( Thanks a lot for all the reviews and follows! I really wasn't expecting that. No wonder so many people beg for them. Anywho, the offer to beta is still up, if you like. And thanks a lot for all those comments about Jeremy not driving you bonkers. Don't worry, I'll be including flaws and quirks and all that nice, humanizing stuff. Oh, and sorry for the short chapters!

EDIT: I went back and modified a bit of this chapter. I wasn't happy with the bar scene at the end, so I went back, did a few touch ups... basically made it all-around better. Tell me whatcha think? Don't worry though, Vanellope will definitely make an appearance.)

Crazy Otto was easily one of the most famous game mods ever. The company that had created it was under fire for their "Game Enhancements," kits that would take arcade consoles, and change them into entirely new games. Most of the time, these changes were as simple as making the paddle smaller in pong or adding a few extra balls to breakout. In this case, the creators of the mod had a look at Pac-Man, and decided that it would be much better with extra mazes, faster ghosts, and maybe a little plot. The main and most obvious change to the game was the addition of legs to Pac-Man.

Before they could release it, however, Namco had a look at it, and bought the rights. They made a small sprite edit, designed a new machine to play it, and sold the boxes to arcades around the world.

To appeal to the women who played, they added a bow and some makeup to Pac-Man, and Mrs. Pac-Man was born.

The day at the arcade came and went, and the eye-searingly bright light from the glass doors slowly faded to orange, and then nothing. Trophies were won, princesses were saved, and candy was spilled onto the carpet, just as usual. A kid bet his best friend that he would beat his Hero's Duty high score, and subsequently, friendships were broken. A screaming five year old shoved cake into his greedy maw as he fumbled around on the Fix-It Felix Jr. machine.

Ralph dropped a more bricks than usual on that kids turn. He felt a little guilty when the kid cried, but still, icing didn't exactly make the joystick more fun to use.

Most of the time, being 8-bit was irritating, especially when they had to start turning NPCs down due to lack of system space. The way it was always night was a little annoying, too, but at least he'd had thirty years to get used to that. However, sometimes, Ralph was glad that his system wasn't more advanced. If the thing could handle more words than "I'M GONNA WRECK IT," it would have been a lot harder to have conversations in the small breaks between games.

"Hey, Felix!" He shouted, pointing towards a pair of kids who were currently standing in front of their machine and having a heated argument over who would beat the first level faster. It was a bit hard to hear through the thick glass, but their wild flailing and wimpy punches more than made up for it. Somehow, he had the feeling they were having far more fun arguing than they would actually playing. They were probably really nice kids, Ralph mentally noted, but the braces on the kid on the right and the thick glasses on the kid on the left were a bit distracting.

"Who do you think will win, Bucktooth or Cokebottles?"

"Now, Ralph..." Felix began, before cutting himself off. That was just how Ralph was; he didn't really mean anything by it. He sucked some air through his teeth, giving both kids a look.

"Okay, uh, there. Did you see how fast the girl on the left hit the boy? I bet she'll be the fastest."

Ralph grinned. "Yeah, sure. And if the other kid wins, you owe me a drink at Tappers."

Felix smiled. "You're on, brother, just so long as you can drag yourself back. The last time I paid, I had to carry you back, and why... I almost broke my-"

"Yeah, yeah," Ralph waved a hand, dismissing Felix's plight. "Don't you worry abou-"

There were a few clicks as a quarter slid smoothly into the coin slot, and Cokebottles took her position in front of the game.

Jeremy tried not to watch as his uncle dragged the two beaten-up children from the arcade. One's glasses were broken, and the other seemed to have several teeth loose after the fight that resulted after the game. Jeez Louise, why did they have to be so competitive? Fights made him want to puke. It wasn't even because he really cared about people, he'd just had his own glasses broken one too many times to enjoy violence anywhere but on the screen.

The clocked ticked to 9:00, and the buzzer signalling closing time finally went off. Disappointed kids wandered out of the arcade, but Jeremy practically jumped off the bench he had spent the last five hours on. Finally! Most people would say that sitting on your ass programming videogames on your laptop was kind of a bad way to spend your birthday, and it was, but it was all worth it. Besides, it's not like he had any friends of his own.

He watched idly as his uncle cleaned up the arcade. The man really loved his place, didn't he? Litwak did all he could to keep the arcade machines in tip-top condition. As Litwak walked out, he put two things next to his Nephew on the bench. The keys and the quarter bucket both gave a loud jingle as they came into contact with the wood, and it was all Jeremy could do not to jump three feet in the air. Litwak took off his glasses, and wiped them against his dusty shirt.

"Now, kiddo, remember; you can do whatever you like to the machines, fine, but... make sure they're okay afterwards, alright?"

Jeremy agreed, yeah, sure, whatever. He wasn't really sure WHY his uncle had such an obsession with his arcade, and to be honest, he was beginning to suspect he wasn't right in the head. Dementia did run in the family...

After his uncle drove off, he took about 15 minutes to add some code to his modifications. He'd never touched a real arcade machine, and they seemed pretty simple, but... after that show his uncle gave him...

Well, whatever. What was the worst that could happen?

As soon as the working day was over, and Yuri could see from her position near the door that EVERYONE was out, she performed the ritual of letting everyone know that it was safe to leave work and relax. Doing the same thing over and over was tiring, and the characters relished the time of day where they could let their hair down and visit friends, go out to eat, or even work on hobbies.

Normally, at a time like this, Felix would be polishing his medals, or maybe working on his model railroad, but...

Ralph laughed from the mud puddle, somehow managing to look incredibly triumphant even when covered in mud.

"Oy! Felix! C'mon down, you promised!"

Felix was almost tempted to pretend that he didn't hear him, but, well... that was dishonest, and as a hero, he had to be a rolemodel. A paragon of virtue. Besides, with how loud Ralph could yell, Felix had the feeling that VANELLOPE could hear him from the other side of the arcade.

"Yeah, alright!" He called down, before jumping down the windowsills, to the ground. In all his years, he'd never bothered to check if the building even had a stairwell; it was much faster just to go directly down.

To be honest, he wasn't really sure about this, which was REALLY uncomfortable. When you were treated as if you could do no wrong, well, going into a bar that BAD guys frequented... it was enough to give him the shivers! The Heebie-jeebies! But, he HAD promised, and he'd never back out on that. Besides, it wasn't as if he'd never been in Tappers. There had been plenty of times where he'd have to go and drag an extremely hung-over Ralph from the utility closet before the arcade opened.

Ralph caught his expression, and patted him on the back. "Hey, relax, alright? It'll be fun."

Coughed, trying to keep all his air. Even if Ralph was just being friendly, being patted on the back by a giant tended to knock the air out of you, and didn't exactly help with his nervousness. For Ralph's sake, though, he'd try and keep his chin up! Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

They both headed to the little kiddie ride that served as the train out of Fix-it Felix Jr. Another annoying thing about being on an older machine was how the connection between the power cord and the box was oddly slow. It wasn't as if there was anything to see in the tunnel, just some old, incomprehensible graffiti. "No n00bs?" "Do the Mario?"

However, by the time they GOT to the station, it was a lot more crowded than it usually was; in fact, it was more packed than either Felix or Ralph had ever seen it, and that was really saying something. Sprites were crowded shoulder to shoulder, and everyone was peering apprehensively at the giant bay windows.

"OOF-hey, watch it!" Ralph wasn't exactly a fan of being crowded. Being alone for most of his life combined with a bit of a temper meant that he couldn't handle a room with more than thirty people, and as soon as he tried to get out, a Goomba got the brunt of his foot. Felix, despite himself, was pretty glad that he had Ralph to clear the space.

"Now, what in the heavens is going on here?" Felix asked, glancing around. Everyone simply looked at him apprehensively, and slowly, a voiceless NPC gestured towards the window.

Oh. There was a human in the arcade.

Huh.