Epilogue: Finish Line
Litwak's Family Fun Center and Arcade on Route 83 nestled in Los Aburridos, California never seemed to slow down.
Patrons of all ages filled the building, drawn to Mr. Litwak's prized arcade machines to unwind and burn off their pent-up energy. Under their gamer guidance, Pac-Man navigated his maze on the hunt for glowing dots, Yuni Verse and her friends stomped the correct arrows of Dance Dance Revolution to the selected songs, Sergeant Calhoun and her soldiers took down menacing Cy-Bugs in Hero's Duty, and Fix-It Felix feverishly repaired the building that Wreck-It Ralph kept demolishing. And of course, the candy kids roared along the sweet-ladened tracks of Sugar Rush. The latter had been a particular hotspot among many from the day of its first plug-in back in 1997 and had seen another rise in popularity after Litwak had purchased and installed that new update released by Juerugemu (Tobikomi's successor) several months ago.
Today, a young girl in a red sweatshirt at least a size too big for her was controlling Sugar Rush's wheel. Having just crossed the finish line in first, she cheered and punched the air with her fists.
"Woo-hoo!" she squealed. "Way to go, Crumbelina, you rock!"
Mr. Litwak, making his rounds to make sure everyone played nice, stopped by the glowing magenta cabinet and smiled. "Having a good time, sweetheart?"
"I sure am, Mr. Litwak!" the girl beamed. "I just won the race, see?!"
The old man followed the young gamer's gaze to the screen. He was just in time to catch the winning animation which played for every successful race. Each of these short 10 to 15-second videos were different based on the avatar, and the girl's chosen one, Crumbelina DiCaramello, was currently standing on the #1 podium with a golden trophy in her hands. She was performing her victory dance, consisting of an elegant twirl and a courtesy to the crowd. Snowanna Rainbeau and Vanellope von Schweetz stood on their respective podiums #2 and #3.
Mr. Litwak had always harboured a fondness for all his games. Sugar Rush, not quite yet an ancient old-timer in the likes of Pac-Man or Fix-It Felix Jr., was no exception. After years of making rounds through his arcade, he had seen every one of those cute candy racers doing their lively dance upon winning thanks to the skilled players to the point of remembering the general overall sequence of how each played out.
So imagine his surprise when another of the racers – was that Gloyd Orangeboar? – suddenly appeared on the podium and kissed Crumbelina on the cheek just before the screen faded out to the main menu for the next race.
The young player looked just as surprised. "Hey! Did 'ja see that, Mr. Litwak? I don't remember that part in Crumbelina's dance!"
"Me neither, kiddo," Litwak said, rubbing his grey mustache in thought. "Must'a been part of that flashy upgrade I gave this game a few spells back."
The child blinked for a moment. Then she smiled again. "So was that her boyfriend or somethin'?"
Mr. Litwak chuckled at the thought. "Maybe, kiddo, maybe."
That extra bit with Gloyd featured in Crumbelina's animation was definitely new, he thought to himself. Perhaps it was part of some backstory Sugar Rush had. But he doubted the translated manual that sat on his office shelf with dozens of other instructional guides and papers dove into that; it covered technical information, not the fictional story of the game. Maybe there were more secret easter eggs that he ought to look out for now.
Whatever it is, Litwak smiled as he watched the girl dismount the pink plastic seat for her brother to race next and remembered the brief smile he had glimpsed on Crumbelina's face before the screen had faded, the kids sure do look happy.
Amidst the toe-tapping Sugar Rush theme that played on the loudspeakers, the NPC candy fans cheered loudly from their grandstands lining the racetrack at the finish line. The loudest of all rang from the crowd of candy corn citizens and cluster of animal cracker critters.
The other racers stood by their karts, many looking stunned while others quite delighted by the surprise act that had just been witnessed by all. "They kissed! They kissed! They actually kissed!" squealed Candlehead, jumping up and down like a pogo stick. "Taffyta, did you see that? I saw it! Did you see them kiss too?!"
"Candlehead, they didn't kiss, Gloyd just…y'know what, never mind. Yes, I saw them." Taffyta sighed.
"Oh my gobstopper, where's my camera?" Jubileena shrieked, frantically searching her pockets and spilling a hairbrush, a licorice jump rope, two red mittens, a trumpet, and other random things on to the ground. "I think I left it at home! Oh no!"
Oblivious to all of this, Crumbelina blinked with surprise when Gloyd pulled away from her. With two racers standing on this podium that was really designed for only one racer at a time, they had to stand very closely together to keep from falling off.
"Now where did that come from?" she cooed with a rather dazed smile and blushing cheeks.
"From me," Gloyd quipped. "Duh."
On either side of them, both Vanellope and Snowanna stared up at the couple. "Smooth, Gloyd, real smooth," Snowanna complimented from her spot on podium #2.
Vanellope raised an eyebrow and pointed a finger at them from her perch on the third podium. "You know, Gloyd, I could tell you off for sneaking that smooch on camera," she said in an accusing tone that sounded only half-attempted. "You know very well that it's strictly against the law to interfere with the programmed winning vids."
"But…" she now said with a grin. "I'll let this one slip past me."
"I've always loved your leadership, Van," Snowanna said with a cheeky snicker. "You're flexible."
"You can afford to flex when you're the one who passed the law, Snow," Vanellope laughed. "Besides, if Litwak and the players think that was part of the update, then that's a-okay with me. It just means Gloyd will have to kiss Lina every time she wins."
Crumbelina wasn't listening to them. Her attention was only on Gloyd.
"Just wanted to congratulate you for the win," Gloyd said to her just loud enough so only she could hear him over all the noise. "And for getting back on your wheels."
Crumbelina felt her heart glow. "You were right before…we did get through this together, didn't we."
She said this as a statement, not a question.
Gloyd gave her his toothy grin. "Told you we would," he said. "And, y'know, since you don't like kissing me when I ask, I thought 'why wait?' and just go for it myself."
He swayed casually, and almost lost his footing on the narrow podium. But Crumbelina quickly grabbed him before he had a chance to fall. With her hands securely around his back – and one of them still holding her Sugar Rush cup – they looked at each other, their faces an inch apart. And Crumbelina smiled.
"Well, good news for you, Pumpkin Pie. I've decided to end that silly habit of mine from this moment onwards," she whispered to him. "If you ever want a kiss from me, I'm all yours."
Gloyd looked surprised as he blushed orange. "Oh. Well, that's good to know. Um…could I maybe have one now please?"
Crumbelina giggled. For him to ask that question right here and right now was clear to her that he did not care about all the eyes that were currently watching them, probably on the Jumbotron too.
And do you know what? She didn't care either. Because even though she had won the race and the trophy in her hands was her prize for that, and she had indeed pulled off a full recovery that meant she was officially back on the roster doing what she was born to do, Crumbelina Dicaramello knew with all her heart as she swung Gloyd around into a dip position on that #1 podium that she had won the true prize of her life.
The whole racetrack erupted in another massive chorus of cheers and wolf-whistles. Jubileena fainted and Candlehead began bouncing sky-high all over again. "Taffyta! Taffyta, do you see them?" she shrieked with glee. "Do you see them kissing now?!"
Taffyta sighed again, but this time she smiled. "Yes, Candlehead, I see them."
THE END (For real this time!)
A/N: For some of you, this will be posted on January 1, 2025. But for me in this part of the world, it's the last day of 2024. So to end this year off with a bang and start a new slate for the new year, here's the final super-duper honest and true ending of this fanfic, as well as the ending to Gloyd and Crumbelina's love story. Yes, I do believe it's time to bring this specific arc to a close, with both Gloyd and Crumbelina earning their happy ending, but finding themselves in such a different place than they were at the beginning. After all that these kids have been through, they've both deserved this. To all my lovely readers who have clung on to this pair of racers and their tale for the entire ride – from Violin's Song to Devastated and all the way to The Extra Mile – I seriously thank you. Having you join me on this adventure truly makes me smile. Gloyd and Crumbelina will never be finished in my creative universe, but it's time to give them a well-deserved rest and focus on some other characters who are next in line for some major development.
What will happen in 2025? I'm really intent on resuming work on the Adorabeezle and Jubileena story. Writing The Extra Mile kinda pushed it to the side all this time. Truth be told, it's been going on since November of 2022 and still needs a lot of fine-tuning before it's ready, so will this be the year you will get to read it? Hard to say. But I'm not giving up. After all the promotional art and teasers I made on DA, it must keep going!
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But I suppose another story sample couldn't hurt:
Jubileena stood next to her kart at the heart of the Cinnamon Roll-Ing Hills, a span of massive sweet-smelling cinnamon rolls with globs of icing dribbling out of their edges, situated three or so miles from the nearest racetrack. This was where she and Adorabeezle had agreed to converge for their very first secret meeting after the Random Roster Race. Now that the RRR was over, and King Candy had won (of course), and Taffyta claimed her usual second, Jubileena had retreated here. She had placed 10th, but didn't care. She was staring anxiously out to the open fields of jellybeans and donuts, searching for the first sign of movement.
Then, with a quiet rumble that gradually grew louder, a gleaming flash of red, white, and blue appeared from around the bend. Jubileena trembled with excitement as the Ice Rocket pulled to a stop right in front of her and the driver hopped out. The little cherry bobbles hanging from her skirt seemed to jingle merrily.
"You're here!" she squealed.
Adorabeezle removed her helmet and flashed her teeth at the excited red racer. "Told you I would be," she breezed smoothly. "What, you thought I'd chicken out last minute?"
Jubi put her hands behind her back. "I wasn't sure, honestly," she admitted in a quiet voice. "This is a big rule we're breaking. I thought maybe you'd decide I wasn't worth the risk."
"That's not how I roll," Adorabeezle said with confidence. "I said I would make it up to ya, and that's what I'm gonna do. I never break promises."
Jubileena perked up so much that Adorabeezle swore she was almost glowing. "Oh that's good! I want a friend who believes in promises! Have you ever made promises to anyone before?"
At this, Adorabeezle frowned and deflated a little. "No. Just myself. But I've always been on top of my promises to me before…so I guess I can do that with you too."
She had a split-second of observing Jubileena's delighted face before the red racer tackled her into another lung-squeezing hug. "Oh Dora, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Once again, Adorabeezle felt the wind forced out of her. She still wasn't quite used to having her body trapped in place like this. "Hey, easy on the hugs, alright?" she complained. "I chugged a whole bottle of chocolate milk before the race and kinda don't wanna see it come back up."
"Sorry!" Jubi said, removing her arms, but not letting her bright smile slip.
They spent the night together at those rolling hills. Undetected and free to do as they pleased behind the safety of the giant pastries that hid them from view, Jubi showed Adorabeezle a stretchy piece of licorice with a hand-sized churro stuck to each end that she called a 'jump rope'.
"What does it do?" Adorabeezle asked.
"Loads of stuff!" Jubi chirped. "Here, watch!"
She began to skip with the licorice rope, which surprised Adorabeezle. It looked so simple, yet impressive.
"It's easy!" squeaked the skipping Jubi. "Here, you try it."
Adorabeezle quickly learned how to use it and then Jubi showed her how they could both use it at the same time. They skipped, they jumped, they received lots of bruises from falling down. But Jubi laughed every time they found themselves sprawled out on the ground, and Dora couldn't help but join in. Almost before they realized it, they heard the announcement sweeping over the entire gameland that the arcade was open and all racers were to report to the Royal Raceway. Their playdate was over…but Adorabeezle wished it wasn't. She didn't say that out loud though.
After reminding each other when and where they would meet next, they said their goodbyes and splitways to head to the track separately.
And the whole way there, Adorabeezle could not stop thinking about how much fun she had had.
(exact wording is subject to change)
Have a happy new year!