*Chapter 60*

"Delete me?" Rancis repeated, a hint of sorrow almost coated his trembling, angry voice, "Over a massive web of lies and misunderstandings?"

"You deserve nothing more," Vanellope said deeply as she gazed down at Rancis. His left eye began to blacken from the punch Vanellope threw, "There's no kindness in your code. You were created to be nothing but a selfish, disrespectful moocher."

"I'm tired of living in this ball of confusion," Rancis groaned as he looked down, his nose-bleed trickled down his jaw, "No one even cares to hear my side of the story."

"Well, then we'll have to just put you out of your misery," Vanellope said coldly as she turned around again to leave Rancis's jail cell.

"Vanellope," Ralph said as he firmly put his hand on her shoulder; he kept her from leaving.

"What," Vanellope barked as she glared up at Ralph. Her eyes were full of hatred, but Ralph kept his firm hand on her shoulder.

"Could you really live with yourself?" Ralph asked as he glanced at Rancis, "How could you sleep at night if you knew YOU pressed Rancis' delete button?"

"You threw him into Vanilla Lake," Vanellope spat as she faced Ralph, challenging his wisdom.

"I did that on account of my brother's life, my whole entire game almost went out of commission," Ralph said calmly as he kept his hand glued to Vanellope's shoulder, "No one's life is currently in danger here. You'd be beating a dead horse if you just up and deleted his code."

"Ralph," Vanellope urged as she avoided his eye contact.

"What would it prove?" Ralph said, his voice getting louder, "Would it make you a champion? Would you walk away from this dungeon feeling like a hero?"

"Ralph," Vanellope hollered as she finally glared into his eyes; Ralph shook Vanellope's shoulder ever so slightly.

"I know you're not stupid enough to kill your friend," Ralph yelled down to Vanellope, he matched her anger.

"We aren't friends," Vanellope shouted as she tried to shove Ralph's hand away.

"Ralph, are you actually defending Rancis?" Taffyta asked in shock, but she looked at Ralph with an open mind.

"I hate his guts for what he just said to you, believe me! This is extremely hard…but just, look at him!" Ralph hollered as he finally removed his hand from Vanellope's shoulder and gestured it towards Rancis, "I, of all people, know what it's like to be treated with hate, fear and neglect." Everyone fell silent and gazed at Rancis.

"There's no reasoning with him," Taffyta finally spoke as she gazed at Ralph curiously.

"Maybe all this fool needs is a friend," Ralph urged as he glanced between Taffyta and Calhoun; Vanellope avoided eye contact as he continued, "He's been wrought with hate because no one has shown him anything otherwise, lately."

"I don't need ANY of you," Rancis hollered shakily as tears slid down his cheeks, the blood from his nose dried on his lip, all the way down to his jaw.

"… Maybe Ralph is right," Vanellope said softly as everyone stared at Rancis in confusion. Vanellope slowly faced Taffyta and quickly dug her hand in her pink racing vest pocket. Taffyta gasped as Vanellope pulled a key from her pocket.

"Vanellope!" Taffyta urged as she took a step forward; Ralph eagerly joined Taffyta.

"Vin, what are you going to do?" Ralph pleaded as Vanellope quickly put both of her hands up to her two friends. They both froze.

"Relax!" Vanellope said gently to the two. They both blinked in confusion as Calhoun quickly moved in front of the door to block it; she could see what Vanellope was up to.

Vanellope bent down to Rancis's level and quickly shoved the key into the locks that bound Rancis's hands. She set him free and quickly grabbed his weak hands; she yanked him up to a standing position before taking a few steps away from him. Everyone gazed at Rancis in shock and worry, but Vanellope put her hands on her hips and motioned her arm a little.

"Hurt me," Vanellope challenged as she tilted her head up in a confident way, "What are you going to do now that you don't have that awful sword of yours?"

"Vanellope," Taffyta urged in a nervous tone as everyone glued their eyes to Rancis. He stood with his shoulders hunched awkwardly. Tears streamed his face in frustration. Dirt and blood coated his jaw, he looked practically torn to bits.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Rancis said in a sullen, but honest, way as he looked down.

"Do you see what you have in front of you?" Vanellope urged as she motioned her whole arm behind herself; she gestured to everyone behind her, "You have a whole entire family that you could so easily be a part of if you just dropped the fact that you will NEVER be King of Sugar Rush."

"I'm not even a part of this game and I know I'm glued to this crazy family for good," Calhoun explained as she gestured her hands to herself, "I don't need a royal position in this game to realize that everything worth living for resides in everyone's company, not the royal position."

"Half the time, I forget that Vanellope is the core of this game," Taffyta said loudly to Rancis, "And that's no offense to her. You don't have to be king, or have a royal title, to be treated like family, here, Rancis."

"The second Vanellope reset the game and everyone remembered she was a princess, do you remember how she treated me afterwards?" Ralph urged as he took a step closer to Rancis; he gazed up at Ralph, his facial expression was written with sorrowful anger but curiosity. Ralph inhaled sharply, "She treated me exactly the same, if not better. Earning a high title doesn't mean you have the right to stomp all over everyone."

"You always acted as if being King would earn you friends," Vanellope stated firmly, "You acted as if it'd earn you love. You can't win the love and friendship of others by power."

"Do you want to know just how Ralph earned his permanent place amongst all of us?" Taffyta urged as she put a hand on Ralph's arm, "He didn't just treat Vanellope with care, he treated all of us with care. And he was himself, and if I do recall, he saved our game from a permanent unplug because of his selfless act… Rancis, in order for you to gain acceptance, you thought you had to buy everyone's love. You scared us into submission, and you eventually lost."

"I was just tired of being rejected. I-I was just, tired of being viewed as a sidekick. I just…wanted to feel important," Rancis croaked as he glared at Vanellope; she slumped her shoulders as tears almost began to form in her eyes.

"Rancis, you were SO important to us," Vanellope urged, "You were our best friend. The second you confessed your 'feelings' for me was the second we all saw the golden crowns in your eyes."

"We aren't treated like royalty, Rancis," Taffyta urged, "Inside and outside our game, no one flocks to us, does anything special for us, or makes us feel extraordinarily special."

"Everyone flocked to Vanellope in the beginning of her presidency," Rancis said, his tone softening, "I wanted to have that high life…I wanted to have the girl of everyone's dreams on my arm."

"I am nowhere close to being the girl of everyone's dreams, Rancis, you have to remember," Vanellope breathed with a chuckle, "You spent way too much time hanging out with Swizzle."

"Swizzle Malarkey will make a soggy, chocolate covered raisin out to be a rarity," Taffyta laughed as she lulled her head. Rancis looked down and heaved a long sigh.

"You never really loved me, Rancis," Vanellope said gently as she stepped closer to him, "You loved the idea of being popular with the citizens of Sugar Rush."

"You could've accomplished this by just being yourself, and just being a good friend," Taffyta urged as Candlehead gently stepped into the cell, "You were so caught up with trying to win Vanellope over that you eventually turned into Sugar Rush's bad guy."

"I had good reasons," Rancis muttered as he shot Taffyta yet another look.

"You made life extremely difficult for yourself," Vanellope said gently as she calmly took Rancis's hands in hers, "All of this could've been avoided if you just realized what we're all about."

"I-I was just, so tired of being rejected left and right. I guess it's way too late to apologize, huh," Rancis said deeply as he avoided eye contact from everyone in the room. Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows before gently looking back at her family behind her.

Everyone gazed at Vanellope in an unsure, almost positive way. Felix and Tammy had slowly wormed their way into the back of the cell behind Calhoun. Candlehead and Taffyta stood close to each other near Ralph. Ralph gazed at Vanellope with a small, proud smile. He heaved a long, raspy sigh and looked down to the ground as he crossed his large arms.

"It's never too late for apologies," Ralph finally said after a long few moments of silence in the jail cell. He looked up at Rancis in a challenging way and put his large finger up, "But now, you have the extraordinarily lovely task of earning back the trust of everyone in this room."

Rancis gazed out amongst the seven staring back at him; each of their facial expressions were written with happiness, confusion, anger, sadness, and a whole slew of other emotions he could hardly wrap his mind around. He frowned a small, nervous frown before gently locking eyes with Vanellope. He gazed sadly at her as his hands began to shake, his eyes teary and apologetic. He shook his head and looked down; he inhaled a sharp sniffle before slumping his shoulders.

"I'm so sorry," Rancis said confidently, yet sadly. He kept his eyes glued to the ground as a nervous, yet reviving, swell came upon him. He inhaled a shaky breath as a few tears quickly slid down his face, "I'm so sorry I hurt you, Felix…I'm sorry I scared you guys at Honeydew Ridge."

"That wasn't cool," Vanellope growled but smirked an almost playful smile; the corners of Rancis's mouth almost peaked into a smile, but he looked down to the ground to hide it.

"And…I'm sorry for every mean thing I've said to you, Ralph," Rancis finally said as he heaved a patient sigh, he looked Ralph in the eye earnestly, "I know a lot of the things I've said were really hurtful… I just, was so overcome with jealousy. When things didn't go my way, I just resorting to extreme measures, to make it go my way."

"Can we move past all of this hurt, and at least try to make things go back to normal between all of us? I don't want to live in fear anymore," Taffyta urged as she stood closer to Vanellope and Rancis. Vanellope nodded in agreement towards Rancis.

"I'd be willing to try," Rancis said gently as he looked at each one of his friends with an almost desperate twinkle in his eye. Vanellope heaved a raspy sigh before she gently hugged him around his shoulders.

Rancis's eyes widened as he cautiously leaned into her hug. Taffyta and Candlehead cautiously joined the two in a small group hug, they all rallied around Rancis in a supportive way, hoping that all these troubled, dark days could finally be put to rest. Ralph heaved a patient sigh and stepped closer to the four Sugar Rush racers. He placed a loving hand on Vanellope's upper back to show his support as Calhoun, Felix and Tammy worked their way over to the group in an apprehensive manner.

"Thanks, you guys," Rancis said in a pathetic way, his eyes were sullen and he looked positively embarrassed. Everyone gently pulled away from Rancis and looked at him with a slew of mixed emotions of confidence and uncertainty.

"You're welcome," Taffyta replied gently.

"You're not off the hook so easily," Ralph said firmly as he put a hand up, "You may feel like you're off the hook by us setting you free, but none of us can be one hundred percent positive that you aren't just telling us a load of lies."

"I'm sorry I can't be more convincing," Rancis stated dully in a humbled, beaten tone as he glanced between his old, fellow racers.

"Y-you're setting him free?" Taffyta asked Ralph in shock.

"Do you seriously think things would go back to normal if we just kept him locked in this Fungeon for the rest of eternity?" Ralph barked down at her.

"Fine, I see your point," Taffyta mumbled as she looked down, she avoided eye contact with Rancis.

"I think it'd be wise if we set some ground rules, here," Ralph urged as he put his hands on his hips, "I think, for the time being, the castle is completely off limits to you. Under no circumstances are you allowed within a hundred foot radius of it."

"That sounds fair," Vanellope said gently as she looked to Taffyta and Candlehead for reassurance; they both nodded in agreement.

"And if you try anything, your code is now a live part of the game. Tracking you is as easy as cake," Ralph said in an intimidating way as he gazed down at Rancis.

"Understood," Rancis said nervously.

"We will give you your racing and castle rights once we think you're trustworthy," Ralph started before he motioned to everyone in the room, "And when I say we, I mean every single last one of us with an opinion of you. You can also forget ever seeing that dreadful sword of yours, again."

"Noted," Rancis said, his eyes down.

"Good," Ralph said firmly before he glanced at Vanellope and Taffyta, "We should walk him back to his home. His new life, finally, starts now."

"Thank you," Rancis said weakly, but gratefully. He sniffled gently and looked to the side warily.

"We should get him cleaned up too, Ralph," Taffyta said gently as she placed a wary hand on Rancis's shoulder.

"Whatever needs to be done, I'm not letting him out of my sight," Ralph said gently down to her, giving Taffyta the go ahead.

All three girls nodded before they warily began to head out of the jail cell. Rancis nervously followed, a small smile of relief crept upon the corners of his mouth. He heaved a shaky sigh and glanced up at Ralph nervously as he passed him. Ralph exhaled a rough sigh and kept his eyes practically glued to Rancis; Tammy came up and gently hugged Ralph's arm. She gazed up at him through loving, yet worried, blue eyes. Felix gently ruffled the top of her head as everyone quietly piled out of the jail cell.

Everyone silently, and almost awkwardly, filed out of the Fungeon with Rancis; Ralph nervously trailed behind his group to keep his attention on everyone. He felt a huge, protective urge linger in his code system. He knew he'd never let anything happen to his family, especially now since he just got them all back. He worried that giving Rancis some slack would end up being a huge mistake, but he knew wherever his code was, everyone could keep a sharp eye on him. After a long few minutes of walking, the large group finally made their way to the Sugar Rush racer's neighborhood, just a few minutes East of the castle. All of the racers were tucked away, sleeping in their homes. As the group slowly wandered down the large cul-de-sac, Rancis looked around his familiar neighborhood, every single home surrounded them in a half moon shape.

"You're not, going in there with him alone, are you girls?" Felix worried as Vanellope, Taffyta and Candlehead began to follow Rancis up to his door. Vanellope turned around and gazed lovingly at Felix.

"You guys stay here, we'll be back shortly," Vanellope assured as she gave Ralph a longing look. Ralph nodded softly before the four racers disappeared into Rancis's house; he breathed a nervous sigh. He bit his lower lip and knew he had to trust Vanellope's judgement, just as she trusted his not ten minutes ago.