A/N: Hello, wonderful people! It's been a minute since I've written a Wreck-it Ralph fanfic (and a complete one too, hah), but hearing about the release of the Sugar Rush Racers books drew me back into the fandom and reminded me of just why I love Wreck-it Ralph so much.
This will be a two-shot story (or more, depending on how long it gets) set pre-Ralph Breaks the Internet, kind of filling the gaps the sequel left about Sugar Rush's twin cabinet, and Ralph's newfound overprotectiveness and clinginess of Vanellope.
This first part is more of a rant chapter on what I would have wanted the sequel to be: more console based. xD
Enjoy!
The Other Half of Me
-June 2018-
Another day, another nickel…or few. Litwak's Arcade has just closed for the day, unfortunately receiving slow revenue as it has been lately.
Earlier that day, Ralph was enjoying a slice of by on the roof when a large group of teenagers came into the arcade, who he assumed were just coming from school and waiting for their parents, but barely any of the arcade cabinets were touched. Their eyes were practically glued to their phones the majority of the time. Like, seriously, what is so entertaining on that mini-square that beats fixing a wrecked building? He thought to himself.
There were a few regulars scattered across the arcade, but no one was playing or standing near his game or the games between his – it's been like that all day – so he could safely get a view of the human world without looking too suspicious. The phone addicts - I mean teens – were now huddled in a big circle, excitement shining in their eyes.
"It's almost time guys!" one of the teens exclaimed. Time for what?
"One more minute, let's go!" another teen said.
"Who brought the speakers?"
"I did!"
"Where's the Wi-Fi for this place? I'm all out of mobile data!"
A teen who had been talking to Mr. Litwak retreats to the group saying, "Mr. Litwak said he doesn't have Wi-Fi for the arcade, mostly because he's never heard of it. I told him to think about it, along with maybe getting the arcade a new TV!"
"Ugh, old people!" one of the shorter teens sighed but was half-joking because she loved the old fella and has been going to his arcade since she was a toddler. "That's fine, we can use my phone, I have unlimited data!" It was almost amusing how the entire group shifted their focus to the girl with unlimited data's screen in perfect sync.
"Great, connect it to the speaker!"
"Everybody shush! Turn the volume all the way up, the Nintendo Direct is happening now!"
Ugh, Nintendo. That company has always been giving TobiKomi a run for their money. Ralph had just learned through Bowser that Nintendo has been around since 1889. Isn't that when dinosaurs existed? Ultimately, Nintendo was undoubtedly far more successful than almost all video game companies combined (A/N - I'm not a Nintendo hater I swear haha it's all I ever play). They have been threatening to run TobiKomi out of business for the past year since their newest console, the Nintendo Switch just came out, but luckily Ralph's parent company is staying strong.
At least he thinks they are.
Zoning back into the now hushed group of teenagers, he hears that annoying snapping noise, followed by rustling wind, and then a familiar pipe sound.
"Yahoo!"
Several whoops and 'Mario!'s could be heard amongst the group. That little red guy is seriously everywhere.
Action music was now playing from the speaker. Adding to the music were the teens excitingly announcing the characters that appeared before their eyes.
"Oh my gosh, Bowser's details are insane!" one teen said. Wait, Bowser? Did he get himself on that phone when no one was playing Super Mario Bros.?
About a minute later, a boy exclaimed, "Aw yeah, Sonic's back! He's my favorite!" Sonic, too? How are these characters in two places at once?
As Ralph pondered such possibilities, he noticed Litwak looming over Sugar Rush out of the corner of his eye. The game that held his best friend of almost six years, Vanellope von Schweetz, and her fourteen fellow unruly racers. A fond smile began to grace his features, but faded once he noticed the concerned look on Litwak's face. He appeared to be in deep thought. Litwak ran a hand over the edge of one of Sugar Rush's twin cabinets, and gave it a few pats. He took a deep breath, and wandered deeper into the arcade, somber expression still on his face. That was never a good sign for an arcade game. Sad Litwak usually led to game inspections, which led to disappointment, which lead to unplugging.
But that's crazy! Ralph assured himself. Sugar Rush was performing perfectly fine! I mean, it's not exactly at peak revenue like it was from 2012-2014 when Vanellope became a playable character again, but it's still one of the arcade's most popular games. Litwak can't possibly be thinking of-
"Snake?!" Oh, right, those teens were still there, but were now feral with shouts, cries, and applause for this Metal Gear character. We arcade characters see him every day, and he's perfectly playable in his game here, why is he being so hyped up now? They act like they haven't seen him in like, ten years or something.
The teens' volume barely went down since Snake was revealed. However, some teens who were not hardcore Snake fanatics continued to acknowledge characters they recognized or loved out loud. When a teen announced Pac-Man's reveal, Ralph thought to himself, Who in TobiKomi's name let that cherry-chasing dot muncher into that game?!
After another minute or two had passed, Ralph had learned the root of the hype from the teens: the new game was called Super Smash Brothers: Ultimate. Over the years, Ralph had heard a thing or two about this crazy console fighting game from arcade patrons, mostly from kids or teens who were in groups of at least three, and they chatted over the new release of each installment. The first time he heard about it was in 1999, then two years later, with the addition of Melee to its title, then Melee was replaced with Brawl in 2008. He couldn't quite remember correctly if one was made in 2014; it could just be a figment of his imagination.
After all those characters announced in the franchise's latest installment, Ralph wondered if it could get any better than that. Practically everyone is there, he thought. Not me, though. Which was ridiculous, his appearance practically screamed Super Smash Bros.! At times he thought he was similar to Donkey Kong, a little too similar. If a character who's named after clouds could get in, then so could he, right?
The group of teens started to disperse, some leaving the arcade to walk or drive home, and some staying to play a few arcade games, still chatting excitingly amongst their friends about what Nintendo had just graced them with.
Ralph started to walk back down to his stump, seriously beginning to ponder the complexity of the console gaming world. What was it like knowing that you could casually stand side-by-side with a different version of yourself? How many different versions of yourself could be out there, on different consoles? It was too much for Ralph's 8-bit mind to process.
Litwak could possibly save a corner of the arcade for console gaming, that might rake more kids into his business; it seems to be what they're more into nowadays. If he could find a way to connect it to Game Central Station, he would ease his curiosity in an instant. He could bring Vanellope, Felix, and Calhoun, too! A classic Core Four adventure. He hopes a human out there will somehow read his mind and pitch the idea to Litwak.
Thoughts of Litwak reminded him of the way he had been eyeing Sugar Rush, and that uneasy feeling came back. He thought about telling Vanellope to keep a lookout for any signs of anticipation for unplugging her game; maybe to perform slightly above average than expected for the game. There's no way he could say no to a well-performing game. But until then…
"Quarter Alert!"
Wreckin' Time.
That concludes the rant chapter! Imagine how amazing the sequel would've been if it were more focused on console gaming; it truly is complex, and with good storytelling, might make the movie span up to two hours. Well, in some alternate universe it exists.
The next chapter will pick up where Litwak walked away from the Sugar Rush cabinet, and he'll have a conversation with an unoccupied arcade patron about getting Wi-Fi for his arcade.
Until next time! Reviews are welcome!