*Chapter 58*

Taffyta quickly slid into the dirty Fungeon; her arm still dripped with blood. She ran down the Fungeon's long, ominous hallway. She head towards the glitch proof room, the key firmly planted in the palm that wasn't wounded. She scurried up to the door and shoved the key in the lock. She flung the large, creaking door open and locked her eyes on Vanellope, who was sitting in the center of the room. Vanellope clawed and pried her arms around the large bar that hugged her center. The bar had its usual long, glitch proof chains that were each chained to each corner of the room. Vanellope quickly looked up in surprise before beaming.

"Taffyta," Vanellope cried, her cheeks were stained with tears, "Taff, help!"

"I'm here, I've got it," Taffyta urged as she quickly approached Vanellope. Vanellope softly hugged her arms around her sister's middle before pulling away nervously.

"Taff, you're hurt!" Vanellope worried as Taffyta unlocked the large bar around her middle. Taffyta tossed it aside with difficulty before she grabbed Vanellope's hands and brought her to her feet.

"We only have half a minute left before the arcade opens," Taffyta urged as she began to drag her out of the glitch-proof Fungeon room.

"Which, arcade are we talking about," Vanellope asked deeply. Her eyes were hopeful, though she tried her hardest not to get too excited.

"We're home, Vin," Taffyta said with a wide smile as she placed her hands on Vanellope's shoulders. Both girls panted, victorious and exhausted smiles finally graced their faces.

"We're home? Tessa did it…" Vanellope whispered in surprise as her eyes billowed with tears; Taffyta nodded in excitement before both girls quickly embraced each other.

"Ralph was here just a second ago," Taffyta said happily as she squeezed her sister; she could feel Vanellope tense in her arms.

"He was?" Vanellope cried happily as she nuzzled her sister's shoulder, more tears spilled down her cheeks.

"He told me to tell you that he loves you," Taffyta smiled as she pulled away from her sister, "He'll be over the second the arcade day is over with. But right now, we HAVE to go. If we don't follow our quarter alerts, all this hard work will be for nothing."

"Right," Vanellope said gently before both girls began to dart out of the Fungeon, "Where's Rancis?"

"Right here," Rancis called in an annoyed tone. Both girls froze and gazed across the hallway. Rancis's eyes were only shown, as he peered out of his prison cell.

"Ralph put him there," Taffyta explained, "Ralph will deal with him after game day."

"What if he escapes?" Vanellope worried as Taffyta began to drag her out of the Fungeon.

"He won't," Taffyta said confidently as they stepped into the beautiful morning sun, "And if he does, Ralph has our code room pretty much memorized. Ralph will properly deal with him."

"Ralph has the code room memorized?" Vanellope asked in shock as the two ran towards the racing arena.

"Well, it certainly seemed like it," Taffyta explained, "While I was lying on the code room floor, trying to regain my composure as Ralph dealt with Rancis, the code room practically sparkled under Ralph's rule. He knew his way around pretty well."

"Looks like giving him our code book worked in our favor," Vanellope admitted as Taffyta shot her an annoyed, playful look.

"You're welcome, your highness," Taffyta chuckled as she wrinkled her nose.

"Alright, alright," Vanellope sighed with a wide smile as both girls continued to push on towards the arena, "I gotta hand it to you."

"You'll be thanking me for the rest of the year," Taffyta chuckled as they eagerly approached the arena, "Ralph looked mighty eager to see you."

"What I'd give to be able to ignore quarter alerts," Vanellope complained.

"Ralph!" Felix barked across the Niceland front lot as Ralph quickly approached his start position, "Did you find Vanellope?"

"Not yet," Ralph said with a small chuckle as he practically fidgeted in his spot, "But I found Taffyta and Candlehead."

"Where was Vanellope," Felix worried, "Is it really them?"

"Oh, it's them," Ralph beamed; Felix smiled a wide smile as well, "I can't wrap my mind around everything that has happened within just the last five minutes."

"I have a feeling I'll be up against a huge challenge today," Felix chuckled nervously as he glanced over his shoulder.

Tammy sat with an eager smile; she put her thumbs up for her father and her uncle. Both of them returned the gesture with happy, renewed smiles. Ralph inhaled a happy breath and gazed up at the Niceland building. He could hardly believe his luck. He was certain he'd never, ever, get the chance to propose to Vanellope. Now that he had his future back on track, and now that the New Year's ball was coming up, he knew he'd have to set his sights straight. He beamed an uncontrollable smile; he felt as if some sort of ray of light had suddenly been gleamed upon him, blessing him with his wants and wishes. His game cabinet chimed a quarter alert; Ralph rubbed his hands together eagerly, his heart and mind now full of purpose.

Vanellope dragged her race car around the corner of the last lap of the track; her cart immediately screeched into first place for the twentieth time today. She beamed a wide smile and raised her hands up high, her heart was full of happiness. She relaxed once the quarter alert had gone off the screen. She heaved a long sigh and stood out of her cart as Taffyta quickly approached, her cart screeched to a stop. Taffyta beamed and turned her cart off; she remained in her car and gave Vanellope an almost annoyed facial expression.

"This is the best you've raced since our move to Disneyland," Taffyta laughed, "I bet you're so eager to see Ralph."

"Taff, you have absolutely no idea," Vanellope urged as she fidgeted around nervously; she began to fix her hair in an absent minded way.

"The day is almost over," Taffyta beamed as she took off her racing glasses, "I'd be surprised if we had another quarter alert."

"You excited to see Ralph?" Candlehead chimed in as she approached her two sisters, "He seemed completely torn earlier, because of the open arcade alert."

"You saw him too?" Vanellope urged, Candlehead giggled and nodded.

"He gave me a big hug," Candlehead smiled, "He seems so happy. It's good to have him home."

"Home," Vanellope repeated softly as she looked down and smiled, "You guys really like him that much, huh."

"We love him, Vin," Taffyta corrected as she put a hand on Vanellope's shoulder, "Not only does he care about you, he cares about all of us, including Sugar Rush."

"That's something no one can replace," Candlehead said with a smile, "Twice we've had two contenders to the throne, and they've both been bad luck."

"Third time's a charm," Taffyta smiled; Vanellope widened her eyes and felt her face get hot as she looked down. She suddenly remembered those very words that Ralph whispered to her the night before their unplug. Vanellope smiled a bashful smile and heaved a shaky sigh.

"Is it weird, that I'm nervous to see him?" Vanellope said with a small frown.

"You're nervous?" Candlehead asked curiously, "How come?"

"What if this month apart has let him get over me?" Vanellope worried, "What if he doesn't feel the same way about me that I feel for him?"

"Vanellope, I-" Taffyta was quickly cut off.

"The arcade is now closed." Came the game cabinet's automated voice.

Taffyta and Candlehead immediately gazed at Vanellope with a shocked facial expressions. They both froze and waited for Vanellope to do something. They held their breath and raised their eyebrows in anticipation, their eyes were glued to Vanellope. Vanellope inhaled a shaky breath and gazed straight for Sugar Rush's exit. Before either of her sisters could encourage her to go, Vanellope quickly pushed herself off of her cart and began to run towards Sugar Rush's exit. Taffyta and Candlehead immediately beamed and followed right behind Vanellope; they shouted encouraging words after her as they tried their hardest to keep up with her. She was the fastest on the tracks, but they didn't realize she had the same talent on foot.

Vanellope pumped her arms and raced through Sugar Rush's wires. She began to feel out of breath, but she kept her feet rushed at the same, constant pace. She could feel her heart practically begin to burst out of her chest with excitement and nervousness. She flew out of the wires of Sugar Rush and quickly stepped down the stairs which lead to the exit of her outlet. She gazed out of the long, golden tunnel; Game Central Station shone with all its warm might. Vanellope felt her heart jolt at the sight; her code wigged in a hot purple flash as she continued her steady pace. She could hear Taffyta and Candlehead keep their pace behind her.

Vanellope quickly flew out of Sugar Rush's outlet and gazed around eagerly, her eyes wet with happy tears. She skid to a stop and panted from her long trek. She quickly glanced in the direction of Ralph's game; she landed her eyes on the familiar 'Fix-It Felix Jr.' sign. She inhaled a shaky breath of surprise as she gazed across Game Central Station. There were hundreds of gamers that began to mosey around the station, but Vanellope was focused on finding only one. She held her breath and quickly averted her gaze below the Fix-It Felix Jr. sign which was about seven outlets across the station. Her eyes landed on a familiar figure; he too, skid out into Game Central Station with energy to match Vanellope's.

"Ralph," Vanellope breathed in a whimper as she quickly began to step across the station; she started out slowly, in an unsure manner.

She could feel Ralph's eyes lock on hers for the first time in what seemed to be an eternity. She gasped a surprised, quiet breath as she tucked her arms and hands to her chest in an unsure way. They gazed at each other with uncertainty, the distance between them almost too far to tell facial expressions. Vanellope bit her bottom lip and stopped in her tracks nervously; she gazed at Ralph in an excited way, her body language crammed pack with expressive tension, as was his.

Just as she was about to wonder if that was actually the Ralph she knew and loved, Ralph quickly began to run in her direction, his eyes never leaving hers. Vanellope inhaled a surprised breath and immediately began to run to him as well. She could feel the code in her heart practically tug her in Ralph's direction, as if he was her power source, the very thing that glued her to the arcade. Vanellope ran as fast as she could, her smile gradually widening with every quick step the two took towards each other. She exhaled a faltering chuckle in disbelief as Ralph grew closer and closer to her. She tried her hardest to blink back tears as she could feel the code in her whole body come alive with renewed existence, as if half of her soul had finally found its way back to her. She surrendered herself to this moment, every other person in the arcade ceased to exist. She felt her whole world move in slow motion as she pumped her arms, faster and faster.

Vanellope beamed, her soul shone as bright as the sun. Every fiber of her being became renewed as she gazed at Ralph. She uttered his name in disbelief as tears streamed her cheeks; she ran faster than she thought was possible. She weaved around people swiftly, her feet gracefully stepping around other gamers; each one of them gasped and tried their hardest to get out of her way. Ralph grinned his familiar gap toothed smile as he began to slow his venture; he feared if he kept going at the fast pace they were going at, he'd practically plow through Vanellope. He heaved an excited chuckle as Vanellope was mere yards from him; he opened his arms wide and welcomed her home. She beamed wider than ever before and quickly dove into Ralph's chest and arms. Her arms slapped around his neck firmly as he quickly welcomed her into his body. He squeezed her to his body and lifted her off her feet; he twirled her around twice before setting her back on her feet. He heaved a surprise laugh and shoved his whole face into her neck. Both his large hands gripped themselves around her back; he shivered at the feeling of her arms and hands around his neck. He squeezed her as close as he possibly could to him; he never wanted to let her go.

Ralph breathed his hot breath on her neck as he shut his eyes tight; he rubbed his hand firmly up and down her back, as if his mind didn't totally believe this was happening. Vanellope inhaled a shaky sigh and shoved the side of her head to Ralph's as tears slid down her cheeks. She trembled in his grip as hot purple pixels shivered up her back, causing Ralph's arms to come alive with their purple code; she felt her heart shudder at the sound of his breath escaping his chest. She exhaled a nervous breath and kept herself lost in their moment. All of Game Central Station felt the sudden urgency in the air and a small crowd began to curiously gaze and chatter about the two lovers in the middle of the station. Ralph and Vanellope were both clueless, lost in the realm of mixed divinity.

"I thought I lost you," Ralph breathed shakily as he could feel tears sting his eyes; he inhaled a faltering breath as his mind suddenly jolted to the first moment they met, after Vanellope's upgrade. The words slid out of his mouth once more; he prayed history would stop repeating itself. He shoved his face into Vanellope's shoulder before he gently placed a few eager kisses on the base of her neck. He could practically feel the code rush to Vanellope's face.

"I-I never realized, just how much, I loved you," Vanellope stammered nervously as tears streamed her cheeks; her shoulders trembled with all the mixed emotions shooting through her code. She gently slid her arms down Ralph's chest and inhaled a nervous few breaths along with a few sniffles. Ralph carefully eased his arms around Vanellope, but kept his grip on her; he didn't dare let her go. He swayed her from side to side very gently as he shoved his forehead to hers, the familiar gesture made her face break in a wide smile. She closed her eyes gently, letting tears run down her cheeks again, before opening them and gazing Ralph in the eye for the first time. She gazed at Ralph in disbelief, her eyes glassy and piercing with so many questions and wants.

"Me neither," Ralph breathed carefully on her mouth before he heaved a gently laugh and squeezed her closer to him, "I love you, so much…"

Vanellope slid her hands up Ralph's chest and let her smile slowly drop; her eyes glanced to Ralph's mouth as she gently placed her trembling hands on Ralph's lower jaw. Ralph smiled a knowing smile and very gently ducked his head, letting their lips meet for the first time in what felt like decades. Vanellope whimpered a small noise of surprise as she quickly wrapped her arms around Ralph's neck. She felt as if her code had finally been written, complete for everyone to see. She hugged Ralph so close to her; she shivered at the feeling of his hot breath on her face. After a few seconds, the two finally and slowly pulled away from each other, their demeanor shone like the brightest sun. Vanellope exhaled a small chuckle as a wide smile spread across both their faces. She felt her heart leap with the fact that this wasn't just a dream.

Vanellope softy slid her hands down Ralph's chest, her hands mapped out the familiar texture of his worn, orange polo. She gazed up into Ralph's familiar face, her heart jolted as Ralph beamed his usual smile. Her code wormed its way down her arms and to Ralph's chest in a quick glitch of tension, causing their new, purple code to flicker about a little. Vanellope felt her face get hot as his hands softly rested on her wide hips. The whole world was a haze around the two; the center of the arcade resided on their square of the grid. Vanellope opened her mouth to speak, though she couldn't find the proper words to say. She exhaled a faltering chuckle before a happy voice snapped her back to reality.

"Aunt Vanellope!" Tammy cried happily as she rushed over, followed by Felix and Calhoun.

"Tammy," Vanellope chimed happily as she delicately pried herself from Ralph and opened her arms wide for Tammy. She tried her hardest to compose herself.

"You came back!" Tammy exclaimed as she threw her arms around Vanellope's neck, "We were so worried."

"You've grown," Vanellope smiled into Tammy's more mature eyes as she stood and measured the top of Tammy's head to the middle of Vanellope's upper arm. Tammy beamed up at Vanellope through eager, happy eyes.

"Vanellope," Felix chimed happily as he quickly approached her. Vanellope gave Felix a longing, happy look as she welcomed him into her arms.

"It's so good to be home," Vanellope chuckled happily as tears gathered in her eyes once more.

"It's good to have you back," Felix added as he pulled away and gazed up at Ralph eagerly, "This guy barely made it through this whole experience."

"Vanellope nearly stopped eating," Taffyta added as her and Candlehead strolled up. Tammy beamed and immediately glommed into Taffyta's arms.

"Aunt Taffyta!" Tammy said excitedly as Taffyta gave her a big hug.

"Now that you mention it," Ralph said as he very gently grabbed Vanellope's chin between his thumb and pointer finger. He motioned Vanellope's face to look him in the eye, "Your face does look a bit more refined," Ralph said, his eyes beaming with sadness. Vanellope gently looked away, as if to be ashamed.

"I don't think she really felt like she had much of a choice," Candlehead chuckled as she laid her hand delicately on Vanellope's back; she tried to give her and Ralph their much needed space.

"I lost my appetite," Vanellope said gently in a nonchalant way as she shrugged, "It's no big deal…I-I, just was upset."

"That's the biggest understatement of the year," Taffyta chuckled as she ruffled Tammy's hair.

"How did you guys get back?" Calhoun asked with surprise as she looped her arm over Candlehead's shoulders. Candlehead beamed and leaned into Calhoun.

"Um," Vanellope stammered as she gave Taffyta a knowing look. Taffyta gave her the same look before Taffyta smiled and inhaled a breath.

"After a long few weeks of fiddling with our code, we figured out how to make our game cabinet screen display any message that we'd like," Taffyta explained as she ran through the steps that Tessa helped them with, "So we typed a message saying that our version of Sugar Rush was only playable at this very arcade."

"Genius," Calhoun chuckled.

"Wait," Ralph spoke up, his arm idly finding its way around Vanellope's back and side; he hugged her to him, "Then, where did Rancis come from? How did he become a normal gamer again?"

"It was my fault," Vanellope breathed as she gladly leaned into Ralph's large, warm body.

"Vanellope gave us an in-game reset," Taffyta explained calmly, "We both thought it'd be a good idea just to do a simple reboot before being moved again…but neither of us thought about the consequences, and Rancis's code was reset back to normal."

"Where is he now?" Felix worried, suddenly remembering his very last run in with Rancis.

"I locked him in Sugar Rush's dungeon," Ralph said deeply before he gazed across the station to Sugar Rush, "I still haven't decided what we should do with him."

"I think you should delete the filthy brat," Calhoun growled as she crossed her arms.

"After what he did to Felix," Candlehead chuckled nervously as she motioned to Felix.

"I'm not so certain keeping him around is smart," Felix said with an uneasy look.

"We can put him through Hero's Duty boot camp," Calhoun chuckled as Tammy leaned into her mother's side, opposite where Candlehead was, "That'll straighten him out."

"That's not a bad idea," Vanellope said quietly as she gazed down at Ralph's chest. She didn't want to be any more than a few inches away from him in this moment.

"Why don't we all go talk to him," Ralph suggested as he looked down at his family, "Now that we're all reunited, and now that we're all fired up, maybe we can go talk some sense into him."

"Ralph has a point," Calhoun suggested, "Maybe if all of us confront him and show him all the wrongs he's made, maybe he'll come to his senses."

"I guess you guys have a point," Taffyta groaned as she looked away in an uneasy manner.

"I won't let anything happen to any of you guys," Ralph said firmly as he gazed down to each of his family members, "Let's all just go in this together, and we'll be just fine."

"I want to come," Tammy urged as she held her uncles hand eagerly. Ralph smiled and knelt down to her level to welcome her into a hug.

"I think you should probably check with your mom and dad," Ralph said to Tammy, but looked up at Calhoun and Felix. They both gave each other a perplexed look.

"I don't see why not," Calhoun said to Felix gently, "She's as much a part of this family as the rest of us. She's bound to see the downs just as much as the ups."

"I'll hang back with her, then," Felix said calmly as he carefully ruffled Tammy's head, "I would like to keep my distance from Rancis."

"Who is Rancis?" Tammy asked Ralph innocently as Ralph gave her a gentle hug.

"He's a very confused, angry Sugar Rush racer," Ralph breathed as he stood and returned his arm around Vanellope, "He's not very happy with the way things are unfolding right now."

"He's not?" Tammy worried.

"Nope," Taffyta continued, "He doesn't like your Uncle Ralph very much."

"Who wouldn't like Uncle Ralph?" Tammy asked sadly as she glanced between Taffyta, Vanellope and her uncle.

"Someone who judges a book by their cover," Taffyta said gently before smiling up at Ralph. Ralph gave her a small smile in return before looking down at Vanellope.

"Let's get this over with," Ralph said in a long sigh. Everyone nodded a small, acknowledging nod as the whole group began to move towards Sugar Rush, their footsteps nervous and unsure.