Author's note:

Well, here it is: the conclusion! It's been a long time coming, and there have been a lot of delays, but this fic is finally complete! I hope you all enjoyed it, and I thank you all for sticking through all the delays. Thanks for your reviews, and support!

Enjoy the final chapter!

Somewhere in Fix-It Felix Jr., there was a loud gasp that came from a previously unconscious form.

Life poured into strong limbs as the orange haze disappeared, returning a pair of eyes to their natural honey-brown color. A groggy groan escaped Ralph's throat as he gradually pushed himself into a sitting position while rubbing the back of his head; crickets serenaded peacefully around him, coming from somewhere in the square bushes.

As he tried to recall the last thing he remembered, he found his memory fuzzy. What he couldrecall, however, was nearly crushing Vanellope…Vanellope! Frantically, he searched around for the little racer. Upon seeing her crouched down over by his knee, clutching onto his pants leg, he wasted no time relaying his relief that she was unharmed by scooping her into his hand.

Feeling the change in elevation, as well as seeing who it was that had finally woken, Vanellope's heart swelled with joy. "Ralph!"

"Kid, I'm so sorry. That wasn't me. I was being contro…"

Ralph's words trailed off as he noticed something in the distance. The apartment building, the brick piles, the houses that were built for their friends - everything was back, as if he'd never destroyed them in the first place.

The air was clear and free from dusty particles; it felt good to breathe it in, especially since, for the first time in days, Ralph found that he could actually function again without hurting all over. That horrible, awful, no-good ringing was officially gone, along with the other debilitating symptoms he'd encountered.

"Hah…haha!"

It was an honest-to-Pong miracle if Ralph had ever seen one. He would have bet a hundred - no, a thousand bricks that they'd all been done for, and now here they were, fine and dandy, like nothing or no one had ever been compromised by a threatening virus in the first place. A toothy grin upturned the man's mouth as the reality of the matter made him happier than Sonic in a ring-filled bonus level.

"It's all back! Everything's better!" Vanellope proclaimed, bouncing about in his palm. She then decided to forget her strict 'no mushy-stuff' policy and leap up to latch onto her best friend in a tight hug. "You're okay!"

He'd make sure to tease her about it later, but for now Ralph didn't hesitate to wrap the brat up in his arms in an equally relieved and pleased embrace.

"That goes for you, too," he said, holding onto her as tightly he could without squeezing her too hard. "I seriously thought it was over. Boy, am I glad I was wrong."

"Awhhh, I knew we'd be alright!" The perky president quipped, giving her best friend a playful punch on the chest. Her snarky attitude had quite obviously returned to her, and she felt like she could take on anybody with her newfound energy.

"I guess Felix and Sarge really…" He paused, his eyes widening. "Sweet Mother Hubbard! Felix and Sarge! Come on, kid. We're taking a field trip. Alley-oop!"

Swiftly, Ralph was on his feet and, perching Vanellope on his broad shoulder, he took off towards the tunnel at full speed, heading for Game Central Station.

Tamora had always been trained to expect the unexpected, or at the very least prepare for it. With something as unpredictable as a mass reset, though, it was unclear what the end result would be. Regardless if she remembered who she was or what her mission stood for, she remained unmoving.

Eventually, she heard a voice call out to her - a voice she recognized, a voice she knew.

"Tammy?"

And that's when she realized they'd succeeded. They'd won. They were clearing the battlefield and heading off to celebrate sweet, well-earned victory.

A smile came before words did. "Guess it takes a lot more than a mass reset to get you out of my head, Fix-It."

As soon as Tamora spoke and affirmed her own recognition, a grin brighter than anything Felix could have hoped to pull off in the last week spread across his face; it felt like fireworks were going off in his heart - like he was on top of the world.

Laughing in complete and utter joy, he all too happily jumped up into the arms that reached down for him. Felix wrapped his own arms around Tamora's shoulders in a tight embrace and then found her lips in an overjoyed kiss. Nothing had been certain for the past week, but he made sure that the kiss he gave his wife then wasn't anything remotely shy.

It was strong, it was lasting, and it implied that they were going to be together for the rest of their existence in the arcade.

The only thing that broke the loving gesture was a sudden influx of sounds from upstairs. Curiously, Tamora looked up as the noise increased and gradually ascended in volume.

"Sounds to me like there's something going on," she mused, leaning in to brush her nose gently against Felix's in an Eskimo kiss. "What do you say, Fix-It? Should we crash the party?"

Felix giggled and leaned in to give her a couple more quick kisses on the lips, all before pulling back and grinning. "Lead the way, my lady," he stated, bringing his gloved hand up to his head in a quick salute.

Tamora offered Felix one final smile, as well as a kiss (she really couldn't stop doing that) before she set him back on the ground and headed for the staircase. The closer they drew to the surface of the station, the louder the cheers, laughter, and general celebratory sounds became; it sure beat the eerie silence that had previously embraced the terminals.

As they officially returned to the main floor, almost every video game character flooded the area: Both Mario and Luigi were running about, greeting the pals they hadn't seen in nearly a week, while the Street Fighters were amicably catching up with the Mortal Kombat crew.

Overall, the scene was nothing short of a cliché reunion scene. It made Tamora's stomach churn from the sheer sappiness of it all, but for the sole sake of having saved the arcade from its impending doom, the sergeant decided to give in and admit that it was nice seeing their friends healthy and bustling with life again.

This notion only seemed to strengthen when the entire platoon from Hero's Duty spotted their commanding officer from across the way and hurried over. Apologies began spewing left and right from all of the soldiers that had attacked her, along with promises that, were they in control, they would never go against orders. It was flattering and all, but…

"Alright, that's enough blubbering, ladies. Any more of that sissy sniveling and your mascara will smudge," Tamora quipped, causing her troops to stiffen into a crisp posture of attention. "What's in the past is in the past. There's no use crying over spilled milk. Now, consider yourselves off-duty until sunrise. I don't wanna see any of your pathetic, baby faces until then. Do I make myself clear?"

The soldiers responded in uniformed agreement and then quickly dispersed, heading off to do whatever they pleased until it was time to return to base. Tamora waited until they'd all gone to treat herself to a proud smirk. Her boys would need to be hardened up over the next few days, but she looked forward to the long, painful training drills with a sadistic sort of eagerness.

"Gee, it was awfully nice of you to give them the night off," Felix pointed out, to which Tamora scoffed at.

"Calm before the storm."

Despite how harsh she was on them sometimes, Felix could tell that she would do anything for her platoon – and vice versa. It was incredibly sweet; though he knew she wouldn't appreciate that sentiment very much. So he kept it to himself.

Nearby, a pair of recognizable voices rose above the jumbled commotion:

"I hope you know where they went, skittle-head. 'Cuz I don't see 'em anywhere!"

"Hey, would it kill you to have some patience? I just got over the world's biggest headache. I don't need another one, thank you very much."

From a break in the crowd, Ralph appeared with Vanellope in tow. They seemed to still be searching for their closest friends when the two missing members suddenly appeared in the wrecker's line of sight.

"There they are! Hey, Felix! Sarge!"

"RALPH!" Felix called back gleefully, hopping up and waving enthusiastically towards them. Deciding to close the distance between them himself, he ran through the crowd - only having to side-step a couple of larger characters - before he jumped up and latched onto the wrecker's leg."You're alright!"

Although he wasn't jumping around like an excited little bean, Ralph wore a happy smile across his face. They were all back together - just like old times - without having to worry about anything else coming between them.

Man, that felt nice.

"What happened back home? Is everyone okay?" Felix continued, trying to get a good look at the portal to their game (though the view was obstructed by the countless characters that walked behind the wrecker). "And what about you two? How're ya feelin'?" They seemed fine enough, much to Felix's relief, but it never hurt to be sure.

"Everything's fine. The apartment building is back, along with the houses and the trees," Ralph reported, glad to be the one to relay the fantastic news. "And I feel great, but this one," he paused, jerking a huge thumb at the chipmunk on his shoulder. "I think all of that left her a whole lot more obnoxious."

"Obnoxious?! I'll show you obnoxious, brick-boy!" Vanellope shot back in mock-insult, giving Ralph a two-handed noogie.

Having finally approached the group herself, Tamora took a turn to speak. "It's good to see you with your head on straight, Wreck-It," she said, settling her hands on her hips as she looked at the tall, hulking bad guy.

Ralph's attention left Vanellope as he looked at the blonde; his overjoyed expression seemed to falter a bit before taking on a distinctly sheepish appearance. He lifted up a hand and rubbed at the back of his neck, feeling that ever-present awkwardness settle over him.

"Sarge, if you hadn't stopped―"

"Tapper's," Tamora interrupted, stopping what would have been a disgusting warm-and-fuzzy statement. Her coral-colored lips upturned. "You're buying next time. We'll consider it even after that."

Ralph dropped his hand and breathed out a laugh. "Fair enough."

A bonding moment of silence passed amongst them before Vanellope huffed impatiently. "Well, are we just gonna stand here all day, or are we gonna celebrate?!" she shouted over the cheerful racket of Game Central Station. "My candy stash ain't gonna eat itself!"

"You're right," Ralph agreed, smirking deviously. "Because I'M gonna be the one to eat it."

"HEY!"

Both Felix and Tamora watched in amusement as Vanellope disappeared in a hasty, glitchy getaway while Ralph took off after her.

"Well, would'ya look at that," the small handyman said, hooking his thumbs in his tool belt and fondly smiling up at his lady. "Seems like things really are back to normal."

Tamora nodded and returned Felix's smile. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Fix-It."

THE END.