At exactly 12:01 AM on December 25, Sugar Rush saw its annual snowfall commence at last. Within seconds, the ground was thick with pure white powdery ice cream, glistening smoothly as it lined the lollipop trees and gumdrop mountains. The blue cola rivers froze solid, and steam rose from the hot chocolate and caramel springs in merry little curlicues.

It was the day the racers looked forward to more than any other. Gifts were exchanged, snowballs were thrown, candy canes were feasted upon, and Vanellope invited every character in the game to a boisterous Christmas party in the castle. A massive candy cane tree decorated the foyer, glittering with spun sugar tinsel and tiny gummi ornaments.

Everyone gathered in the main hall for a sugary feast, after which Wynnchel and Duncan conducted Sugar Rush's bear claw police force in their yearly chorus of Christmas carols. All the racers were sprawled around the sitting room, reveling in the festivity - Taffyta, Rancis, and Candlehead playing with their new toys, Swizzle and Gloyd sketching plans for the snow fort they were aiming to build, Crumbelina and Snowanna praising each others' fashionable new hats and scarves, the Palette Swaps regaling Jubileena, Adorabeezle, and Minty with the harrowing tale of the perfect drifts they'd all executed…

And at the far end of the room, by a roaring Hot Tamale fireplace, were Ralph, Felix, Calhoun, and Vanellope, bundled up in cushy fruit leather armchairs. Sour Bill carried in a tray full of steaming hot cocoa mugs for each of them. The sound of the policemen's holiday chorus, the melodic strains of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", washed over them like a soothing blanket.

Through the years, we all will be together
If the fates allow...

"Nice to have a day off from work every once in a while, isn't it?" said Felix as he blew on his cocoa, looking quite festive in the red-and-green sweater Calhoun had knitted him.

Calhoun turned away from admiring the shiny mahogany gun rack that Felix had built her to hold all the new weapons that the recent Hero's Duty DLC had brought. "After all we've been through, I'd say we earned it," she said, smiling warmly at her husband.

Ralph hastily pulled a misshapen box out of his pocket. "Oh, hey, can't forget about this!" he said, kneeling down to the floor where Vanellope sat, slurping her cocoa as loud as possible. "I got you a little something, kid! ...Ah, sorry about the wrapping, I'm still not that great at it…"

Vanellope didn't mind. She gleefully tore the brown wrapping paper off, revealing a small red toy replica of her candy kart, roughly hewn out of a brick, with lumpy wooden wheels drilled into the sides.

"Felix kinda gave me a little help with the tools," Ralph said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Hope you like it, kiddo…"

Vanellope beamed up at Ralph. "I love it! Thanks, Chumbo!" She tucked her hands behind her back in a show of childlike innocence. "And, uh, I got something for you, too...it's nothing too special, but since the only stuff I coulda bought in Slaughter Race was lame junk like rocket boosters and grenade launchers, it's the best thing I could think of…and I didn't really have time to wrap it or nothin'..."

Ralph smiled his dopey elated smile. "Well, what is it?"

Vanellope grinned. "Well, there's one more thing you should know about it - there's some assembly required."

Reaching down the front of her hoodie, she produced her half of the broken cookie medal.

Ralph's eyes widened in understanding. He pulled his own half out from beneath his plaid red shirt. Slowly, he held it up against Vanellope's half, so that they formed the full phrase again at last: "You're My Hero".

"Felix?" Vanellope asked. "Would you do the honors?"

Wordlessly, smiling broadly, Felix produced his golden hammer from his hip holster. He gently tapped both halves of the medal.

With a glimmer, the medal became whole again. Vanellope jumped up and placed it back around Ralph's neck. Ralph couldn't help but chuckle as he held the cookie in his hand, running his huge fingers across the raised icing.

Vanellope swayed eagerly on the spot, one leg tucked coquettishly inward, as she smiled up at her best friend in the world. "Merry Christmas, Stinkbrain," she said softly.

Ralph hastily tried to dry his eyes as he let the medal rest proudly against his chest. "Merry Christmas, President Fart-Feathers."

Wednesday the 26th saw the usual influx of kids into Litwak's Arcade, on break from school and eager to convert their Christmas money into quarters. But the arcade regulars were in for an extra surprise this time.

"All right! Vanellope's back!"

"For real? Aw, sweet, she's my favorite!"

"Man, that's a relief - I was startin' to think the game was broken or something!"

The line for Sugar Rush didn't seem to diminish all day, as the players had the time of their lives zapping all over the track with Vanellope's glitchy power-up ability. And it wasn't the only hot game of the day - Fix-It Felix Jr. and Hero's Duty raked in the quarters too, mostly among kids who had online accounts with Slaughter Race. The Great 2018 Christmas Eve Crossover Crisis, as it would come to be known in the Slaughter Race fandom, had jumpstarted a resurgence of interest in all three of the games it had featured. (When asked whose idea it had been, the Slaughter Race development team had no idea what anyone was referring to and simply had to chalk the mysterious event up to an extremely devoted and talented hacker.)

"Would you look at this?" Mr. Litwak chuckled as he unloaded Sugar Rush's quarter tray at the end of the evening. "$36 in one day?! And here was me worried that this game was on its last legs!"

"Hey, everyone loves that game," one of the arcade employees intoned, pushing the carpet sweeper behind the Tapper console. "'90s nostalgia is very hot right now."

Standing up, Mr. Litwak stroked his chin. "Y'know, back when there were two cabinets and kids could race against each other, this game was even bigger," he mused. "If it keeps rakin' in this kind of cash, maybe I oughta see about ordering a replacement for that twin I had to chuck out way back when…might be a worthwhile investment!"

"Who do you know who's got one of those?" the employee asked, interested.

Mr. Litwak smiled. "Fella on eBay wants about a grand for one. Y'know, I'm really starting to dig that website - you find all sorts of neat stuff on there!"

From atop the roof of Niceland Apartments, the Sugar Rush racers all buzzed with excitement.

"You hear that, kids?" Felix chirped, his arm around Calhoun. "You might be gettin' your old second cabinet back soon!"

"As long as Baroness Booger-Face here keeps kickin' butt in those Random Roster Races, right?" Ralph boomed, tousling Vanellope's hair playfully and dislodging a few stray candy bits.

Vanellope gave a theatrical salute. "Not a problem, Admiral Underpants!"

"Speaking of which," Rancis interjected, "after tonight's race, what are we all gonna do?"

"Anything!" Vanellope beamed, hopping up onto Ralph's shoulder. "This is a big arcade, there's no routine we gotta follow! We make our own fun, isn't that right?"

"Right on, sister," Ralph said with a grin, bumping his fist against Vanellope's.

Calhoun cuddled Felix close as Swizzle and Candlehead milled playfully around her knees. "And y'know, if - and that's a big if - you ever do get bored, there's always that WiFi outlet. What ol' Blue-and-Baldy doesn't know won't hurt him, right?"

Taffyta gulped. "Wait, seriously? I thought we just proved that the Internet is a death trap for kids like us!"

"Eh, it's not all bad!" Ralph said. "Vanellope, what was that you were tellin' me about that Oh My Disney place?"

"Yeah, I didn't even get to show you guys!" Vanellope squeaked, bounding off Ralph's back and onto the roof. "It's bonkers over there! They got princesses and spaceships and superheroes and grumpy donkeys, I gotta bring you all someday!"

"You're not worried about what could happen to you?" Minty asked, her eyes wide. "I mean, what if you run into that Shank lady and her friends again?"

Calhoun and Felix smiled at the racers. "Hey," Calhoun smirked, "first off, the Internet's a pretty darned big place, and second, if you pint-sized petit-fours think we'd let you all run around the Internet unsupervised, without Mama Bear and Papa Wolf over here to keep you covered, then you got your racing helmets on too tight."

"That's right," Felix nodded, twirling his hammer. "I'd like to see any of those Slaughter Race hoodlums try to start anything with us again! Nobody, online or off, messes with this family!"

The racers all giggled.

"Besides," Ralph added, pulling out his BuzzzTube communicator, "we got good ol' Yesss on speed-dial. She's lookin' out for us." He extended a hand so Vanellope could hop playfully into his palm. "When you know what you're doin' and who you're talkin' to, the Internet's not such a scary place after all, is it?"

"Aw, heck no!" Vanellope agreed, leaning comfortably against Ralph's shaggy unkempt head. "It's a nice place to visit…"

She stared lovingly out through the screen of Fix-It Felix Jr. at the bright pink console she called home.

"...But I wouldn't want to live there."