*Chapter 59*
Everyone hurried towards Sugar Rush, though they all chatted in a happy way. Ralph heaved a sigh of relief and gazed amongst his large group of family. He smiled wide as his heart swelled with the amount of love poured over his life. He glanced down at Vanellope and felt an overwhelming urge come over himself. He softly rubbed her back as the two hung to the back of their chattering family. Vanellope's attitude was happy and calm, but she looked absolutely haggard. She looked like she hadn't had a proper good night's sleep, or a proper meal, since the arcade split. Ralph knew tonight was an opportune night to shower her in all the love in the world; he knew they both deserved it.
Ralph titled his head downward to gaze into Vanellope's eyes; her sullen eyes caught his as her cheeks grew red, though it looked like it took every single ounce of blood in her body to make it possible. Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a sympathetic smile before gently stopping her in her tracks. He tenderly lifted her in his arms, bridal style, and tucked her to his warm chest. Vanellope beamed as best as she could and sunk into Ralph's body gladly. She shut her eyes and rested her ear and head against his heart beat; her hand gently gripped the chest of his usual orange polo.
"I missed you," Ralph breathed into the top of her head which caused her to push into his chest more so.
"You have no idea," Vanellope said gently into Ralph's chest before she tilted her head to give Ralph a loving smile; she furrowed her eyebrows and gazed at Ralph almost teasingly, "So, Taff told me that you have our code book."
"You caught that, huh," Ralph chuckled as he looked up to watch where he was going. The group slowly moseyed through Sugar Rush's entrance, the gorgeous evening sky was coated in deep pinks, purples and oranges.
"She said that you were eager to have it," Vanellope continued gently as Ralph continued to walk, his steady footsteps lulled her, "Obviously she trusted you with it, but I guess none of us knew that we'd get unplugged."
"It was nice to have it while you guys were gone," Ralph said gently as he gazed lovingly down at Vanellope, "Calhoun told me that if your game was plugged into an outlet strip, the book would still be present. Every day that I saw your code book still sitting on my night stand, it gave me hope that maybe, just maybe, I'd see you again."
"We had to search our code room for a long while before we found out it was possible to change the properties of our game cabinet screen. Having the code book definitely would've sped the process up," Vanellope chuckled as she looked down and fiddled with Ralph's shirt, "So, why did you want the code book in the first place?"
"Well," Ralph breathed as he felt his face get hot. He finally locked eyes with Vanellope and smiled a nervous, gap toothed smile, "I-I just wanted to see how your game's code differed from mine."
"That's the biggest load of bull roar I've ever heard come out of your mouth," Vanellope said with a sudden, happy laugh as she pat Ralph's chest.
"Yeah, well," Ralph chuckled as he rolled his eyes and bashfully looked away, "I-I just-"
"You guys coming?" Taffyta asked as the group was almost half way down Sugar Rush's rainbow road.
"Oh, yeah," Ralph called to her, he only just realized he had stopped walking, "Coming."
"I have a feeling it's going to be hard to get your guys' attentions for the next few weeks," Taffyta laughed as Ralph finally caught up with everyone.
"Can you blame them?" Felix asked with a small smile.
"Cut us some slack," Ralph chuckled as he continued to hold Vanellope in his arms, against his chest.
"Just this once," Taffyta teased as she wrinkled her nose.
"It's good to have you guys back," Calhoun stated, trying to sound like her usual rough self.
"It's good to be back," Taffyta chuckled as she nudged Calhoun's arm; she could see right through her tough front.
"The arcade was so lonely without its Sugar Rush racers," Felix beamed as Candlehead looped her arm loosely over Felix's shoulders in a friendly manner.
"It's so good to be home," Ralph said gently to Vanellope as he gently set her on her feet; the group ahead of them kept walking The two stopped and gazed out over gorgeous, vast Sugar Rush.
Vanellope quickly leaned into Ralph and heaved a soft sigh as Ralph wrapped his large arm around her shoulders. He tucked her close to him and rubbed her arm lovingly; he felt a tug on his heart as Sugar Rush's sweet wind blew through the two. He inhaled deeply, his large and powerful chest puffed out, before he exhaled slowly. He could feel tears sting his eyes as he gazed out to the sights he thought he'd never see again.
"Sugar Rush definitely missed its future King," Vanellope said tenderly up to Ralph; he raised his eyebrows and gazed down at Vanellope in a shocked way. He let a wide smile break across his face as he tugged Vanellope closer to him.
"Sugar Rush was definitely missed in return," Ralph breathed with a knowing smile as his eyes landed on the gorgeous white castle in the distance. He felt his heart leap at the sight of it, he knew that no matter where he went, or what happened, Sugar Rush would always be the place he ended up.
"You guys!" Taffyta called as the rest of the group was now waiting at the end of the rainbow road; Taffyta looked mildly annoyed, "You can lollygag once we've completed this important business!"
"Sorry, coming!" Ralph called as he eagerly grabbed Vanellope's hand and began to lead her down to the group. Vanellope gladly followed and blushed at the feeling of Ralph's grip around hers. Already she could feel glitching, code swap tension between the both of them. The code underneath their skin seemed to push for the surface, as if their mixed binary was trapped. Vanellope inhaled a trembling sigh and tried to shake her thoughts; she knew there were more important things to think about for now.
"I think you really scared Rancis, earlier," Taffyta said once Ralph and Vanellope approached the group. They all pressed on towards the castle.
"I really had to restrain myself," Ralph breathed as he looked down at his large hands, "I nearly pummeled him into oblivion."
"What happened?" Vanellope ventured curiously.
"Rancis nearly strangled me!" Taffyta complained as she rubbed her neck, "My throat is still sore."
"It looks like your cuts got cleaned up, though," Ralph said with a small smile.
"I just bandaged them," Taffyta groaned as she showed Ralph her wrapped palm, "They're definitely still there."
"He nearly strangled you?" Vanellope worried, "I felt so helpless in the glitch proof cell."
"It sounds like a lot happened today," Calhoun chuckled down to Felix before they both, including Candlehead, gazed at Ralph and Taffyta curiously. Calhoun continued, "Care to fill us all in?"
"Before we got plugged back into Litwak's arcade, Vanellope did a game-wide reset. Rancis's code was replenished," Taffyta explained, "He appeared in the code room with Vanellope and I, and much to our dismay, he had his double striped sword."
"I think I accidentally left that sword in the code room," Ralph said, mostly to himself.
"Rancis has been after Sugar Rush's throne ever since Vanellope declared herself president," Taffyta said gently as the group moseyed up the large path of the castle.
"He had a thing for Vanellope," Candlehead said casually.
"He had MORE of a thing for the throne," Vanellope said coldly, "He liked the fame and the royal aspect of it all above me. I want a strong King for Sugar Rush, but I also want him to love me just as much as the kingdom. Rancis often wouldn't even remember that I was in the room talking to him."
"He did seem very 'career oriented', but I'm sure Sugar Rush is in good hands," Taffyta chuckled before she elbowed Ralph's arm. Ralph wrinkled his nose and gazed down at her curiously.
"I'm kind of worried to go in there," Candlehead said gently as the group of seven slowly approached the Fungeon.
"You can hang back with us," Felix smiled as he put his hands on Tammy's shoulders.
"I'm going in," Taffyta barked as she pushed into the Fungeon, "I'll give him a piece of my mind."
"This should be interesting," Calhoun chuckled as everyone filed in after Taffyta.
They all strolled down the creepy hallways of the Fungeoun; the long hall was lined with prison cells. The glitch proof room was at the very end of the hall. The cell to the left of it was where Rancis was held. Everyone pushed to the door before eagerly, and nervously, looking at each other. Vanellope gazed up at Ralph before glancing at Taffyta. Ralph gave his friends the same, confused look. He gently reached his hands out to grab Taffyta's and Vanellope's. He gazed at the two girls gently, giving them a confident look of reassurance. They each nodded, as if to give Ralph the go ahead. Calhoun gently put her hand on Vanellope's shoulder as a way to let her, Ralph and Taffyta that she was alongside them.
Ralph inhaled a deep breath and quickly let go of both Taffyta's and Vanellope's hands. He charged his hand back, readying the blow. Everyone covered their faces as Ralph socked his fist straight through the cell door, causing a loud, hollow pang to ring through the Fungeon. Once the dust cleared, Ralph, Taffyta, Vanellope and Calhoun quickly piled into the cell. Felix, Tammy and Candlehead eagerly peered in, but kept their distance.
"You ugly pig," Rancis suddenly barked against the far wall, "You have a key, don't you?"
"Watch your mouth," Vanellope snapped as the four filed into the room quickly. They surrounded Rancis, who was chained to the far corner.
"I thought I locked you up," Rancis said deeply, giving Vanellope an evil, almost charming look.
"Rancis," Taffyta started, feeling angered, "What did we do to deserve all this hatred?"
"You, of all people, really have to ask that, Taffyta?" Rancis growled, his blonde hair was a mess, and his blue eyes looked sullen. Taffyta shot him a dirty look.
"What is with you?" Vanellope hollered as she stepped closer to Rancis; Ralph tensed and kept his eyes glued to Vanellope, "Why weren't you so power hungry for the throne when King Candy was in charge of Sugar Rush? The second I declared Presidency over this game, you became a power hungry puppy dog."
"You should've just executed him right from the start of your declaration," Taffyta scoffed as she kept her dirty look on Rancis.
"Just delete him, Vanellope," Calhoun suggested as she crossed her arms.
"You guys are all a bunch of idiots," Rancis barked, "You don't care to even see my point of view."
"You tried to kill my brother," Ralph suddenly barked, the whole room grew more and more tense, "After that, you don't deserve much."
"You nearly succeeded," Vanellope said in a hateful tone, "What gives? What possibly drove you to this streak of hate you've brought upon us?"
"Hate?" Rancis barked in surprise, "You think I've done of this because I'm hateful?"
"That's a pretty twisted way to show us that you care, Rancis," Taffyta yelled.
"You think I wanted this downward spiral?" Rancis growled as he tried to adjust his arms and shoulders; his hands were tightly wound behind his back. The chains he was attached to rattled and clanked together.
"What did we do to deserve all of this grief? Did I ever do anything that was this terrible to you?" Vanellope asked urgently as she took a step closer to Rancis; she felt as if she and Rancis were suddenly the center of this feud. Vanellope could practically feel Ralph's worry meter fly off the chart as she grew closer to Rancis.
"You wanna know what you did?" Rancis barked as he glued his eyes to Vanellope's.
"Yes, I wanna know!" Vanellope hollered back at him, her fists clenching.
"You befriended THAT ignoramus!" Rancis yelled as he gestured his body towards Ralph, the veins on his forehead bulged a little.
"How dare you," Vanellope growled as she stood her ground; she didn't flinch.
"How dare YOU!" Rancis yelled, "We all had an amazing set up before HE made himself present every single day in our game!"
"What are you talking about?!" Vanellope bellowed, "Ralph has done absolutely nothing to deserve any of this!"
"He threw the game's balance out of whack," Rancis said deeply, "I saw the way you looked at him every day. Even before our upgrade, I knew you had a bit of a thing for him."
"I don't know why that would irritate you so badly," Vanellope argued.
"What irritated me was the fact that any barbarian can just come waltzing into this game and sweep you off your feet," Rancis barked, "The fact that I loved you for far longer than this pig ever has."
"You never loved me!" Vanellope urged as she gestured with her hands furiously, "You loved the idea of being King! I wasn't even a part of the equation!"
"How can you say that," Rancis barked.
"You tricked my best friend into thinking I hated him," Vanellope gestured towards Ralph before she counted her valid points on her fingers, "You controlled every aspect of my life as royalty, you never let me leave the castle, AND you nearly murdered Felix…A person that all of us, including me, hold very dear to our hearts."
"Get to the point," Rancis spat.
"You would never do these things to me if you truly did love me, Rancis," Vanellope hollered as she threw her hand down; she could feel Taffyta, Ralph and Calhoun's tense bodies standing at the ready behind her.
"I cared about the normality of our game," Rancis barked, "How could you let some aloof wrecker come about and sweep you off your feet? He has nothing to offer for Sugar Rush, why HIM? Why not ME? What does he have that I don't?"
"You know what, Rancis? Ralph was beside me when everyone hated me, do you remember that? He and I shared a lot of struggles together. I've learned so much about accepting people because of him. You know what he has that you don't? Ralph has a heart!" Vanellope shouted, the rage in her voice was almost unbearable for Ralph to listen to. He winced and reminded himself not to ever get on her bad side.
"It obviously resides in his stomach!" Rancis choked a sarcastic laugh.
"Shut up," Vanellope spit venom, "Just shut up, you twit."
Ralph raised his eyebrows and glanced at Taffyta; she shot Ralph a nervous look as well as Calhoun. Everyone stood shocked at Vanellope's anger. Ralph knew it was a matter of time before she wrecked something, considering the code they shared. Vanellope practically trembled with anger, her shoulders were tensed and her fists were almost permanently clenched.
"You know that if HE never showed up, we could've lived happily," Rancis barked, "Sugar Rush would be under a great team."
"Not with you involved," Vanellope growled, "I would run this kingdom singlehandedly, without my sisters, far before I considered adding you to the team."
"What we had was turning into something great, until he decided to show up before the roster race on that one, fateful day," Rancis said through a sorrowful, hateful sigh, "I thought our move across the arcade would keep him away from us, for good."
"I was trapped when we were together for that small amount of time," Vanellope spat, "It never had the potential to be great. You cared about no one but yourself, and the title that royalty would bring you. After the first month, I knew we were going to have problems."
"You guys were a couple?" Ralph asked as he raised his eyebrows; Vanellope quickly turned to look at Ralph over her shoulder. She gave him an apologetic look.
"Believe it or not," Rancis barked at Ralph, "How are you enjoying my sloppy seconds, there? You good-for-nothing brute."
Ralph felt the rage in his core practically sky rocket. He inhaled a shaky breath as he lifted his fist and took a looming step forward, but before he could let words out of his mouth, Vanellope quickly raised her fist and immediately socked Rancis straight in the face with all of her wrecking force. Rancis's back hit the wall behind him as he yelped a loud sound of pain; he skid down the wall to an awkward sitting position as Vanellope loomed over him; her shoulders trembled as she panted in frustration. Ralph widened his eyes and froze; he tried his hardest not to smile, but he let the corners of his mouth curl as he shot Taffyta and Calhoun a shocked look. They looked back at him with the same amount of surprise; everyone was frozen with shock.
"You can rot in this jail cell for all I care," Vanellope practically growled; her voice trembled with a heavy amount of rage. Vanellope quickly turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Rancis barked as he sniffled, his head lulled around a little. His nose began to bleed down his lip and chin.
"I'm going to do the very thing that this 'good-for-nothing brute' saved your sorry life from!" Vanellope screamed as she whirled around and marched back to Rancis, who was practically crippled on the ground, "I'm going to delete you!"
