The three adults looked over the plethora of different items they could get, contemplating which ones to tackle first. Off to the side, Taffyta, Rancis and Vanellope looked over books Spamley had collected to help them get more accustomed to the way of the internet, and Candlehead played with Gord. Despite how emotionless the assistant was, he seemed to enjoy the attention.
Ralph picked up a card for some golden shoes from a sports game. "This one seems pretty safe to get as a sort of first snag."
"I agree Ralph", Felix said. "Only thing is… we won't get a lot of money from it…"
"Well that's how it works", Spamley said as he leaned against his desk. "The easier items are usually more common, and thus are more cheap pay-out wise. Usually, these people are scalpers who want to sell it for a bloated price elsewhere, they just use my site as a bridging point a lot of the time."
"The more I hear the more I hate this place", Calhoun said. "I knew some basic stuff, but this is just…" She trailed off with a sigh. "For Sugar Rush, this is for Sugar Rush…" Felix pat her back reassuringly, the two of them clearly having a moral panic about this.
Ralph gave her a sad look of understanding, then faced Spamley as he looked over some of the items. "We'll take these smaller jobs, Spamley. For right now, so we can get a lay of the land and better understanding of this."
"Good call, Ralph!" The pop-up said happily. "It's why I have all of these ones out. These are really easy targets that you could go and get with no effort, so it;s a good jumping off point."
"That was very courteous of you, Spamley", Felix said with a grateful smile, then looked down at the cards. "Okay, so me and Tammy will take these three… and take Taffyta and Candlehead with us." As Felix gathered up the items, he looked at Ralph. "You, Vanellope and Rancis can take a different three. If we split up, we can get more done faster."
"You got it, Handyman!" Vanellope said, sounding optimistic. Although Ralph did still catch the tone of uncertainty and anxiousness buried underneath.
"Alright! You guys know where to find me, so just find a search engine and make your back after getting the stuff!"
The group all nodded and made their way out, Candlehead bidding a sad farewell to Gord as they all headed back to the outside. As per Spamley's instructions, there was a docking station for user vehicles nearby, with a small panel to select a destination.
"Well, we'll keep in touch", Calhoun said as she tapped away at the pad. "So best of luck to you soldiers. If anything goes wrong, tell us."
"You got it Calhoun", Ralph said with a smile and nod. "Good luck to you guys."
The sergeant and wrecker shared a handshake before they departed, leaving himself, Vanellope and Rancis alone at the platforms.
"You two ready to get going?" Ralph asked the two racers.
"Yeah, let's get going Ralph", Rancis said with a light smile.
"The sooner we do this, the better", Vanellope said bluntly.
The wrecker nodded and pulled out one of the cards. He was planning to check out that wizard game for the amulet. So he typed the game up into the console, pressed the enter key, and a vehicle spawned before them. The two racers climbed in and Ralph latched onto the back like usual, and when they were situated, they were off. The transport rose up till it could line up with all the other transports, thus giving them a smooth ride.
"I hope we don't run into another jam", Rancis said in mild worry. "Because if we do… we might not have enough time."
"Here's hoping this will help out in some way", Vanellope said, looking ahead with a scowl. "Because I'm not letting us get this far only to be road blocked. I'll even glitch us if I have to."
Ralph's face turned into a frown. "That might get us in trouble, kid. More than what we're already doing. Considering how secure this whole place is, if we aren't careful we could…" He paused as he quietly thought over something. "Would we get arrested? Or would we get banned?" He looked around aimlessly. "I honestly should ask Spamley that. Because now I'm curious if what we're doing is even actually, technically, illegal."
The two racers shared a look, clearly wondering the same thing. "So… we could get in trouble, but not much more than, what, a slap on the wrist?" Vanellope asked.
"I'd assume so…"
"Well, that is a bit reassuring", Rancis said. "Still, I'd rather not get caught at all, or else we could be known…"
Ralph shivered at the thought of the entire internet treating him like a monster, so he silently agreed internally that they would be as careful as they could be. Because if they were caught, who knows what could happen. They could be arrested, or they could simply be kicked out of the game and have to try again at some other point. Or… or would they just be escorted out of the internet and potentially risk Litwack's getting completely disconnected?
The wrecker shook his head to keep himself from spiralling down that pit, and returned his attention to the digital road ahead. They didn't need a bunch of doom, gloom and negativity when time was so tight and the target was so massive. So Ralph fell silent as the transport drove forward, simply taking in the sights as they travelled to a new part of the internet.
The massive Google building was still visible, but he also saw they were closer to the massive mountain with the National Geographic title above it. It was imposing, but nothing out of the ordinary.
As the vehicle continued along, the wrecker brushing off some snow that ended up in his hair, they made a sharp turn and sudden stop as they quickly pulled into the docking station right in front of Wizard'sQuest. As the trio recovered, they took in the building's appearance. It looked like a very authentic castle with many fantasy elements surrounding it, all complete with a magical flourish.
The wrecker walked onto the ground as the vehicle dematerialized, making the two racers fall to the ground on their bottoms. As they recovered, Ralph looked over the front of the game they were about to enter.
"Pretty flashy, dontcha' think Rancis?" Vanellope said with a subdued smirk and she elbowed her friend.
Rancis nodded in semi-disbelief. "We aren't ever going to get games like this in the arcade…"
Ralph simply hummed, and began to walk towards the entrance. "Remember you two, don't alert anyone. We need to get in and get what we're after, then we leave and head to Zombie… Conquest."
"Crusaders", Rancis corrected. "And yeah."
"You think I should glitch around and find it?" Vanellope asked.
"We'll see where it is first", the wrecker said. "Then you can snag it."
The two racers nodded, and they all entered the game. The starting lobby was filled with users all dressed like wizards of varying allegiances and styles. It was impressive.
"So where would they have the amulet?" Rancis asked quietly, glancing nervously at a pair of nearby surge beings.
Vanellope looked around, before pointing. "There!" The other two looked over, and saw some of the amulets hanging from the wall behind a counter. They weren't cheap, but this was probably why it was one of the easier items.
"Okay, I'll distract the cashier", Ralph whispered. "You two slip around, and while Vanellope snags an amulet, Rancis will act as lookout just in case. If things get hairy, glitch out."
The two racers nodded and ran off while the wrecker walked up to the counter. The one cashier looked fairly bored, but when Ralph approached, she perked up.
"Oh, hey there!" She greeted in a peppy tone. "Sorry if I seem a bit… out of it. People don't usually swing by here when I have bulk Fishwife Amulets."
"Nah, it's all good ma'am." The wrecker smiled politely. "I'm just new around here, and was hoping to get an explanation of this thing, because I'm planning on starting something up here and was hoping to start… simple."
"Well, this is perfect then." The cashier pulled out an amulet from under the counter. "The Fishwife's Amulet gives you the ability to talk to the game's many underwater species, and temporary ability to breathe underwater too. It's a good way if you're planning on associating with the more aquatic side of everything."
"That's pretty cool", Ralph kept up the conversation as Vanellope snuck behind the cashier and slowly made her way to an amulet on a lower hook. "Though… Why are these so unpopular? If that's what they do, why aren't these flying off the shelves?"
The cashier sighed as she set the amulet down. "It's because there was a community vote a while ago, and it was decided the whole underwater side of this game would be massively reworked. That whole promise was about a year ago, and since the announcement people aren't buying these things because the rework will either remove the Fishwife's Amulet, or change it into something else you can't buy in bulk."
The wrecker frowned slightly. "They can just do that?"
The cashier gave Ralph a weird look. "You didn't know?"
"I come from an arcade that just had a WiFi router plugged in. So all this internet stuff is still a mystery to me." He hated how that was only a partial lie, but his it as the cashier gained a look of understanding.
"Oh, that makes sense. But yeah, as an online game, it can be updated to keep the players engaged with new stuff. It can be… hit or miss depending on the dev team…"
The wrecker winced as Vanellope grabbed an amulet and tiptoed out. "Well, hopefully things work out for you. Who knows, maybe you can start selling something that's actually, I don't know, desired."
"Yeah, that'd be nice." She shot Ralph a grateful smile. "Thank you, sir. I needed that pick-me-up. I hope the internet treats you well, be sure to come back at some point!"
"Maybe, depends when I get another break." Ralph left with a shrug and a wave, the cashier waving back until he was outside and out of sight. Ralph let out a sigh and waited at the dock until Vanellope and Rancis swiftly joined him. "Where's the amulet?"
Vanellope pulled it out of her sweater pocket. "That was a lot easier than I thought! If we're lucky, then we could get the 30 grand in no time!"
"It was still nerve racking", Rancis said as he adjusted his hat. "I was nearly caught by one of those security guards. He looked over, I ducked away just in time, and just hid behind the box I chose till Vanny snagged the amulet."
"Well, hopefully the next one will be less stressful for you. Next stop is…" Ralph pulled out the next target's card, and frowned at the game title. "Right, Zombie Crusaders. That sounds… very threatening."
"Ah, if it's a zombie game", Vanellope said nonchalantly. "Then there'll be a car I can use to plough through the undead!"
"Let's hope so…" Ralph typed up the location on the console at this dock, and when the vehicle spawned the trio climbed on and were off.
~X~
Zombie Crusaders was just as the trio though. A massive open world filled with hordes of zombies. Ones more akin to Zombie back at Litwack's, but even more monstrous and hungry. Luckily, like the amulet, the item was just at the front entrance amongst a bunch of stores, only this time it was easier. The hammer with the weird name was just in a crate for display, so when no one was looking, Ralph quickly snagged it and left without raising suspicion.
And so the trio were on their way to Pro League Soccer, the name making Ralph wonder if this name would give Amy, Rory, The Doc or Zomboss an aneurysm because of the technically incorrect name.
As they drove along, Vanellope and Rancis sparked up a conversation.
"So how are you liking the internet, Ran?" Vanellope asked the blonde boy.
"It's been… mixed for me." The boy looked off to the side slightly. "It's amazing there's so much to do, but it's also overwhelming and very hectic. Not like our races, either."
"That makes sense." The candy president looked past her friend to the towering buildings that rushed past. "I like it, but would rather just be home enjoying my break with Ralph."
"Well, just this last stop, and we'll head back to Spamley's", Ralph spoke up. "So just relax till we get there. This thing is also fifteen bucks, so it'll be a decent boost to our cash!"
"You got it, Stinkbrain!" Vanellope leaned back in the seat so she could soak up the artificial sun that hung above. She closed her eyes and sighed, feeling at peace for once in a while. It felt nice, not actually constantly stressed to an unhealthy degree. Maybe things could work out.
As the candy president drifted off, she started to somewhat dream peacefully, making a light smile grace her features. The sight made Rancis smile before he looked ahead, relaxing as the scenery passed as a blur.
Before long, they were pulling up on their last destination, and the movement shook Vanellope awake, the glitchy racer blinking her eyes as she came to. When the vehicle parked, Ralph hopped onto the ground as the two racers followed after him. The game was all held in a massive stadium, with loud cheering cresting over the wall.
The atmosphere was very uplifting and energetic, which made a fire burn brightly inside the trio. They started to scan around the stadium's front foyer, looking all over for their target, which were a pair of golden shoes for a football uniform. Yes, golden. The trio thought it was excessive considering what they were.
Soon, they found them. Only, there was a massive problem: there were a few pairs within a glass case, while a sign just in front said these were a reward for completing an achievement.
"Oh great, now what?" Vanellope spat bitterly.
"Do you think you could glitch inside?" Rancis suggested.
"That's too risky", Ralph said as he discreetly looked around. "Maybe they have these things stored somewhere… C'mon, we'll look around."
The racers shared an apprehensive look, then followed the wrecker as they headed towards a sort of back area. There surprisingly wasn't any staff anywhere nearby, so they were able to slip past over a pretty sad looking red velvet rope that led into an employee only area.
The trip carefully peaked into room after room as the loud audience cheering occasionally peaked, which did help fill the void but made hearing for staff nearly impossible.
"This is taking too long…" Vanellope mumbled impatiently. But then, she immediately perked up. "Wait, right here!" She dashed over and stood before a more secure looking door that was very clearly locked.
"Okay, you kids stand back", Ralph said sternly. "Watch my back."
They did as they were told, and the wrecker reared back a punch. He hesitated, waiting for the crowd to cheer, and when they did, he punched the door down with the cover of the noise outside. Now that the room was open, it was clear it was a storage room of some kind, which really boosted the trio's hope.
"Guys", Rancis whispered. He made his way over to a chart, which was a semi-map of the area. "It says the shoes are in the… Fourth Isle… Shelf G."
"On it." Vanellope blinked away as she went to snag the luxury footwear, and a few seconds later she returned with a plain looking shoebox in her hands. "Okay, so I looked and found the shoes, but I can't open the box because there's some sort of chip. So if there's something wrong with them… We don't know."
"It'll have to do", Ralph said, heading to the door and carefully peaking out. "Let's get out of here, we're really crossing a line this time."
The trio began to make their way back down the hallway, with Rancis looking especially panicked at how intense things had gotten. It was terrifying, and as they neared the foyer, that sense of dread grew more and more. They slipped back past the rope again, and carefully made their way around the edge to avoid running into staff. Thankfully, they seemed a bit distracted with the surplus of users. So they made it out with no issue.
They quickly sprinted over to the dock again, just as an alarm sounded off inside the stadium, which sent the trio into full panic mode. Ralph quickly and messily typed out Spamley's site name and hit enter, and they boarded the transport. It sped off and dipped below the tracks just as security ran out to search for the thieves.
When they had escaped, the group let out a simultaneous sigh. "That was way too close", Vanellope said as she hugged the shoe box to her chest. "We really need to get better at not getting caught, because I'd like to not get arrested."
"Agreed", Rancis said. "Maybe next time I'm going to tag along with Felix and Calhoun, just to see how they do this."
"I wouldn't be surprised if the sarge nearly threatened people, and Felix had to rein her back in", Ralph said with an airy chuckle. "Because she sure loves being threatening."
"You aren't wrong…" Rancis said with a frown. "But it also means she's very… punctual?"
Vanellope snorted and Ralph chuckled a bit more firmly this time, and the trio fell into a comfortable silence as they continued back to Spamley's. The user vehicles all rushing past above made these lower levels feel all the more shady and filled with uncertainty. But one thing Ralph noticed was there were still actual websites down here too, most closed but some still open.
That made a collection of thoughts rush through his head that he decided to to mess around with, so he just glanced around till his eyes fell on the distant trailer. Using his strength, he carefully guided the transport towards it. While the landing was a bit bumpy, it was decent enough.
Taffyta and Candlehead were outside, and perked up when the trio showed up. They rushed over, and smiled when they saw they had all the items.
"You guys did it!" Candlehead said happily as she hugged Rancis tightly. "We were worried you guys got into trouble or something."
"Only you were, Candle", Taffyta said with an eye roll before facing Vanellope and Ralph. "We got back here, like, a minute ago. If anything, we were probably closer to trouble because Calhoun decided to threaten a poor chump at our first stop."
Ralph sighed and buried his face into his hand. "What did I say…"
Candlehead frowned, then grabbed Vanellope and Rancis' hands as Taff took the shoe box. "C'mon, the others are inside waiting." As the four racers headed inside first, Ralph took out the hammer and amulet and slowly followed after them. As he entered he waved at the other adults and set the items on the desk.
"Nice going, Ralph!" Spamley said happily. He quickly started to put everything away in a box, a bright smile on his face. "You guys are doing great! That totals a decent 45 bucks for you!"
The three adults frowned a bit. "Only 45 dollars…" Felix said. "And that took us over two hours to get everything." The racers, who were off to the side with Gord, all frowned in worry.
"This isn't going to work", Calhoun said sternly. "We need 30 thousand now, or we'll never get enough in time."
Spamley winced. "Yeah, that's what happens. But… I think I do have something that can help you guys…" The pop-up opened a desk drawer and started looking through before pulling out another card and looking it over. "Is 40 thousand enough?"
"That's more than enough!" Vanellope cheered. "What do we do?"
"Well, I got a guy in Des Moines, Iowa who will pay 40 grand for Shank's car from a game called Slaughter Race." J.P. flipped the card around so the adults could see the target, and squinted at the very heavily modified and expensive looking car.
"Now that sounds like my element!" The candy president glitched over and took the card, looking it over with bright eyes.
" Slaughter Race is the most popular online racing game out there right now. Although I know it's not the kind of stuff you guys would be used to." Spamley's expression fell. "It's gritty, violent, and kinda the game that is seen by people that 'only edgelords play'."
Felix and Calhoun shared an unsure look. "I don't know if this is a good idea, Vanellope…" The handyman said.
"Oh, c'mon stickler, we survived two cy-bug invasions, one that nearly took over the whole arcade!" The candy president glitched onto Ralph's shoulder. "How about me and Ham-Hands go to this place on our own while you guys keep doing other jobs."
"Not a bad idea kid", the wrecker said as he crossed his arms. "If we fail, at least we still were making money in some way."
Calhoun stood up and gave him a pointed look. "Are you sure about this, Wreck-It? Because if this ends up killing you, I'll bring you back to life just to slap you."
Ralph's expression became softer and more reassuring. "I promise, Calhoun. I know I messed up before, but I'll be careful, and keep the kid safe."
"They got this, Tammy", Felix said reassuringly. "I have faith they can do this. But if anything goes wrong, you two, call us."
The duo nodded, and left the trailer after bidding the group farewell. As they headed back to the dock to spawn a vehicle, Vanellope looked over the image of Shank's car, seemingly curious.
"Ralph, do you think I could ever get a car like this?"
The wrecker shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you could ask the others about it after all of this is said and done. Why, you like how it looks?"
"A bit. But it;s also because… I've seen a lot of crazy cool cars in the Capital, and I've always wanted to drive them. I love the kart we made together, but I just want to branch out more."
"That's fair. Just be sure to be careful, kid."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it, Stinkbrain."
The duo let out a laugh as they boarded the vehicle and set off to this mysterious game. Despite the mild excitement, both of the friends were nervous about what Spamley meant by 'dangerous'…
~X~
The exterior and interior of Slaughter Race was honestly living up to the name. Outside it looked like a modified hot rod engine with massive exhaust pipes and a skull, and inside was a gross and trashy city blanketed in an eternal cloud of smog. The sky was a pale yellow, and everything had what seemed to be a brown-grey filter over top.
The duo walked down a sidewalk, eyeing the people around wearily. They all had limited but smooth movements, which was even more uncanny than the users outside the game.
Vanellope hugged close to Ralph as walked with his back straight, his wariness slowly turning into defiance as he looked strong to hopefully scare everyone off so Vanny was as safe as can be.
They continued along the sidewalk, looking around for any sort of sign as to where they could find the car.
"There has to be a map somewhere", the wrecker mumbled.
"Maybe we could ask someone?" Vanellope said with a slight nervous infliction. "Like, if this Shank person's car is so expensive, maybe they're a big deal around here?"
Ralph looked around, and saw a small convenience store across the street. Looking both ways to make sure there weren't any cars, the wrecker ran across and entered the building. Vanellope, who was right behind her friend, started looking around the store as the wrecker went up to the clerk.
"Hey there", Ralph greeted politely. "Sorry if we're bothering you, but we need to know something."
The clerk sniffed harshly, then coughed before looking at Ralph with a drained look. "No issue, sir. I'm just a man trying to survive in this place. I'm assuming you're new to the game?"
"Yeah, the two of us are. Just visiting."
"Well, I recommend you leave. This game's whole gimmick is cause crime to get better, so if you cross the wrong people you could end up dead. Especially if you cross Shank's gang…"
Ralph perked up a bit. "We actually came here looking for her. See…" The wrecker glanced out the glass door before discreetly showing the item card. "We're after her car."
"Ah, you're a loot hunter, huh?" The clerk gave him a dark look. "We get them around here pretty often because of the game's popularity. Now, if you're heading after Shank's car, I'll give you what I know."
"That's surprising", Vanellope said aloud. "I was expecting you to rat us out to the cops or something."
The clerk shook his head. "I never liked Shank's gang, because their basically the final boss of the game, in a way. They rule the streets, and are the best drivers around. There's always at least one player a day who tries to mess with them by breaking into their hideout and doing whatever, but they always end up torched and forced to respawn.
"As for the gang themselves, they have some of the best cars in the game. Shank herself has a car that is so good you'd think she was actually a player who found all the cheats possible. But she's just that good."
"Well, Vanellope here is the best racer I know", Ralph said happily as he looked back at his friend, then back at the clerk. "So I feel like we got this."
"That's a fool's errand, but I'm not going to stop you." The clerk pulled out a map and pointed at a spot on it. "Right here is where Shank and her coons hang out all the time. Be careful, because it's one of the more dangerous parts of the city. And while walking around, watch out for dogs, and avoid sewer grates. This game was designed to be the epitome of edgy."
The wrecker looked at the clerk with a sombre look. "Are you not a fan of this place?"
The clerk shook his head. "All the violence and chaos wears you down after a while, and this game's been on for only three years…"
Ralph frowned, then quickly grabbed a sticky note and pen. "If you ever get tired enough to leave, then us at Litwack's will help ya' find a new home." He handed the clerk the note, who took it and looked over everything basic about the arcade.
"Wow… thank you. I might take you up on that."
"Don't mention it. And hey", the clerk looked up at Ralph. "If you do show up, I'll have my neighbour Mary bake you the best pie you've ever had."
"Thanks, sir. Well, I wish you the best of luck!"
"You too! C'mon kid." The duo left the store, but stopped when the clerk shouted.
"Wait!" The duo looked over, and watched as he reached under the counter. Before they could ask any questions, the clerk pulled out two cans of a brand of root beer, and tossed them at the arcade denizens. "On the house, just for making my day interesting."
"Don't mention it, mister!" Vanellope said happily as she skipped out of the store. Ralph waved goodbye, and when they left the clerk looked back down at the sticky note. With a smile, he headed into the back room to look up what this Litwack place had in store.
The duo, meanwhile, followed the roads as Ralph remembered from the map. Left turns on top of right turns brought them more into the industrial part of the city, with ruined cars and piles of trash wherever they went. It only became worse as they neared where the clerk said Shank's hideout was, with a lot of very unfavourable people eyeing them aggressively. Ralph shot back with a glare of his own as Vanellope climbed up and onto his shoulder, feeling more at peace when she wasn't on the ground.
Soon, the duo turned a corner, recognizing the street names on nearby signs and were happy to finally be in the right place. They looked across the street and saw a massive warehouse.
"Guess that's it", Ralph said.
"How should we do this?" Vanellope asked quietly.
The wrecker hummed. "I saw we use that massive pile of junk", he pointed at a big pile of miscellaneous scrap beside the building, "to get to the windows higher up and. Get a lay of how things look."
Vanellope nodded, and carefully the duo headed over and started to scale the pile as carefully as they could, making sure they weren't too loud and didn't knock anything over, and slipped into an unlocked window with ease. Luckily, there was a catwalk right there, so shrouded in shadow they snuck over to the railing and peeked down. Under a glowing spotlight was Shank's car, the red paint shimmering and pristine.
"Okay, so we sneak down and-" The wrecker was cut off from his plan when a bang alerted them to something down below. Glancing down, they saw two players with their comical name tags over their heads walk in with their stiff animations. "Oh sugar, players!"
The duo watched carefully and silently as the players talked about how it took them forever to find Shank's hideout, with clear intention to steal Shank's car. But as they were making their move, The lights flicked on and more people made themselves visible.
There was a scrawny man with goggles, a burly man in a leather jacket, a shorter girl in a simple shirt, another girl of the same height in a demon vest, and a young woman in a black sweater and pants combo. Based on her presence and aura, Ralph and Vanellope silently realised that was Shank.
As Shank talked to the players, they got defensive, pulling out weapons. But Shank simply stepped aside and let the scrawny guy walk ahead, and he ignited the flame thrower he had and turned the players to ash. Ralph and Vanellope watched in horror at how quickly things escalated, then shared a look. They ducked away closer to the window, looking very unsure.
"Should we really do this, Ralph?" Vanellope asked in uncertainty.
Ralph looked back towards the catwalk's railing, the muffled voices of Shank and her gang barely audible. After a moment, he glared. "I'm going to distract them. Play the card I played on you when we first met." Vanellope shook her head as worry filled her face. "Meanwhile, you'll sneak down, get into the car, and drive it out the front door. I'll hop in with you, and we'll escape the game." Vanellope's face only became more worried and she shook her head faster.
Ralph sighed. "I know it's scary, kid, but remember… You're a winner."
Vanellope stilled. "I'm a… Winner…"
"And you're adorable…"
"And I'm adorable."
"And what does everyone love?"
"And adorable winner."
"So be that adorable winner that not only got first, but saved me all those years back."
Vanellope nodded and got into position, with Ralph slipping back outside. He scaled back down the pile and made his way to the warehouse's front door. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, shook all the nervousness out of his system, and knocked on the door.
As the door opened, Ralph put up a somewhat professional facade with a weird smile, one that made Vanellope raise an eyebrow as all of Shank's gang looked Ralph over.
"Good day to you, madam", Ralph began.
"Who are you?" Shank said, her tone chilling.
But, surprisingly, Ralph wasn't phased. "I'm here on behalf of your neighbours, who have sent a lot of noise complaints to my office. At HQ, my buddy Larry has been getting a lot of calls…"
As Ralph rambled, Vanellope carefully slunk down to the ground floor and over to Shank's car, carefully climbing inside and into the driver's seat. She made some slight adjustments to the chair and wheel so she could reach and see, then glanced over at Ralph. He looked at her for the briefest of seconds, silently telling her he was running out of material.
"So I just came to check on things…" Ralph trailed off, looking around.
"I'm sorry, who did you say you were again?"
"Ralph, member of the game's complaint department…"
Shank glared at the wrecker, shifting her position a bit. "Yeah, I don't think that's a thing…"
But before she could act, Vanellope started up the car and drove out at max speed. Ralph grinned as he stepped aside and hopped in, leaving the gang in shock as the duo sped off.
"I can't believe that worked!" Vanellope said in excitement.
"What, did you doubt the ol' Wreck-It Ralph charm?" The wrecker said in a mock offended tone.
"Not for a moment. I just didn't think they'd all go there. For the big bad gang of the game, they aren't that… what's the word?"
"Perceptive?"
"That's it, thanks Chumbo." Vanellope turned a corner and headed up an overpass, in full control of things. She glanced down at the wheel, and her smile slowly grew more and more. "Yeah, I need one of these babies for myself. Maybe get some Sugar Rush-esque modifications so it's more like home."
Ralph shifted in the passenger seat a bit, and felt the material of the dashboard. "Yeah, I agree. This is a really nice car… But we can worry about that later. First, let's get out of here."
"You got it, Stinkbrain!" Vanellope sped up a bit more, but the duo's smiles shifted into looks of confusion as loud banging got closer and closer. Ralph looked over his shoulder to the left, and saw a modified car with bull horns plough through npc cars in the other lane.
The burly man from Shank's gang was driving it, which made Ralph's hand tighten into a fist.
"Ralph, what's going on?" Vanellope got her answer as the gang member drove past and through the cement barrier that separated the lanes as the parted a distance ahead. "Oh boy…"
The gang member picked up speed and used the sloped front of his car to send a truck in front on its side, making its barrel cargo spill out. Ralph and Vanellope gasped, with the racer doing some tight manoeuvres to try and not get hit. Ralph, meanwhile, grabbed one of the barrels and stood up, throwing the object at the car. It sadly didn't do anything, but it sent a message.
As the two cars lined up, the gang member glared at the two of them. "You mess with the bull, you get the horns, little girl!" He shouted.
Vanellope acted quickly and sped ahead, making the gang member crash into the cement barrier and lose all speed.
Ralph looked back at him, and growled. "Okay, considering we stole their car, they don't want it back in one piece."
"Hey, it just means they're easy to mess with!" Vanellope cheered over the roar of the engine.
The wrecker gave her a look. "Where was this confidence before?"
"Well, now that I'm in my element, I'm as confident as can be!" She hit the gas and shot the car ahead even faster than before. Ralph squinted as the wind blasted against his face, while also keeping an eye out for any of the other gang members.
When he looked behind, he saw Shank in a different car, slowly gaining. "Better pick up the pace kid, Shank's gaining on us, and she does not look happy."
Vanellope glanced in the rear-view mirror, and glared. "You got it, Ralph. Hang on!" Ralph braced as Vanellope took a turn sharply, and the proper chase was on. Vanellope took turn after turn as sharp as she could, with Shank always close behind. Ralph was getting uncomfortable, any knew his best friend had this handled.
At a point, the chase took the two vehicles into a dried up sewage canal, which snaked around, creating more broad curves. When they entered a tunnel, Shank had gained enough speed to sidle up next to them.
"I believe you have something of mine?" She asked in a somewhat condescending tone.
"Yeah, come and get it!" Vanellope spat, speeding ahead. As they swerved to dodge bars, Shank was able to get ahead and attempted to brake check the arcade duo. The candy president acted fast by doing a full loop over and passed Shank, something which made Ralph look terrified, excited and sick all at the same time.
"Kid, that was amazing!" The wrecker cheered. "If I wasn't on the bring of screaming in terror and hurling my lunch, I'd say more."
"Just act as my muscle, big guy!" Vanellope messed with the stick so she could drift the car right through an open train car from a train that was passing the canal. The window was tight, but it was just what they needed to gain ground.
With Shank out of sight for a moment, it let the door gain enough ground so they could make it closer to the exit. Vanellope cut through an alleyway just as Shank finally caught up with them. But the gang leader failed to follow, which gave them a lead again.
As they bolted down the road towards the exit, they saw the final tunnel was filled with the fiery remains of a brutal accident.
"Kid, you better know what you're doing!" Ralph shouted as they neared the flames.
"I always do!" With a nod and a blink, they glitched right through the whole mess, and cheered as they saw the straight shot to the exit. As they cheered, they didn't catch Shank had somehow made her way through the disaster until she was diving backwards and slid up next to them.
"What the-!?" Ralph barked in disbelief. Vanellope was just in awe and shock, staring at the gang leader. Which meant she wasn't paying attention to the road.
"You aren't going to lose me that easy", Shank said. Vanellope said nothing in response. "You might want to keep your eyes on the road."
Ralph looked ahead and went bug-eyes as a modified school bus blocked the exit. "KID!"
Vanellope gasped sharply and slammed on the brakes, spinning the car out until it came to a complete stop. The rest of Shank's gang surrounded them, completely stopping any escape. When Shank stopped, she stormed out of the car she was using.
"Yo', Department Of Noise! Get out of my car!" She slammed the door as the other gang members left their own vehicles.
Ralph looked around as Vanellope started to crumble, her confidence all dried up. "Oh man, what are we going to do?"
Ralph looked down at her, and frowned. "Let me talk to them", he whispered. "You just stay here, and if you start to get scared put your hood up."
The racer nodded silently and watched as the wrecker got out of the car and walked over to the gang leader with zero fear.
"You guys really thought you could just steal my car?" Shank said in anger. "Well, let me tell you what happens now."
"Hang on", Ralph said, raising a hand. "We're both adults, so let's not get violent. I learned that's a bad way to deal with things a long time ago."
Shank glared at Ralph, then leaned back and crossed her arms. "Alright, Ralph, let's hear it. Why'd you steal my car?"
The wrecker sighed. "That's a long story, but the short version is we come from an arcade and my friend's game was broken by some brat. Now we need to raise 30 grand because we bid too high for a new steering wheel on eBay."
The gang leader was silent for a moment, before relaxing a bit. "So you guys are loopy hunters?"
"Yeah. Look, we're sorry we went to steal your car. It was a high paying item, and we decided to risk it." Ralph glanced back at Vanellope, who was discreetly looking at him with terrified eyes. "Look, we don't want trouble. We can leave and all of us can pretend this never happened, because, I'll be honest, the kid's been through enough. She doesn't deserve to be labelled a criminal again."
"Wait, again?" The girl in the denim coat said in concern.
"Yeah… a long time ago another character from our arcade took over my friend's game, taking her spot as ruler, erasing everyone's memories and branding her a glitch so she could be feared… It was a bad time…"
The gang all looked at Vanellope, who flinched at the attention and put her hood up, curling up more to try and seem invisible.
Ralph saw and decided it was time to go. "Again, I'm sorry we caused such a scene", the wrecker walked over to the racer and picked her up, setting her on his shoulder. "So we'll just go and-"
"Wait", Shank said, raising a hand. The wrecker fell silent as she looked the two arcade denizens over. "You really came here just to save her game?"
"Yeah. There's a bunch of people that lost their homes, and we only have till the end of Thanksgiving weekend to come up with the money… or else the arcade's owner ships Sugar Rush away for good."
"I see…" Shank looked thoughtful before pulling out a card. "Here, this is something to help you."
The wrecker took the card and looked it over. "What's Buzztube?"
"One of the largest video sharing sites out there", Shank explained. "My friend Yesss runs the place, so when you head there and meet her, tell her Shank sent you."
"This'll help us make money?" Vanellope asked quietly.
The gang leader nodded. "Yes. That way you two don't need to steal anyone else's cars. And hey", she raised a fist. "No hard feelings. I get why you did this, so good luck. And if you ever want to, visit whenever you can."
Ralph smiled and gave her a fist bump back. "Thanks, Shank. Same to you guys, visit Litwack's whenever you can. When that happens, Tapper's is on me."
"I'll take you up on that." After that, the gang all got into their respective vehicles and drove off, leaving the arcade duo on their own at the entrance. They waved them goodbye, before just standing there.
"What do we do now, Ralph?" Vanellope asked as she pulled her hood off.
The wrecker was silent for a while, simply staring down the street Shank and her gang went down. After a while, he looked down at the piece of paper, a business card for Shank's friend Yesss.
"I don't know, kid."
He looked back down the street.
"I don't know…"
~X~
Woof, this was a longer chapter than the rest. But I like that, as it gave a lot. The biggest thing is everything with Shank was completely changed, where no video was made and there were no hints of Vanellope wanting to live there. I want to stay true to the rules of the first movie setup, so no going Turbo.
Also, actually having the idea of loot hunting play a bigger role in the story is an important point, as it keeps Spamley relevant, as well as the others. This is still Ralph and Vanellope's story, after all, but I won't abandon the others that joined them in the internet.
Also, if you spot the little reference I snuck in of another Wreck-It Ralph thing, you get a cookie.
Anyway, I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. It was fun doing a different take on things where Ralph is the adult he needs to be and Vanelloep has moments of vulnerability. Hope you're excited for the next one!
Up next: With only a single business card to show for their endeavour, Ralph and Vanellope meet up with the others to discuss the plans going forward, and if the gang leader gave them their big break…
~Caleb~