A/N: First fic I write. This idea has been cooked in my head for a long while now, and since I have a month of laziness ahead, I chose to use that time to finally write it down.

I won't reveal story details, but yes it's shippy, though luckily only so towards the end. I'm trying to make it focus on the action as much as the shipping, I don't want romance to absorb the plot.

Anyway. Enjoy this thing. Also, the T rating is actually me being very cautious; I don't know what things count as "adult themes", but since this ain't totally happy-go-lucky, I preferred to go with safety.

The Routine Set by Authority

Midnight bells rang over at the Player's World. Everyone in the ballroom screamed, horns blared, all people beaming and going for Midnight Kisses of good luck. They threw confetti and it fell on her hair and her mouth, and she wanted to spit it out, but the pieces of paper stuck to the roof of her mouth and her tongue. She tried to cheer, but the paper made her feel like she was choking.

Every racer screamed a joyful "Happy New Year", everyone hugged and took photos and shook hands for another year of rivalries and friendly and not-so-friendly competition and quarters that came and went in the peace of routine life. Candlehead wanted to be part of said celebration, but she was too busy picking the confetti with her hand and pulling it out, gagging in disgust at the bits that refused to let go.

She wasn't in the group photo that all the racers made leaping in midair and that Taffyta was the centerpiece of, smiling and spinning with a gleeful "Stay Sweet!".

But that was okay. That was routine.

The year was 2006, they had been plugged for nine years, and that was routine.

She didn't remember the year of His Majesty 1997. None of them did. There had been a calamity on the first anniversary of their game. A virus had tried to take over and dug very deep in the code, but fortunately, the biggest authority of the game, King Candy, had managed to dig in the vault as well and had stopped the virus somehow, she didn't understand that part very well; but his actions had, in turn, deleted all of the racers' memories from that first year of being plugged.

…Or so she had been told, eight years ago, after awakening to a very destroyed Town Square, the houses breaking into floating binary at parts and NPCs scattered unconscious through the whole Square. It had been Rancis who had given her a brief summary of what was going on, after arriving to the Square with none other than the King himself, His Majesty helping the NPCs to their feet and explaining patiently, to everyone who asked, about the calamity.

He had patched most of the code damage afterwards, and the only remnant had been a supposed beta character that had been used as a test model and scrapped afterwards deep in the code, and that the virus had freed from coma when destroying the contents of the vault. King Candy referred to her merely as the Glitch, and she had been fairly warned of how terribly dangerous the avatar was, having intentions of racing just like they did but, being her code incomplete, she suffered from tremendous glitching, and if she got chosen, the Players would see her glitch and they would pull the plug.

Candlehead swallowed the story whole. The King had saved the game and patched all the wreckage, he was obviously so benevolent! How would she not believe him? The poor thing he hadn't been able to pull back in the scrap folder whence it came from was an extra bug for them, too, having to push her back and make sure she retreated in the forest every few days. And she was stubborn. Poor King Candy; surely attending to a duty of checking she wouldn't kill them all was nothing but right.

Candlehead walked to the bathroom and washed her mouth with water from the tap. Colorful pieces were flushed with what she spat out. She scraped her tongue with her nails, the last papers being stuck there, and after a final wash, she felt like she was freed and free to attack the buffet again. She went out of the bathroom, still nauseous with from the attempt of colonization the confetti had had in her mouth, and Taffyta caught her by surprise as she was walking out.

"Are you okay?" was all she asked, yelling over the loud music. Perhaps she saw the face of disgust that of course she had to make with the revolting sensation of the sticky, wet paper.

But she put on a smile, fighting the wrestle of her stomach, and responded a simple "yeah".

Taffyta let go of that arm she had held surprisingly tight, and the mint chocolate girl headed to the snack table as if guided on instinct. Surely the nausea of the paper would be erased with the softness of one of the delightful s'mores. It wasn't like she was hungry; but it also wasn't like she didn't want food.

Life in Sugar Rush was very simple. Almost every day was a variation of the static formula of 'race, get into the roster, maybe go bully the Glitch, have an outing, go to sleep, start again'. Sometimes she found herself fighting boredom, but then she remembered the King speaking about how much you must love and protect the game, and she nagged herself for being bored.

She could always bake, draw a pretty picture, write a silly little story, go into her workshop and work in the latest of the little doodads she was a fan of building, matching small gears and fusing tiny pieces until she had a cute petit robot for her own amusement. She had those little talents that she never showed anyone, because no one ever bothered to ask.

Or she could drive out into the forest. Either was fun. And racing was fun too.

It was a shame the routine and the bullying gave her shivers.

King Candy was a benevolent King, speaking always in a fun tone and making puns. She never talked to him like Taffyta did, but she did think he wasn't a bad guy.

That was, until he commanded them go bully the Glitch.

His voice twisted into something she couldn't define, but knew by instinct was very bad; his frown scared her, his shadow was intimidating, and he turned into something she felt wasn't a part of the game.

And despite knowing it was right, seeing an avatar that looked so much like her, like all of them, cry was kind of distressing.

It didn't stop her from punching her face. It didn't stop her from calling her a Glitch and laughing at what Taffyta said and pushing her away when she tried to touch her.

But sometimes, after they were done and she was home, she felt her stomach churn, and she knew it wasn't because she had too much cupcakes.

That was the part of the routine that she couldn't stand; the weekly visit to the Glitch's hideout to flatten her morale. Sometimes they went twice a week. Sometimes, even more. It always started as playful comments and finished with everyone pushing her towards the Glitch and telling her to pull her hair or slap her, while she tried to look like she enjoyed it but had her gut tie into knots inside. The part that made her the saddest was she wasn't alone: The sweetest of them, Adorabeezle, Jubileena, they all said it in whispers at that one sleepover they had. She was in that sleepover, but Taffyta wasn't invited. And they all sat in a circle and admitted while mumbling that they all did it because it was what they were told was right, but sometimes, they felt bad.

Some nights, when she couldn't fall asleep, Candlehead wondered why didn't they talk to King Candy instead, and built a code wall around the racetrack, or convinced her to sign a fancy paper so that she had the forest to herself.

But King Candy was such an angry man when it was about the Glitch. And she was scared. Just like all of them were.

The watercolor brush slid gently along the paper, filling an area with hot pink. She had been making this very pretty drawing for Taffyta, and her dress was currently her area of interest. She had found a way to make it sparkly using salt to get a cool effect, and she was more than willing to buy the salt for said purpose. Salt wasn't cheap in Sugar Rush; she supposed she'd explain to Taffyta how special the sparkle was when she gave her the gift. The small salt bag was ready and waiting to one side of the drawing table.

A loud knock boomed throughout the house and she flinched, making the brush slide out of place and accidentally staining an already colored area. She whined in frustration, staring at the dirty drawing with sad eyes. There was no way she could fix that; at best she'd have to try and cover it and make it look good, at worst, she'd have to start all over again.

Sighing to try and keep her cool, she lifted herself from the chair, putting the brush to rest in a cup filled with water, and skipped to the front door. Behind was none other than Taffyta. Had Candlehead been a bit more perceptive, she would've noticed the irony.

The strawberry girl looked smug. She lifted a hand and waved it, smiling. "Hi, Taffy! Wassup?"

Sugar Rush's elite racer was particularly sharp and to the point. On a regular day, perhaps she would've been more than pleased to have a little chat and go in for a cup of chocolate, but this wasn't regular. Or, well, it actually was, but it was not an everyday occurrence. "I was talking to King Candy. He told me he had seen the Glitch trying something new."

"Oh," Candlehead answered, already anticipating exactly what she was about to request. She might have been a bit oblivious, but the words 'The Glitch' were obvious as could be. "So what did he say?"

Taffyta licked her lollipop. "He said he sent the cops to look for her, but she wasn't there. So he needs us."

Why could the cops not look for her? She thought, but drowned the idea in a puddle of submission. "Okay!" She chirped, grinning as if pleased with the mission, though she wasn't expecting anything particularly good. "'s everyone goin' there yet?"

"No. We're gathering at the start line. We're going to look for her in our karts, you know. It's easier and all. So I want you there while I tell the guys I haven't called yet. See you."

And she offered a high five, one that Candlehead gladly returned, though there was something in the contact she felt was tainted. "See ya."

She closed the door and laid against it for a few seconds, sighing. Bullying wasn't very fun. It was tiring and repetitive, but it was also a national obligation. Whenever she felt like she couldn't stand it anymore, she remembered a few insults and angry faces were all that was needed to keep them alive. That seemed to work a bit to make her feel better.

Though every time it seemed to work less.

They found her on a clearing in the middle of the forest. She was holding two rolls of paper protectively, and when they found her, she hid them behind her, perhaps in hope they would be left unharmed. Candlehead was always in front row when it came to the bullying, it was one of the so-called privileges of being Taffyta's friend, and so, she saw it all; she saw the fear in her eyes when they came near her, the way she hid the rolls of paper, the little gulp she gave as they approached her.

Taffyta stepped front. Taffyta usually stepped front. "Listen, I'm not even going to bother teasing you today. King Candy said he saw you trying something, and I've got all the evidence I need. I'm going to politely ask you to stop that and politely tell you that whatever it is you're trying, it probably won't work. So yeah." She put the lollipop back to her mouth and flicked it from side to side with her tongue. Candlehead observed the other racers forming a circle around her, waiting for Taffyta's orders as if she was some sort of boss.

The strawberry racer gracefully grabbed her lollipop and spun it between her index and thumb, a smug smile dancing on her lips. "Swizzle," she commanded dryly. "Hold her."

Said boy ran forward. The Glitch reacted, turning to face him, quickly yelping a "no, please!" that she probably knew had no point. He managed to dominate her with no problem, despite the fact she groaned and tried to fight back; he grabbed her by the front and twisted her, exposing the two hands that clenched the paper rolls desperately.

The Glitch was moaning and whining, trying to shake off of Swizzle's grasp, but the boy was stronger and managed to hold her quite well. Candlehead felt a pat on her back, the hand pushed her forward. Looking left revealed it to be Taffyta's hand. "Go ahead and take those papers for me, will you?"

She stumbled towards the shaky girl and gripped the rolls, delicately at first, but with more bravado as the other girl pressed them further, refusing to hand them over. She pulled harder, but the glitch girl was gripping them with such intensity her hands were turning pale. Candlehead's own hands crumpled the paper as she pulled even harder. She couldn't help but marvel at the Glitch's strength; she was actually feeling strained from the fight, and her palms were getting sweatier with each pull.

The paper gave in before any of the two did. It loudly ripped in half and Candlehead fell back, landing on her butt, holding the half of the rolls she had grabbed slightly disoriented. The other girl whined in pain, still grasping her half desperately. Taffyta walked up to the cake racer and easily ripped the rolled sheets from her hands.

"I don't even need to know what this is, I just need you to stop doing it, okay, Glitch? Take these as a fair warning. I'll have no problem destroying whatever you have in mind. None of us will. So stop and we'll all be fine."

She flicked the rolls to the side, stepping back. "Let go of her, Swizzle."

The girl gasped as she was released, landing on her knees, her shoulders shaking with the first hint of a sob. Taffyta made the universal gesture that ordered them all to leave, and with menacing glances towards the girl in the middle and whispers of insults that were blown in the wind, everyone stepped into their karts, revved their engines, and rode out of the scene.

Everyone, save for one.

Candlehead had stayed behind. She wasn't exactly there to help, but curiosity bugged her. The Glitch was always on her own when they found her. Why was she holding paper now? What was she planning? She stepped over to a roll half and kicked it softly, making it unroll.

Then, she gasped.

She was restless that night. As someone who was a mechanic for fun or for the sake of the Ice Screamer, she could've recognized the drawings anywhere. They were designs for a kart, very amateurish, of course, but thoughts of engines and covers and possible wheels anyway.

She felt bitterly fascinated; a thousand questions not letting her doze, regret nagging said thousand questions. How did she know how to plan out a kart? Where did she get that knowledge from? Was she less of a scrapped avatar than they all thought? Was she actually going to build it by herself?

Could that mean she was more efficient than everyone had assumed? What if she could be a racer, after all? What if she was coded to drive and repair and all the skills that came with being a racer? Why do you think she of all people could ever do that?

Interest bugs bit her all over, the urge to get inside her whole plan overruling her conditioned repulsion. Learning what she knew meant talking to her, talking to her meant committing a crime and she'd be dropped to the Fungeon. But the thirst for knowledge was irresistible. What if she was a bit of a mechanic, too? What if Candlehead could ask her what she knew about making karts? Are you nuts? Talking to the Glitch about karts? Just what're you thinking about?!

I took two hours or so of spinning pointlessly in the soft mattress, growling and hiding under the pillow in desperate insomnia, for her mind finally light a candle. Maybe, there could be a way to satisfy her eagerness, one that didn't imply doing anything illegal.

Maybe, through observation, she could get just what she wanted.

It was that satisfaction for how smart she was that finally made her slumber.