*Chapter 53*
Niceland was quiet with the sullen loss of their sister game. The penthouse hung with palpable confusion as Tammy, Calhoun, Felix, Ralph and Gene gathered. Each of their faces were riddled with confusion and sadness. Ralph had his face slumped into his hands; he avoided eye contact with everyone. He felt as if he had the wind knocked out of him. His soul was stolen, it ceased to exist, just like Sugar Rush. Ralph inhaled a nervous breath as a few tear drops slapped the counter underneath him. Felix winced and heaved a soft sigh as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Where do you think they went?" Felix worried.
"No one will ever know," Calhoun said gently with a frown.
"It's why I try not to mingle too much with outsiders," Gene chimed calmly; Ralph looked up and shot him a dirty look.
"What kind of a poor life are you living," Ralph barked, his inner wrecker coming back to life from the year-long extinction it was in. He stood and gestured his hands angrily, "I was going to ask Vanellope to marry me! Sugar Rush was my second home! I-I wanted to have a family with her, I had a bright and hopefully future with those smarties!"
"Ralph," Felix cooed; Ralph looked to each of his family members in anger.
"Good things come to good guys," Ralph spat angrily, he repeated Felix's words in a mocking voice, "Yeah well, I'm a bad guy. And in this twisted fairy tale we've found ourselves in, the bad guy always loses."
"Ralph, that's not true," Felix barked angrily, Calhoun put her hands on her hips.
"Look around you, Felix!" Ralph hollered, hoping he wouldn't scare Tammy, "You're the good guy, Calhoun is the good guy! You have a wonderful life, and a wonderful child."
"Ralph, it isn't our fault Sugar Rush got unplugged!" Felix shouted, "You can't put us through this emotional roller coaster again! You can't ignore us and be angry at the world. We're your family too, Ralph, and we love you more than you can probably comprehend!"
Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and fell silent. After a few moments of looming silence, Ralph softly sat back down and gazed down at the ground. He inhaled a nervous breath as he could feel more tears sting his eyes.
"What am I supposed to do," Ralph croaked, "My whole future revolved around Sugar Rush. I-I had her ring made, Taffyta even gave me their code book."
"You have Sugar Rush's code book?" Calhoun worried before looking away, "Just to know they're probably plugged into some other arcade without their code book sounds horrifying."
"I just hope she's alive," Ralph sighed shakily, tears spilling down his face, "I'd rather her be away from here, alive and happy with her friends than unplugged for good…just knowing she's alive gives me enough reason to carry on."
"Sugar Rush is a really popular game," Calhoun smiled, "I'm sure she'll be just fine. The last arcade I was in, the children couldn't leave Sugar Rush alone."
"Maybe they'll plug in a new Sugar Rush eventually?" Felix chimed happily, hoping Ralph would cheer up.
"But what if THAT Vanellope doesn't like me?" Ralph scoffed before looking away, "How our friendship came to be was purely coincidence, an accident. I didn't seek her out. That's what made it so beautiful…and now they're just…gone."
"Uncle Ralph," Tammy suddenly said softly as she placed her hand on his; Ralph gazed down at her eagerly, his eyes glassy. Tammy inhaled slowly and looked Ralph in the eye, "Please don't leave."
"Leave?" Ralph breathed before he slowly knelt down to Tammy's level. He scooped her into his arms and hugged her tight, "I was never thinking of leaving, Tams. Why did you think I'd leave?"
"We already lost aunt Vanellope, Taffyta and Candlehead," Tammy worried as she sniffled, "We have to stick together."
"Tammy is right," Calhoun said gently, "The last time you and Vanellope had some sort of split, you were a complete stranger to us."
"We know you're a hermit when it comes to sad situations, Ralph," Felix sighed as him and Calhoun stepped closer to him, "But you can't let that affect your relationships with us. We're your family too, Ralph. It's okay to mourn the loss of Sugar Rush, but Tammy is right. We have to stick together."
"I'm glad I have you guys," Ralph said gently to Felix and Calhoun before he gazed into Tammy's eyes. He carefully brushed some of her blond hair out of her face and heaved a patient sigh, "I don't know what I'd do without you three."
"We'll get through this," Felix stated confidently as he placed his hand on Ralph's shoulder, "Suffering the loss of Sugar Rush will be hard but we just have to think of the good times we have all had. We can't forget them. Otherwise everything we've ever done with those three girls would have been in vain."
"Felix is right," Calhoun sighed, "As much as that game is a total sugar overload for me, I have to admit I will miss those girls. They looked past my hardcore exterior and accepted me. Something as valuable as that can't be forgotten."
"They were great, huh," Ralph croaked as Tammy leaned into him again.
"We had a good run," Felix said softly with a broken smile as Ralph's eyes billowed with tears again.
"I'm going to miss them, so much," Ralph croaked as he looked up at Felix and Calhoun.
"We all are," Felix frowned as he rubbed Ralph's shoulder, "But we have to keep our heads above water. I'm sure Vanellope is feeling the same amount of sorrow that we all are. She'd want us to carry on, and keep our games afloat. Just like we'd want the same for her."
"I hope she's okay," Ralph exhaled a nervous sigh.
"Well, you can tell if she's still plugged in," Calhoun chuckled as she gave Ralph a gentle, enthusiastic look, "If the code book that you have still exists, then they're plugged in. If they become unplugged, the book will vanish. If they remain unplugged, the book will never show up ever again."
"I'm scared to go looking for the book, now," Ralph breathed with a small chuckle as he lulled his head.
"If they're still plugged in, it should be where you last left it," Calhoun said gently with a small smile.
"I don't think that book will leave my side if it's still where I think it is," Ralph said through a sigh.
Ralph finally stepped into his house after a long, few hours of comfort and lulling love from Felix, Tammy and Calhoun. He heaved a shaky sigh and gazed at his bedroom with a sullen look. No less than 24 hours was the love of his life in his arms, where she belonged. He knew that if there was ever another Sugar Rush to be plugged in, no one could compare to his Vanellope. No other Vanellope could even dare to come close to his ray of sunshine. He felt hot tears sting his eyes for the thousandth time today as he slowly crossed his bedroom. He nervously head for his closet and opened it; his eyes fixed on the small box perched high up on his closet shelf. He took it down, his hands were a trembling mess.
Ralph nervously gazed down at the small box. Inside was the crossed striped ring and Sugar Rush's code book. He inhaled a nervous breath and opened the box, hoping to User he'd see the familiar book. He held his breath and peered into the box; perched atop Sugar Rush's code book was the beautifully crafted crossed stripe ring. Ralph exhaled a shaky sigh and quickly grabbed the ring and the book from the box. He dropped the box to the ground and shoved his forehead into the book, his eyes shut tight. Tears spilled down his cheeks as he just barely nuzzled the book with his nose and forehead, as if it was actually Vanellope's soft shoulder he was leaning into. He cried into one of the only reminders of love he ever had.
Tears stained his shirt as he held the book close to him. He knew as long as the book was in his grip, Vanellope was still alive. He removed the book from his forehead and gazed down at it longingly, his heart was swollen with pain and grief. His large fist clenched the wedding band in his hand. He gazed down at it sadly for a few long, tense moments. He inhaled a trembling breath before setting Sugar Rush's code book on his bed. He safely tucked the ring back into the box and set it on the high shelf of his closet. He shut the door, knowing the ring would be safe there. He crawled into his empty bed, his heart practically broke as he grabbed Sugar Rush's code book and tucked it to his chest. He shut his glassy, red eyes tight and prayed to User that he'd wake up from this nightmare.
