralph, their footsteps eager.

"Uncle Ralph, you did it!" Tammy squealed as she jumped up and down before latching onto Ralph's arm.

"It's a double stripe branch, but with awesome green criss crossed details," Ralph breathed with a small laugh; Taffyta shot him an unbelieving look before peering at the branch before them.

"You…you got a crossed stripe branch," Taffyta breathed in surprise as she softly put her fingers on the mint swirling of the branch, "Ralph, I hope you understand that this is the only crossed stripe branch in all of Sugar Rush."

"The only one?" Ralph raised his eyebrows.

"I thought Vanellope was kidding," Taffyta exhaled to herself as she gazed at the branch.

"Looks like you hit jack pot, Uncle Ralph," Tammy laughed as Ralph held the side of his head in surprise.

"Yeah," Taffyta shook her head in shock, "And then some."

"Vanellope," Felix happily chimed as her and Candlehead slowly and warily stepped into Hero's Duty main game arena.

"Is everything okay?" Vanellope worried as she gave Felix a small hug, "Did a cy-bug get loose?"

"Yeah," Felix sighed as he rubbed the back of his head and looked around, "I got about half of it fixed up, but there's still a lot more. We need some help lifting, if you guys don't mind helping?"

"Of course," Candlehead smiled, Vanellope nodded before glaring at the ground.

"I don't know why Ralph didn't come and help out," Vanellope growled as the three head down Hero's Duty's sloping entrance, "We could've really used his strength."

"Heh, uh," Felix rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Guess he had an important commitment."

"If you call barely helping Taffyta out at all an important commitment, then what do you call this?" Vanellope hollered as she gestured her arms out towards the damaged world.

"I don't think Ralph is one to really break plans to help another person out," Felix said, trying to act natural, he glanced at Candlehead nervously.

"Just relax, Vanellope," Candlehead chuckled, "We're going to be alright without him."

"I guess you're right," Vanellope sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"We can check on them later," Candlehead smiled.

"Unless he finds us first because Taffyta's needs are so pointless," Vanellope barked.