It was around midnight when Ralph heard a knock at his door, making him snap his eyes open and sit up. Glancing at the door out of his bedroom with bags under his eyes, he watched as Vanellope, dressed in her nightgown, came in with an unreadable expression. She sat on the wrecker's bed silently, staring out into the hallway.
"Everything okay, kid?" Ralph asked, yawning as he adjusted his position a bit.
Vanellope remained silent for a moment longer, not looking her friend in the eye. "I just couldn't sleep…"
"Something bothering you?" The wrecker rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up a bit more.
The racer turned her head so she couldn't look Ralph in the eye. "I… I think we should go and talk to the others."
That woke up the wrecker right away. "What? You want to talk to them now? Isn't it a bit… early for that?"
"Ralph, please!" Vanellope said with a suddenly fractured voice. "We're home now. Everything is okay. But I need to talk to Hilda, because now I can't sleep because I know she figured out what happened and isn't talking to me. She probably hates me now!"
The racer curled up into herself, mumbling out silent apologies to Hilda, tears trickling from her eyes. Ralph was frozen for a moment, unsure how to really respond to that. As his brain worked overtime to figure out how to calm down the situation, Vanellope rolled awkwardly and nearly fell off the bed. Ralph gasped and lunged forward, catching his friend and lifting her up.
"Okay, okay, we'll go talk to them kid", the wrecker said as the panic within him started to peak. "Just… Give me a bit to wake up. You go and get ready, and try not to wake everyone else up."
Vanellope, eyes still wide from the fall, nodded slowly and zipped out of the room, allowing the wrecker to groan and let his arms limply fall onto the ground. He buried his face in his carpet, keeping his eyes closed as he tried to quell all the sudden rush of emotion. But that wasn't working, so he just groaned and stood up, adjusting his pyjama shirt as he entered his personal bathroom. Stumbling over to the mirror, and glanced at his reflection. He had bags under his eyes, and looked about ready to pass out again.
He let out a tired sigh and leaned against his sink, clutching it like a lifeline. It luckily didn't break, but it could be heard straining under the pressure of his grip. So he relaxed, and looked back up at his mirror. Thousands of thoughts were bouncing around inside his head, which wore at his heart with the guilt and regret they injected into it.
"What are you doing, Ralph?" The wrecker mumbled to himself, burying his face in his hands. "What are you doing to yourself? It's your family! It's just talking to them…" He groaned and opened the mirror cabinet, pulling out a bottle of face wash. As he put some of the lotion on his face, he scowled his movements as he thought back to a moment he and Caleb shared…
~
Ralph was simply just walking down the hallway on an early morning when the sound of a shuddering breath made him freeze. Snapping his head to the right, he saw one of the doors was cracked open just a bit. Tilting his head in concern, he carefully opened the door more and peered in, eyes locking onto Caleb. The boy was curled up next to his bed, face buried in his knees.
A surge of overprotectiveness taking over, the wrecker headed inside the room, making sure to close the door behind him. He then walked over to the boy and sat on the carpet next to him. Things were silent for a moment between the two as they remained in the dark, only the light from the parted curtains giving the wrecker any sight.
Caleb sniffled and shook his head, wiping his eyes miserably. "Hey Ralph… You… You don't need to be here…"
"Yeah, no", Ralph said back firmly. "I heard you, and now I'm here. Is there something wrong, kid?"
"Just…" A pause. "I Just have my moments. It'll pass later when… W-Whenever it does…" The boy choked out a sob and buried his face into his knees again, taking deep, long, shuddering as he tried to keep himself from breaking.
The wrecker gave him a look of deep concern, and turned his body more towards the boy. "You can talk to me, kid. We've been with each other for, what, a few months now? Whatever you have to say, do it."
The boy didn't move or respond, simply staying how he was. But, after he realised Ralph wasn't going to leave so easily, he finally gave up his resistance. "Okay, fine! You want to know so badly!"
The change in tone made Ralph jump a bit, looking into Caleb's rage filled eyes in shock.
"You want to know why I'm like this, Ralph? Well, it's because I'm just that broken! Even after everything, I'm still that same broken boy before you all met me! I still blame myself for Fredrick disappearing, for my parents' abuse, for all of it! And… And sometimes I just let it take me over for a few hours…"
Ralph was silent during the whole triad, his expression dower, but still showing the care and concern through his eyes. "Kid… That… How often does this happen?"
Caleb shrugged as he roughly rubbed the tears off his face. "I don't know, honestly… Most of the time I say I feel sick, go to bed, then black out for a few hours…"
The wrecker searched his memory for any instance of this happening, and sure enough he did remember some cases of Caleb doing exactly that. Afterwards, he'd look like death had rolled over him several times, but Gladius and Katania seemed more… understanding. And they never explained, which left everyone else confused.
"So you did tell Gladius and Kat this…" He mumbled. "Did you tell Rainbow and Virus?"
Caleb nodded slowly. "I'm usually a lot more volatile during these things, so you're lucky I didn't rip some of your hair out or claw at your eyes…" The glint in his eyes made it clear he was serious, and that it happened before.
"Did… Did someone get in your crosshair?"
Caleb sighed. "I was with mom and dad, after I told them, and the three of us were inside their lounge just relaxing as I had another moment like this. Only… Things were derailed when some guards came in to bother mom. She got snippy, and they still said whatever she needed to help them with was really important.
"So as she got up, something just… Snapped inside me. I lunged at one of the guards like a pouncing jaguar, and started to rip him apart. Virus got me off him, but not before I nearly knocked him unconscious…
"It was from then on that no one was allowed to disturb me if I was having a… Moment…" Caleb curled up into himself again, not looking Ralph in the eye.
The wrecker himself was awestruck, but remembering Caleb's outbursts in the past made it not that surprising.
"Okay, I get it kid", Ralph said gently. "You need to be alone right now, I'm sorry I-"
"NO!" Caleb shouted suddenly, eyes wild. "No, Ralph, don't apologise. This isn't… This isn't your fault… I'm just… Really messed up…"
"Aren't we all, kid?" The wrecker flashed the surprised boy a grin. "I feel like all of us will have something going on that makes up just the boot screwed up." His face gained a more earnest and kind smile. "I'll let ya' be, but remember we are all here for you kid. No matter what happens, we gotta stick together."
Caleb just nodded wordlessly, mouth slightly agape.
Ralph stood up and made to leave the room. But as he was about to open the door, he was stopped when a smaller body collided into him from behind. No words were exchanged as Caleb pressed his tear stained face into Ralph's back, more tears leaking out by the second.
The wrecker smiled, turning around and hugging the boy close. They remained like that for a while until they pulled apart, the mountain man looking down at the boys shattered but smiling face…
~
As the memory faded from his vision, Ralph found his mess of a face staring at the mirror. Running water from the sink's tap filled the void of silence, but it only added to Ralph's regret.
"Jeez, Ralph, why didn't you just tell the others…" The wrecker moaned in regret, splashing water on his face to clean off the lotion. Grabbing the towel hanging from the hook next to the shower, he dried off his face and looked at himself in the mirror again.
He looked better, if still worried.
With a more content sigh, he left the bathroom and walked over to his dresser, pulling out his outfit for the trip.
One thing he was happy about was that being with the others meant his wardrobe had expanded massively. Sure, he had to wear the same ripped shirt and overalls whenever he was here in his home universe to avoid suspicion, but when we went to the Capital? He could wear whatever his heart desired.
After some searching, Ralph decided to wear a massive mahogany sweater with a white undershirt and reddish-black jeans. After getting changed, he looked himself over in the large wall mirror he had, and smiled at his new look. His hair was as wild as ever, something he never intended to change.
With everything sorted, he left his room and headed down the hallway till he reached his living room. Glancing out the front window, he saw Vanellope dressed and ready, staring out into space as she seemingly waited for him. The wrecker frowned a bit, then quickly headed over to the kitchen to grab himself a bottle of water, which he hoped would wake him up more. Once the bottle was secured, he headed out the front door.
The racer was snapped out of her trance and she turned around. Her hair still had all the candy in it, but she had her hair in a pair of pigtails rather than the single ponytail. Her usual outfit was discarded for something more in line with what Hilda usually wore, which was for when the two girls went exploring in more colder areas.
"Hey Ralph…" She whispered. "Ready… Ready to get going?"
The wrecker nodded. "Let's go."
They both left for the woods, making sure no one was following them. Glancing up at the main Niceland apartment building, Ralph could see Felix and Calhoun in the handyman's apartment enjoying some tea with some of the Nicelanders.
After a moment of staring, he followed his friend through the trees to their secluded space, and with a press on his phone, a portal opened before them. Ralph took a few steps forward before he noticed Vanellope was frozen in place, looking at the portal like it would bite her.
"You okay kid?" He asked in concern.
She nodded with a frown on her face. "Y-Yeah… Just… Getting a bit scared…"
"C'mon, it'll be okay kid", Ralph knelt down and gave the candy president a reassuring look. "We can tackle this together. And it's our friends. They'd never be mad at us, I'm sure of it."
Vanellope nodded again, this time silently, and she took her massive friend's hand in a tight grip. With a deep breath, Ralph stood up, and the two of them walked into the swirling light of various colours.
As soon as they stepped onto the castle's massive balcony, they both froze as they saw someone else was standing right before them.
Manolo, who seemed to have paused his private guitar practice at their appearance.
The musician had his arms crossed, and was giving the arcade duo a sad look. "Hey."
Ralph blinked, then shook his head. "Hey, Manolo. Look, I get it. We came here to talk to everyone about what happened, so can we…?"
Manolo looked over his shoulder towards the door that led inside, and shrugged. "Sure. The others didn't really think you'd be here so soon, so you two can get situated till…" He trailed off as he caught sight of something, and the duo followed his gaze. Ralph winced and Vanellope completely locked up.
Someone had come up from the courtyard, and was staring at the duo with a wide-eyed look of surprise and hurt. Deep hurt. Someone that was making Vanellope's guilt burn brighter and hotter than the sun.
Hilda.
Hilda was standing there, staring at her sister with an expression that slowly lost its surprise for more hurt.
Ralph and Manolo looked between the two girls silently, wondering what was racing through their heads. No one said anything for a while until the blue haired adventurer blinked, looked to the side a bit, and silently walked past Vanellope. She headed inside, slamming the door as she went.
You could practically hear Vanellope's heart shatter like glass.
As the racer stood there, close to bursting into tears, Ralph faced Manolo again. "Can we head inside? The sooner we deal with this the better."
The musician nodded. "Yeah…" He turned and walked away towards the door, the duo in tow. Or more Ralph in tow as he carried a shattered Vanellope. When Manolo reached the door, he paused. "I just want to say that you guys did mess up, but no one is mad at you…" He faced the duo, a slight smile on his face. "And considering this is us we're talking about. I feel like if you did tell us, anyway, someone would have rushed over. So I don't entirely blame you."
Ralph smiled, suppressing a snort as the musician opened the door fully. As they entered, Vanellope watched as Hilda disappeared into the Rec Room, making the racer's heart break even more. Ralph sighed and walked past a saddened Manolo, only to bump into Jenny seconds after.
The teenage robot shook her head and looked up, smiling a bit at Ralph. "Hey Ralph. How…" She trailed off when she saw Vanellope. "What's going on?"
The wrecker glanced at the distraught racer. "Hilda."
Jenny winced. "Yeah… She hasn't taken this whole thing well. After Steve came back from telling you, she… She just kinda snapped and now only really talks unless she wants to."
Vanellope let out a choked sob as she pulled at one of her pigtails, making the three older ones around her frown in concern.
"Well, I'm glad you two are here anyway. C'mon." Jenny led them and Manolo to the Rec Room, and they all headed in. Hilda was nowhere to be seen, but most of the others were. They all looked over, and smiled lightly as the wrecker walked around the main couch and sat down.
"Hey there, Ralph-San", Majima said with a breathy laugh, patting his friend on the shoulder as he gained his usual grin. "You really fucked up, huh?" This made Maria stomp on his foot harshly.
Ralph nodded miserable. "Look, I know, I messed up by not telling you guys. Things just happened so fast, and I kinda just… Shut down…"
Caleb, from his spot on another couch and sandwiched between Laney and Corey (they were swapping song ideas), nodded in understanding. This made the two band members look up at him with light frowns, then look at Ralph.
"And when the idea to visit the internet was dumped on me, I just… took my chance. Especially when the router was plugged in just a day before, so it felt like fate…"
"Or a very suspicious coincidence", Zomboss mumbled as he and Barranco worked at a table a distance away. "Because that sounds too lucky to be fate. That seems like it was planted intentionally."
"What, do you think Litwack wanted Sugar Rush to get unplugged?" Marco asked. "Seriously?"
"No… Just that all of this could have been set up to continue your world and story." The zombie's theory made the mood of the room shift, and everyone looked at him in surprise. He sighed and set his tools down, and levelled everyone with a glare. "I don't know how many of you know, but I found out Ralph and Vanellope's movie is getting a sequel…"
He pulled out a remote and pressed a button on it, and on the TV a trailer for said sequel started playing. Everyone's eyes widened as the trailer played, and Vanellope locked up when the scene with her and all the princesses played out. Only… It was different. Very different.
Merida look particularly nauseous at the implication Vanellope had to meet a second her.
"I saw this yesterday", Zomboss continued in a stern tone as he walked in front of the group. "And it made me realise that Ralph and Vanellope were just doing what their story called for. Although based on both of your reactions…" He squinted at the arcade duo. "I can assume this isn't how things played out."
"Calhoun and Felix joined us", The wrecker said in shock. "And so did Taffyta, Rancis and Candlehead. Heck, they were there with us when we met Yesss!"
The others all shared confused looks, while Zomboss nodded his head in understanding. "Which means my theory is correct." Everyone looked at him again. "Me and The Doctor came up with a theory not long after we were allowed to fully settle here. But, our theory goes that because we all can visit here, it means we are immune to basically doing our 'next part' like we're supposed to.
"Like, look at Star and Marco. They joined when they were in their season one, and Galacta Knight made things all the more complicated when he started running amok. But then when we all got here and the two of them watched their show, they inadvertently saw into the future to change how things played out. Like getting together."
The Echo Creek duo looked uncomfortable at the unpleasant reminder, but everyone else was somewhat thoughtful. "So…" McGee started, looking at the zombie inquizially. "That means because we all tagged along with the adventure that while back… It means we've basically broken our rules."
"Pretty much", The Doctor said nonchalantly from between Amy and Steve. "I came to terms with that quickly when I now knew how to save Amy and Rory from the Weeping Angels. I changed the course of history, and so many people I met along that path were never hurt. And it means I get to keep this face." He pat his cheeks to exemplify his point, making Amy snort.
Ralph was speechless. "That… Makes me worried about what actually happens in the sequel now…"
That sent a chill down everyone's spines. "So… Ralph and Vanellope were always expected to go to the internet?" Ruby asked.
"Yes." The zombie then concluded his speech, moving back to his seat at the table.
Everyone was dead silent, letting all that was said stew and bubble inside them. "Well, looks like you guys not telling us wouldn't have mattered in the end", Caleb said. "We all got upset over nothing, considering this was something you guys had to deal with alone…"
Vanellope slumped in her spot in Ralph's lap. "But we still should've told you guys because that's just what we should do!" She looked around, and zipped off. The others all watched her leave with sad looks, aware of who she was looking for. They knew it'd be a struggle, but they could get through it.
~X~
Later, Ralph found himself lazing in the library of the Rec Room, looking upward at the scaffolding set up for the planned expansion. The entire room had a bunch of planned additions spearheaded by Gladius in the works, which was simply to make it more a 'them' space rather than just Caleb, like originally intended.
As he lazed on a small couch beneath him, someone could be heard coming up the ladder. Glancing over, he watched as Steve came up holding a soda can. "Hey there, Ralph." The crafter pulled up a chair and sat beside him. "How are you doing?"
"Of, I'm fine considering I just realised all that I went through was staged for another movie!" He winced at his raise in volume, and sat up. "Sorry. I just… I acted like a maroon. I didn't tell you guys, felt guilty, and now I learn no matter what it was expected to happen and you all couldn't do anything! Jeez…"
Steve shrugged. "It's so weird, yeah. I'm still reeling from the fact my game was just a sandbox to flex your imagination with some vague goals. So try being in my cube shoes where your life literally is nothing but infinity."
Ralph sighed and took out his water bottle, only to stop when Steve offered a second soda can. "I thought you could use a pick-me-up after all of this."
The wrecker put the bottle away and took the soda, a cream soda, and cracked it open. "I just… I feel like I was being paranoid. There were moments I had to stop and think 'what are the others thinking right now?' I was a complete mess, especially when you showed up, and when Vanellope showed up to my room and said we should come here… Man, I'm a mess…"
"You just dealt with a very stressful thing, Ralph. I'd be worried if you weren't a mess." Steve took a sip of his drink. "Look, everything is okay now. Sure, you might be a bit screwed up because of… earlier… But all of us are after coming together. So you've got a bunch of friends to lean on, don't forget it."
"Yeah, don't worry Steve, I know." The wrecker shot him a smile, before it fell again. "I'm just worried for Vanellope. When Hilda caught us on the balcony, she just… walked past Vanny. And my holy Cy-Bug, I've never seen Vanny so crushed before."
The crafter winced. "So I heard from Manolo… Yeah, it sucks, but you know them, they'll be back together like they swam in glue soon enough. Just… Just give them time."
Ralph nodded sombrely and stood up. "Well, I really think I should be getting home. I gotta be there for opening, and I want to make sure Litwack got the wheel just fine."
Steve nodded and stood back as Ralph stretched. "Do you want me to find Vanellope?"
The wrecker paused. "Actually… She and Hilda really need to talk it out, so tell her I'm going back but she can stay here. I'll cover for her."
"Or… she could come right back after Sugar Rush is plugged back in", Steve suggested. "That way it's less suspicious."
Ralph opened his mouth, then closed it. "Good point."
"I saw her last heading into her room. So… Yeah. Good luck, Ralph."
"What, not coming to see me off?" The wrecker shot the crafter a smirk over his shoulder.
"Of course I am, Wreck-It! Just… Talk with Vanellope. She looked… a bit distracted." Steve turned to look over a certain shelf of books, and the wrecker slid down the ladder with ease. As he exited the library, he was happy to see things return to a sense of normalcy. There was a game of Mario Kart being played, Caleb was painting on the wall, the arcade cabinets blinked and sang their song, all of it was how it should be.
But the tension between Hilda and Vanellope could still be felt, even though no one had seen her since the arcade duo showed up. Even Twig and Alfur were at a bit of a loss.
But she was somewhere, and everyone knew this would get better when she and Vanellope talked.
The wrecker left the Rec Room and started heading towards Vanellope's room, passing by a somewhat concerned Caleb talking with an equally concerned Katania.
"We don't know where she could be", Ralph heard Caleb say. "So I need you to tell your mom to keep an eye out for her. Maybe get some partials involved, I don't know…"
"I'll see what she says", Katania responded. "But I can't promise anything. Mom just got a batch of new recruits, so she's gonna be pretty focused with them for a while."
Ralph didn't hear the rest as he entered Vanellope's room silently. The racer was looking at him from the head of her bed, her eyes a bit glazed over and skin stained with still flowing tears. "H-Hey Ralph…"
"Hey kid…" The wrecker sat on the bed and glanced at the racer. "How you holding up?"
"Not… Not well…" She rested her hands in her lap. "But… I found Hilda."
"Oh, you did? Where is she?"
"I'm not telling because I promised her", the racer said defiantly. "She said we could talk after work, but if I told anyone where she was then she'd change her mind. I… I don't want to lose her, Ralph. She's the closest thing I've had to a sister, and I can't lose her because I was dumb."
"Hey, kid, it'll be okay." Ralph gave her a reassuring look. "All you gotta do is be patient. So… Do you want to head home now and see your game get plugged back in? Then you can come right back here and wait out the work hours."
Vanellope's eyes stared deep into Ralph's, then she looked down. "Yeah, whatever. It's cool if we do that, but don't expect me to hang around."
"Of course not, kid. C'mon." The wrecker stood up, and Vanellope glitched onto his shoulder. They left her room and headed down the hall to the balcony door. Upon heading outside, they were surprised to only see Caleb and Gladius there.
The sword looked over and tilted a bit. "You two are heading home already? You were only here for a while."
"Yeah", Ralph said with a sigh. "Just need to make sure we aren't suspicious, and after Sugar Rush gets plugged back in ,Vanellope is coming right back here for the day."
Caleb nodded and pointed at Vanellope silently. The racer was a bit apprehensive at first before glitching before the bespectacled boy. He immediately scooped her up in a hug. She gasped, but immediately reciprocated and buried her face into the crook of his neck.
"Remember that you are part of this family too, Vanny", Caleb whispered. "No matter what, we will all look out for you. Hilda will come around soon, just be patient…"
Vanellope sniffled and sobbed, hugging him tighter. "I know, Glasses. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm so screwed up…"
Caleb let out an airy laugh and pulled her back, looking her in her damp eyes. "We all are."
She smiled, then looked back at Ralph. The wrecker got the silent statement, and picked her back up. The duo went up to the portal, looking back over at the door and waving goodbye to the others who all arrived there, one being Steve as he promised. Then, the arcade duo turned the portal on and went home, leaving the group to smile sadly.
And Hilda, who was watching from the roof, shedding a single tear.
"See you later, sis…" The blue-haired adventurer whispered before leaving elsewhere.
~X~
And there's chapter 17 done! Only one more of the main plot, and this story is basically done. It's crazy to me I've basically finished three stories at this point! It's insane how far I've come. From my failed and abandoned TD fic Galactic Conquest Of Wawanaka being left to rot and die, my almost two-ish years unable to write at all, to the start of my DCT AU, this has been such a wild ride.
And now I'm about to hit story four! It's… wild, realising I have reached this point. But I love this AU to death, which is part of why it turned out like this. And there's more to come! (If DCT2 being out with a single chapter wasn't a sign, lmao)
Anyway, yeah, a very different chapter this time around. I really felt like this chapter was necessary to clear up any sort of weird vibes and somewhat unanswered questions. More of this sort of thing )mainly Zomboss and The Doctor's theory) will be touched on more in DCT2, so keep an eye out for that… eventually.
But, back on topic, I had a lot of fun delving into a more emotional side of things with this chapter, especially with Hilda and Vanellope. Don't worry… Or do, I'm not gonna spoil anything.
Hopefully y'all enjoyed this chapter!
Up next: Ralph and Vanellope return to the arcade, and things slowly start to get back to normal with some surprising changes…
~Caleb~