XXIV.
Presently, Ralph reached the cone
of Diet Cola Mountain high;
from hoverboard he leapt within,
began to pound, and pound again.
The Mentos, they were tightly packed;
only with a stiff attack
would they dislodge. In moments, Ralph felt
confident, that one more strike
would do the job. He wound up for the
knockout blow—but all at once,
was knocked himself, across the cone
with massive force that left him dazed.
A voice he knew spoke to him them:
"I bid you hearty welcome to
the Boss Level, Ralph, ol' pal of mine!"
And looking up, Ralph did espy
a nightmare walking 'pon the earth:
'twas Turbo—p'raps, 'King Candybug'—
a creature with a cy-bug's body,
but with the fell head and fell heart
of Turbo—Candy—hard to tell;
back and forth changed he at random.
"Because of you, Ralph, I am now
more powerful than e'er before;
as a virus, I can take o'er
any game in this arcade!
I should thank you—yes, I should!—
but I think it far, far better sport
to kill you where you stand!"
The thing attacked; Ralph jumped aside—
if only he could land that blow!
He made to strike—but was struck back.
"Get back here, little guy!" said bug—
their quondam sizes, now reversed—
"Where thinks you that you're going now?"
Ralph tried again—but hellish king
did knock him flat; his legs did grab
and upward flew, away from there.
Ralph cried out, "No!" New horror, this:
to be so close, and yet so far
from doing what would save them all.
Vanellope saw this, and cried out:
"Ralph!", and vainly tried to move
towards him; Felix grabbed her hand
and pulled her back—but at this point,
Calhoun was out of ammunition
for their defense. She hollered then:
"Fall back!" and took Van's other hand.
Slowly they began to back
towárds the exit. Van said naught
about the fact: they would get through;
she'd be held back. This came to pass.
And so she stood, fully alone;
faced by low'ring cy-bug throng.
"Oh, Ralph," now flashed within her mind,
"I am so sorry, you to see
imprisoned thus, and far from me.
I'd go to you, if I could fly;
at least we could together die."
High in the air, this Ralph did see;
he shouted out: "Vanellope!"
King Candybug, this pleased quite well.
"Oh look! It is your little friend.
Why don't we take a ringside seat
To watch her die—just you and me."
He grabbed Ralph's head in pincers tight,
and turned his face, the scene to watch.
Groaning, Ralph cried, "No!"—In vain.
The bug continued on, to say:
"It's 'game over' for the both of you!"
At this, Ralph now could plainly see
they hovered overhead of where
he'd lately bashed the Mentos white.
He was dead—that much he knew—
no choice in that; this was the end.
But to him there did remain
a single choice about that fact:
'twas how to die. "Why wait?"
thought he; "I shall not see another
day, that's true in any case.
But everyone else can live if I
die right—chiefly, Vanellope."
Turning grimly to the king,
he uttered these undying words
of death: "No—just for me!"
Of a sudden, he broke free
from Turbo's grasp; began to dive
towards mountain cone headlong, and fast.
As he fell, he stretched one arm
and made a fist, the better impact
thus to make. He knew that following
Mentos down, he'd burn in beacon
thus supplied. At this time
there came to him, the affirmation
he had heard at Bad-Anon
the other eve. He said it now,
to comfort him. "I am bad,
and that is good. I shall never
be one good—and that's not bad!
There's no one I would rather be—
than me." With this he gazed upon
Van's medal with its inscription:
"You're my hero". With his free hand,
he cradled it, to keep from harm
the precious token of the love
she'd shared with him.
She saw all this; and cried out, "Ralph!"
"What's this he's done? He dids't for me!
My breath is gone; I scarce believe
that one exists, who'd do such thing."
Using her new-found control
of glitching, she rushed headlong toward
where he fell. Over cy-bugs,
one by one, she glitched and glitched;
came to a kart; started it up,
and made for Diet Cola Mountain,
fast as she could possibly go.
Presently, Ralph reached the cone;
he broke straight through—the deed was done!
Following the Mentos down,
he closed his eyes, prepared for death—
shielding medal all the while.
Vanellope glitched through the wall
into the mountain's cavernous hall;
there saw Mentos, falling down—
close behind, followed by Ralph.
Climbing up the disused track
she'd climbed before, from Ralph's circuit—
just hours ago, when Ralph had helped
her learn to drive, it came to her—
she calculated instantly
how she should jump, so Ralph to catch
upon the hood of flying kart.
And so she did—'twas a success!
At first, the wind knocked out of him,
Ralph thought, "What's this? I expected flame."
Opening his eyes, he saw
a sight he thought he'd not see more;
Vanellope behind the wheel
of kart, gazing fondly at him.
"Kid!" he happily cried; and she,
so close to tears, could only say:
"Don't worry, I've got it now controlled."
She meant the glitching; but her heart,
less easily controlled, glitched all about.
And with these words, she 'outward' glitched
them through the mountain's solid wall.
The Mentos fell into the spring;
a great explosion came there then—
arose a beacon, burning bright.
All cy-bugs stopped and turned to this;
no resistance gave they then,
but flew towárds the comforting light.
One by one, they zapped themselves;
their numbers thinned, the air did clear.
King Candybug, high in the air,
at first resistant to the call,
cried to his fellows: "Fools, why do you
fly into the light?" And then—
his cy-bug genes did overtake;
he turned himself, and flew towards it.
His Turbo part knew what was up;
tried to resist, but without luck.
At last, with deeply anguished cry,
he flew within—and thus did die.