Part 6 – Epilogue: A New Way to Play

Gloyd brought the Kernel to a smooth stop at the finish line, letting out an exhausted, yet satisfied breath as he cut the ignition. It was early Thursday evening and the sun was setting. The Random Roster race had only finished, and he had secured himself a spot on the avatar slate, placing fifth just after Rancis. Near the booths that housed the racing officials, he could already see Candlehead skipping proudly up to the podiums to claim her golden trophy. The ditzy candle girl had battled it out tonight on the track, and even with her pure heart, Gloyd knew very well that Candlehead still liked to win every once in a while, just as much as anyone would. They were racers after all; competition was the very core of their code, even with their reformed attitudes. Gloyd had to agree with Lina though; Candlehead's new engine in her Ice Screamer really was working to her advantage during the races. He watched as Sour Bill handed her the gleaming cup as she stood high on the #1 block, flanked by Taffyta and Jubileena, who were standing upon podiums #2 and #3 respectively. Predictably, Gloyd could see Rancis cheering the loudest among the rest of the celebrating citizens.

He removed his helmet and exchanged it for his pumpkin hat; while doing so, he happened to cast a glance up at one of the hundreds of decorative flag banners that bordered all of Sugar Rush's racetracks. Quite by coincidence, his eyes had landed upon one that featured an illustration of Lina's face. The sight of that made him smile. Now out of his kart, the jokester was just about to make his way over someone called out from behind.

"Hey, Gloydster! Wait up!"

Looking back, he saw Swizzle hurrying to meet him. "Hey, Swizz," he called back.

The boys did their mandatory secret greeting combination of handshakes and palm slaps when Swizzle reached him. "Slick racing out there, dude," he said breathlessly.

"Yeah, you too. You had a pretty close call with the Sweet Seekers back there. Thought for sure you were gonna wipe out with a massive sugar crash."

Swizzle smirked as he flicked a lock of green hair out of his face. "Hey, you know me, dude," he said with ease. "Entertain the crowds, give 'em that Swizzle sizzle, then pull a super recovery." He then cleared his throat and gave Gloyd an unusually serious look. "Listen, Orange-bro, I wanna lay down some deets to ya for a quick bit."

Gloyd looked at him curiously. "What's up?"

Swizzle scratched the back of his neck, now looking a bit guilty for some reason. "Me and Rancis have been doing some talking, and we think that we've both been hanging around our soulmates for a long time now, and leaving you out of the fun. And we're real sorry about that, man."

The orange-clad boy blinked in surprise before gathering his thoughts. "That's alright, Swizz. You…you guys each found someone who really makes you happy. And I can be happy for you just knowing that."

Swizzle smiled, looking relieved. "Thanks, man. But look, what I'm trying to say here is that we don't want you to feel like you're being ignored. We want to make it up to you and include you again so you're not feeling like the third wheel with either of us anymore. Mints and Candlehead both think so too, and agreed to leave our schedules clear for tonight. So how 'bout it? My place after work for a guys' night? I got the new GummiAccelerators we've been dying to whip out!"

As Gloyd looked at his friend, he felt himself smiling gratefully, both inside and out. Lina had been right. His best friends would never abandon him. "Well, thanks Swizzle, that means a lot. Really, it does. But…I'm going to have to take a raincheck on that. I have something I have to do tonight."

The green-haired boy raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? What're you up to?"

Before Gloyd could answer, the fine purr of a state-of-the-art racing kart engine interrupted. The boys turned around to meet the party: the Tira-Missile rolled up alongside the pair and Crumbelina leaned out from the driver's seat, leaving her engine running. She was still wearing her racing helmet. "Hello, boys," she greeted with a smile.

Swizzle gave a curt nod and a trademark 'Swizz' salute. "Evening, Crumbelina," he said politely.

"Hey, Lina," Gloyd said. Swizzle immediately gave him a funny look.

"A fine piece of work out there, both of you," the girl congratulated them. Then she turned to the orange one. "Gloyd? I'll see you at our rendezvous tonight?"

He blushed lightly at this, mostly because Swizzle was standing right there, but cleared his throat to respond. "Yeah, totally. Wouldn't miss it for the world."

She giggled and gave a lady-like wave of her fingers. "See you later, Pumpkin Pie. You too, Swizzle." And with that, she cruised off towards Racers' Ave., leaving a fine trail of glittery sugar dust particles in her path.

Gloyd waved after her. Not until she was out of sight did he turn to look at Swizzle and was met with a wide-eyed, disbelieving stare.

"What?" he asked, as if nothing was wrong. Because nothing was.

"Dude? Did you just call Crumbelina, Lina?"

He gave an easy shrug. "I guess," he said sounding aloof. But the look on Swizzle's face told him that the daredevil racer was not through with him.

"And what did she call you?"

"I dunno."

Swizzle kept staring at him. "And…you're seeing her tonight?"

He nodded in a casual way, turning his eyes back to the racetrack and beyond. "Yeah. We're hanging out."

An unusual silence fell between the boys. Gloyd was still staring off in Crumbelina's departing direction while Swizzle continued to eye his friend with great interest.

"Gloyd? You're not…?"

"Gotta go!" the Halloween-themed racer answered briskly as he mounted his Kernel and sped away before Swizzle could interrogate him further. There was only so much he was allowing himself to reveal.

After a few moments, Swizzle Malarkey walked forwards past the remaining parked racing karts until he was standing right on the finish line. He watched his best friend drive off into Sugar Rush's newly programmed sunset until he was completely out of sight. "Huh," he muttered to himself thoughtfully, one hand on his hip and his head tilted to the side with a most curious look in his eye. Swizzle wasn't alone for long though, for a few seconds later, Minty walked up to him from behind.

"What's up with Gloyd?" she asked him as she stood by his side. "Why'd he rush away from you so fast?"

Swizzle glanced at her for a moment, then back in Gloyd's direction. Wordlessly, he put his arm around the girl's waist. "I'm not sure, to be honest. But…if I didn't know my best friend better…I would think that he may have found something that I myself found recently."

"And what would that be?" Minty asked, as she leaned comfortably into his shoulder.

Swizzle then smirked as he held the green-haired girl closer. "Oh, you know…something special. But anyways, it looks like my schedule has unexpectedly been wiped clean tonight. How's about you and I head over to Dance Dance Revolution to twist the night away?"

Minty giggled. The bow in her hair flapped about carefree.

"You're hanging out with who?" Snowanna burst out incredulously.

"I think you heard me clear enough the first time."

"But…but…why?"

"Why what?"

The multi-coloured-afro girl stared at her friend. They were lounging out on Snowanna's front lawn in front of her snow cone fort home, which was a rainbow of crystalized igloos stacked strategically together in a large, articulated fort-like structure. There were giant sorbet sculptures in the shape of music notes lined in two rows bordering her driveway, which resembled a very long, multicoloured keyboard.

It was a most peculiar picture to see the girls relaxing in lawn chairs meant for the beach while in front of a house made of giant frozen desserts. Well, Crumbelina was completely relaxed as she let the setting sunlight graze her face with her hands behind her head. Snowanna, on the other hand, was all hysterics.

"Lina, this is Gloyd we're talking about! I have no idea what you said to him that night after you literally found him lying on your doorstep all those weeks ago, but come on…he's not exactly your type."

Crumbelina opened one eye at her. "Who says he has to be? It doesn't matter who he is. All that matters is that he is my friend," she answered calmly. "Is he not yours?"

Snowanna backed off a little at this. "Well…okay, yes he is. He has been less obnoxious these last few days…and he hasn't pranked me since the green dye incident. He even apologized for that. But still, what do you see in him that makes you want to…you know, keep seeing him?"

The Italian girl closed her eyes once more. "I really underestimated that little pumpkin, Anna. Because yes, I once thought he was an idiot with no head on his shoulders. But he really opened my eyes that night. You may not see it, and until then, I didn't either. But now I know that he just needed a friend. He's just misunderstood. And lonely. And sweet."

"Sweet?" her friend repeated in pained disbelief.

"And kind of cute."

Snowanna Rainbeau stared at Crumbelina, who, in addition to smirking, was sporting a light, yet noticeable blush. She shook her colourful head. "Sometimes you're just a mystery to me, Lina. Why are we best friends again?"

Crumbelina maintained her cheeky smirk. "Our friendship would be so boring if we weren't unpredictable, I suppose."

An annoyed huff left Snowanna's mouth. "Well, anyways, what did you say you were doing with him tonight?"

Later:

"D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#...almost!"

Though Crumbelina's voice was strong, commanding, but also patient, Gloyd still winced as he struck a wrong note. He didn't know what he had accidentally ended up playing, but he could clearly tell that it wasn't a C#. It was all in the way that this note didn't mesh nicely with the others.

"I dunno, Lina. I don't think I'm getting any better."

"You remember what I told you, Pumpkin Pie: practice makes perfect."

Gloyd blushed lightly as he lay the violin down from his chin. They were sitting upon an 8-bit log near the 8-bit lake shielded by the 8-bit forest that bordered the outskirts of Fix-It Felix Jr. Though the permanent night sky was dark, the 8-bit moon was shining its light just as brightly as their own newly-featured moon in Sugar Rush. Both kids were holding violins and a picnic basket filled with some of Crumbelina's finest sweets was sitting by their feet. Most of them were the biscotti Gloyd had enjoyed on that night when the pair had founded their friendship with each other, since he had taken a real liking for that flavour in particular. Several music sheets were positioned on a couple of Nicelander Mary's borrowed 8-bit stands as well.

The last few weeks had seen a lot between the violinist and the prankster, on account of their odd, yet deeply rooted friendship had only been blooming since the night Gloyd had tried to prank Crumbelina and she had subsequently found him unconscious on her doorstep. They now visited each other regularly and had discovered many ways to have fun together; mostly though, they just hung out in each other's houses. Sometimes Gloyd would visit her in the mansion, while other times, she would come to see him in his candy corn house. She helped him repair a stubborn block in his Kernel's braking function and just last week after work, Gloyd had taken her to his secret little cove near Sandy Candy Beach.

There was no doubting that Crumbelina and Gloyd were complete opposites of each other; she was highly posh and refined, he was goofy and immature in a comedic way. But that didn't seem to matter, for it did nothing to hinder their growing friendship. If anything, it very strangely only made it stronger. One would help the other where he or she was confused or feeling down. Gloyd found that he really enjoyed having Lina as a close and trusted friend, whom he no longer saw as someone who was too important to notice him. And Crumbelina discovered that she was becoming increasingly fond of Pumpkin Pie's presence, even going as far as admitting that she had a soft spot in her heart for the boy. He was funny, sweet, and made her laugh, mostly whenever he didn't actually try to. And from each other, they had learned a great deal about themselves too. The exposure to Gloyd's care-free lifestyle had enabled Crumbelina to begin to loosen up a little, while Gloyd himself was learning to be a bit more responsible for his actions and mature overall. Most importantly though, if both kids were to perform a self-assessment of their current status, they would easily find that they were far happier than they had been for many months prior. And it was that joy that their friendship brought to them that seemed to make all the difference. It was all that mattered.

But the most bizarre feature of their unexpected bond was the thing they were doing right there in the forest on this very night.

"You know, Lina, I wish you wouldn't call me that in front of the guys," Gloyd admitted hesitantly. "Cuz I get the feeling that they're starting to think…you know…that you and I…are a-a…"

"A thing?" Crumbelina finished for him with a smirk.

Gloyd nodded, making her laugh. "You're so cute when you're flustered, you know that?" she ribbed.

The boy was now blushing like mad. It wasn't that he minded this new nickname that Lina had seemed to officially adopt for him (after all, he had done a similar thing), he just wished that she could be a bit more subtle with how frequently she used it…he didn't want the others to start forming ridiculous ideas.

"Well, sweet-tooth, how's about this? Let them interpret for themselves what you and I are. Let them decide what they want to think. As for us, the only thing that matters is that we both know where we stand now."

Gloyd's blush dissipated as he heard this and he couldn't help but match her smile. Probably the thing that he liked about Lina the most was that she had developed a knack for lifting his spirits no matter what mood he was in.

"Right," he said with confidence, feeling himself relieved of the burden of having to care what Swizzle and Rancis thought anymore. "I know what we are. I know who you are to me. You're the big sister I've always wanted. I just never realized that until a while ago."

"Exactly," she agreed. "And you're the little brother I've always wanted. But…who knows what can happen down the road, right?"

"Yeah," Gloyd said contently, his eyes trailing off into the dark forest. Then her words seemed to sink in, causing him to do a doubletake. "Wait, what? What did you just say?"

"Nothing," she said innocently, trying to suppress a giggle from her lips. That boy could be so funny sometimes in his slow childish nature. Once thought to be a nuisance, she now found it nothing short of simply adorable. She then accurately chose the right moment to divert his attention to a different subject. "Let's try again, shall we? Remember to think about the notes in your head as you go."

He nodded earnestly, though a fragment of his mind was still lingering on the part where she had off-handedly mentioned 'who knows what can happen'. He placed his violin into position while she did the same with hers. Together, they played the series of basic notes in the D Major scale laid out on the sheets in front of him, filling the quiet atmosphere with the sounds of music once more.

In her candle-lit bedroom, Candlehead carefully placed her new trophy upon the gingerbread shelf that was already holding sixteen others. They were all identical with their intricate design and golden glazed finish, and each had 'Candlehead' engraved upon the base in silver lettering. But upon trophy #17, Candlehead had used red icing to add an extra inscription in her sloppy handwriting:

'and Rancis'

Rancis Fluggerbutter himself sat upon Candlehead's sponge cake bed as he watched his friend position the newest addition to her trophy collection on the shelf. Since Swizzle had informed him an hour or so ago that Gloyd had unexpectedly postponed their planned guys' night for 'some reason', he had decided to spend his free evening with Candlehead, so they could celebrate her sweet victory together. Somehow, everything had worked out so nicely tonight.

The girl sat down next to him on the bed. "There," she said triumphantly. She turned to look up at him. "This is because of you, you know."

"What are you talking about?" he asked her casually. "You won the race. You won the cup. I just gave you a new engine, that's all."

She shook her head, her emerald-green pigtails swishing about. "Without you, I wouldn't even be racing by this point if I still had my old engine. It was time for him to retire peacefully. You helped me to race again, Rancy. That's why this cup is special. We won it together."

Candlehead said this in such a sincere tone that Rancis couldn't help but feel his insides turn to Jell-o again. He collected himself and flashed his trademark, cool-dude smile. The one that Candlehead secretly found adorable.

She lightly touched the blue scarf that was looped snuggly around the boy's neck. "I can't believe you're actually wearing this during gameplay," she said. "Aren't you afraid that this might risk another unplugging?"

Rancis smiled. He knew just as well as the next arcade character that consistency in their public appearance in the game was extremely critical. Any abrupt changes could be almost as risky as an absence, which could arouse suspicion in the players and Litwak, and, in the worst-case scenario, result in an unplugging if the conclusion was drawn that their game was bugged. However, because Sugar Rush had recently received this new update, Rancis had used this to his advantage.

"Well, I figured with all these new additions that came with our upgrade, the players would just assume this scarf was another feature added. Plus, Vanellope mentioned to me over Ralph's phone that a lot of professional racers that she met in Slaughter Race wear scarves. So, who am I not to join the club?"

He offered her a softer look now. "And besides…you made this for me. I gotta show it off somehow, right?"

Candlehead beamed. "Yeah," she said with a blush cascading her cheeks. "You're right. I'm really glad you like it."

"I love it," he responded, making her blush more.

She then scooched closer to rest her head down on his shoulder. "I guess it's true what they say…pennies saved is a trophy earned. Or was it quarters?"

Rancis' smile vanished quickly as he tilted his head slightly away from her burning flame; he could feel the heat licking at his hair. He hated to ruin the moment, but if he didn't, his blond hair would be set alight and his peanut butter cup cap would melt on top of it. "Uh, Candlehead?"

"Yeah?"

He pointed to her hat. "Candle."

"Opps! Sorry!" she giggled as she lifted her head to remove her candle-topped beanie and set it on the bed beside her. She then resumed her position on her friend again, this time with no beanie or lit candle. She always had to remember to discard her hat before cuddling up to Rancis, lest she choose to burn him by mistake. But sometimes she forgot.

Good thing Rancis never did.

THE END

A/N: And so we've reached the happy ending of Crumbelina and Gloyd's story! What an unusual pairing that no one would have expected: she's a rich and sophisticated girl with a high sense of responsibility. He's an immature prankster with little morals, but a big heart. And as they have learned during their time spent together, they can help each other out with every trial thrown their way and become better individuals, not just for themselves, but for all of those around them. As the old saying goes, 2 heads bumbling are better than 1. I've been wanting to write about Crumbelina and Gloyd for a long time and so it just feels so great to have the complete story posted, and even better that I can share it with you. Thank you everyone who joined me on this ride, as well as for any faves and reviews you send my way! I love to hear from you!

Speaking of stories, the next one in this growing story arc will be about Swizzle and Minty, and focusing on how they got together as a couple. No promises towards a release date for that, but ideas are already boiling to the brim and just need to be finalized on paper and processed through the editing procedure.

But until I see you again, stay sweet!