A/N: Hey guys! I'm back with more fanfiction. I know you guys associate me and my account with my ATLA Vyntresser trilogy (which I haven't finished, please don't kill me lol) but Wreck It Ralph sparked the writing fanatic and me and I just went nuts. This story has well over 50 chapters as of right now, and I will upload maybe one or two a day, depending on demand/if anyone reads this LOL. This fiction is RalphxOlder!Vanellope - there are two or three 'mature scenes' that come a lot later in the story, and each mature chapter will be marked just in case we have some sensitive readers, though I will say I have kept everything very tasteful. Also, forgive any typos or grammar mistakes. I am writing this fiction purely for fun and on the side, so if you see things that could be deemed incorrect, please don't point it out (unless it's an obvious typo). If you want to see my Wreck It Ralph artwork, please visit my deviantART! .
Sooo uh, yeah! Enjoy!
-Vyn
*Wrecking Limits*
Chapter 1
Ralph stumbled through dried flakes of withered pieces of candy trees. Looking all around, he couldn't spot the little runt he'd been searching for, for what seemed like hours now. Ralph rubbed the back of his head and sighed, rolling his eyes. He quickly grabbed a candy tree and shook it's core, letting out a loud, disgruntled bellow.
"Vanellope! I've been at this for too long, I give up!" Ralph threw his gaze up towards the towering candy trees. All of them looked the same. Not a single one housed the little dirty haired Vanellope.
"Are you even in the candy tree forest?" Ralph yelled with an unbelieving chuckle, turning around every which way.
"You passed me a long time ago, stinkbrain! You're terrible at this game!" Vanellope called down to him as she glitched from tree to tree, letting the double striped branches evaporate at her will.
"You'd think it'd be easy to spot a dark haired, green hoody wearing brat amongst all the red and white." Ralph chuffed as Vanellope jumped down to his shoulders.
"Maybe you're just color blind. You need to have your eyes checked." Vanellope laughed. Ralph let out a sharp sigh and shook his head.
"You're too quick," Ralph laughed, "I wreck things. Spying really isn't my forté."
"We should probably get back," Vanellope smiled, patting the side of Ralph's head, "It's all fun and games until the princess loses her throne to a bunch of smarties."
"It's been almost three months since you've established your democracy, hopefully it's going well, what with a bird brain as president," Ralph chuckled as he began to march back in the direction of the castle to take Vanellope home.
"Hey I'm not that bad!" Vanellope said, nudging Ralph's head.
"Our visits are becoming far and few in between. Hopefully you don't get too tired of me," Ralph said playfully with a twinge of sadness in his deep voice.
"Tired of you? No way! You're the first person to ever shown me kindness. No way I'm letting someone like that go," Vanellope said sweetly, "Even if he is a clumsy wrecker."
Ralph smiled and looked down a little, continuing the pace. He finally emerged out of the candy tree forest with Vanellope comfortably atop his right shoulder, her usual perch. Vanellope gazed off toward her castle, eyes gleaming. She could hardly believe it was all hers. The sound of buzzing race carts could be heard approaching the edge of the candy tree forest. Vanellope slowly climbed off of Ralph's shoulder and stood before him.
"You remember my offer? There's always a wing in the castle available for you." Vanellope said sweetly, gazing up at Ralph, his tall body towering over her.
"I remember," Ralph smiled, nudging her shoulder, "If I stayed in Sugar Rush, my game would be unplugged."
"We wouldn't want that," Vanellope playfully sneered.
"Hey Vanellope!" called Rancis as his, Candlehead's and Taffyta's race carts abruptly approached.
"Hey guys! Up for a race before the arcade opens?" Vanellope beamed.
"That's why we're here! Hope on!" Rancis waved her over, a glimmer of adoration in his eyes.
"Give me a minute!" Vanellope called before turning back to Ralph, his demeanor slowly sinking.
"I'm bummed we didn't have more time to hang out," Ralph smiled endearingly towards her.
"I am too… When can I see you again?" Vanellope asked, her face serious but sweet.
"Maybe tomorrow? You're the one with the busy schedule, Ms. President," Ralph said with a chuckle.
"Tomorrow, after quitting time! You can pick what game we play," Vanellope gestured her arms towards the candy trees and rolled her eyes playfully. Ralph laughed.
"Finally, thank you," Ralph said with a big, gapped tooth smile, "I'll see you tomorrow then."
Vanellope stepped a little closer, almost hesitating, but quickly jumped into his shoulder for a hug. Ralph beamed and embraced her as best as he could before setting her down.
"Tomorrow it is," Ralph said with a small smile as he waved.
"C'mon Vanellope!" Rancis called, his voice harsh and pleading.
"I'm coming, hold your horses!" Vanellope hollered as she got onto the back of Rancis's go cart.
Ralph smiled and waved at the four as they revved their engines. Rancis wrinkled his nose and quickly peeled away from Ralph, coating his feet and legs in shredded candy tree remains. They all sped off with loud, grumbling engines. Ralph frowned and sighed, brushing his pants off a little. He began to trudge back to Sugar Rush's entrance, hopeful for tomorrow.
"The arcade will open in five minutes, please return to your game," came the distinctive, automated voice over the game's system.
Ralph heaved a heavy sigh and brushed his hands together.
"Time to wreck it."
The train to Fix-It-Felix Jr. slowly trucked into the station. Ralph's large feet hung out the front of the cart as usual. The cart clunked to a halt as Ralph squirmed his way out of the cart. He muttered to himself and trudged slowly back to the massive pile of bricks he used to call home. While kicking a few old bricks back into the pile, he saw Felix outside the building, cleaning his shiny golden hammer with his shirt. Ralph smiled and approached him.
"Hey Felix, preparing yourself for another day of my wrecking, huh?" Ralph said as he put his large hands on his side. Felix looked up at him through endearing, innocent eyes and smiled.
"Same ol', my brother!" Felix chimed as he perked up on tip toes.
A few children could be seen running around the arcade through their cabinet screen. Ralph and Felix quickly backed up so they were out of the picture. Felix pat Ralph's large hand in a friendly manner.
"How's Vanellope? Haven't seen her in weeks. Hope she's not getting too busy to visit us," Felix said with a broken smile, his eyes gleaming upwards at Ralph.
"I don't know," Ralph breathed, "The very first friend I ever am able to have in my life, suddenly seems like she doesn't have enough time to hang out with me. Today was the first time I saw her since last week." Ralph's frown broadened, "I'm sure it's hard being President of a whole community of crazy candy people, but I just wish we just had one day where we could all hang out."
"Don't I know it," Felix said as he took in a deep breath.
"What? Calhoun is over almost every single day," Ralph sneered while playfully squinting his eyes at Felix.
"Ralph you know what I mean, Vanellope is my friend as well, it'd be nice to have her around more often! The four of us are a team," Felix smiled, his innocent demeanor almost palpable, "She's a busy bee, lately. At least you have all of us here in Niceland."
"I guess you're right," Ralph nodded and smiled, but inside was biting his tongue. Ralph blankly gazed across his game grass to the sparkling trees, just past the Niceland building.
"Quarter Alert!" Announced the game cabinet. Felix immediately perked up and pat his hammer.
"Woohoo! This never gets old," Felix sheepishly beamed up at Ralph.
"Yeah," Ralph blankly breathed, phasing Felix with a soft smile.
Ralph gazed up towards the Niceland building and heaved a long sigh, "never gets old…"
After a long, busy day of wrecking and fixing, Ralph and the Nicelanders were comfortably in their homes, recharging their spirits. The whole arcade was peaceful and quiet. The usual recharging time starts after the arcade closes and ends half way through the early morning, giving each game character a chance to socialize and get some space outside their own game. Ralph was eager to get back to Sugar Rush to visit Vanellope.
"& *%#!" QBert mumbled in his language. He had made his way into Ralph's house that Felix had made. Ralph grumbled and opened his eyes.
"Qbert, what are you…Wait a minute," Ralph flung his arms towards the window, opening it wide. It was the next morning. Ralph gasped as he watched Mr. Litwak turn the open sign on and let a few children into the arcade. Ralph's heart sank.
"Qbert! I overslept! Vanellope!" Ralph sleepily hollered as he leaped out of his room.
"Quarter Alert!" His game cabinet chimed.
Ralph groaned and held his head in his hands as he bursted out of his house and rushed towards his start position. He caught eyes with Felix and took a double take. Felix's demeanor was blue, the twinkle in his eye was gone. Ralph curiously gazed towards Felix as he tried to wrap his mind around everything that was happening. Soon enough, he was forced to wreck the nicelander's building, just like he has for the past thirty years. Ralph's game play this time around was sloppy, letting Felix and his gamer win most of the games played that day. The only thing permanently glued to Ralph's mind was the fact that he had let Vanellope down, because of something so simple as oversleeping. As grateful as he was for Qbert waking him up in time for a quarter alert, he was frustrated that he'd let himself sleep through something so important to him.
Soon enough, the sounding call for the closing arcade was announced, and everyone untensed. The nicelanders began to clap and applaud with glee, congratulating Felix for all the medals he's won. They all gathered outside the building and chattered amongst themselves, happy that the day was over. Ralph quickly wiped the mud from his face and body and jolted past his group of niceland friends. His eyes were set on the dinky train station next to his old pile of bricks.
"Ralph, wait!" Felix called after him, throwing his hand out. Ralph looked over his shoulder and slowed down.
"Felix, can it wait? I missed my chance to see Vanellope before the arcade opened, I'm not going to miss my chance tonight!" Ralph called as mud still clung to the bottom of his legs.
"Ralph, you can't go…" Felix called, the twinkle in his eye still gone.
Ralph stopped and gazed at Felix. His soft, confused gaze quickly turned to inner rage as he turned to face Felix and the nicelanders, who were all frozen solid, they too having lost the peppy twinkle in their eyes.
"Felix, I'm going to Sugar Rush. I have no clue why you're trying to stop me, you were just saying yesterday that we need to see Vanellope more often! I promised her I'd see her last night and I overslept, I'm not sticking around any longer. I'll be back before quarter alert tomorrow, Felix." Ralph bellowed, his fists clenching. He quickly turned to walk away, his eyes staring down the long wire tunnel that led to Game Central Station.
Out of the darkness came Calhoun on her cruiser. She halted at the train station and gazed onwards to Ralph. She, too, had the same look in her eye that everyone has had all day. Ralph froze as they locked eyes. Ralph could feel his heart sink even farther as he slowly turned around to face Felix.
"Where's Vanellope?" Ralph's voice cracked.
"Ralph, come inside. There's something I have to show you," Felix said in a soothing voice.
Ralph could almost feel tears sting his eyes from the confusion he was drowning in. Calhoun, Felix, Ralph and the Nicelanders all made their way into the Niceland building. All of the nicelanders silently slipped away into their own apartments, preparing to rest for the next arcade day. Ralph and the group hesitantly made their way to the penthouse.
"Here, Ralph. I put extra whipped cream on it for you this time," Gene said as he slid Ralph a plate of hot pie from behind the bar. Ralph stared down at it, knowing the delicious piece of pie was far too much for his appetite to handle right now.
"Thanks, Gene," Ralph breathed, his eyes sunk.
"Ralph, I think you should see this. I found this outside our outlet in Game Central Station." Felix said hesitantly as he reached into his pocket. Calhoun helped Gene clean up behind the bar as Felix sat close to Ralph on the bar stools.
Felix pulled a small, pink note out of his handy belt pocket and put it in Ralph's large hand. Ralph unwrapped it as easily as he could and swallowed hard, his eyes nervously scanning all the letters and words in front of him.
"Dear Ralph, I'm writing you this note because I'm afraid I don't have any time to have fun and games with you anymore. Sugar Rush officials are starting to become suspicious of our activities together and are questioning my title as President. If I am banished to the badlands again, my game could go out of order. I cherish my people and my game far too much to let my clumsy wrecker come in between that. You wrecked the walls that I built around my heart, and I will always cherish the friendship we had while it lasted. I will never forget you, but for now I think it's best we keep our distance. I hope you can understand. Love, Vanellope."
Ralph gazed down at the pink little piece of paper, dwarfed by his hands, and held his breath without thinking. The whole room fell silent and the tension was unbearable. Felix caught eyes with Calhoun and caught her motioning her head towards Ralph. Felix looked around, uncertain what to do from this point on. He put his small, gloved hand on Ralph's large arm.
"Ralph… I'm, so sorry. It's obvious she's taking her duties as president very seriously. You wouldn't want her game to be unplugged now would you?" Felix said softly.
"At least then I'd get to see my best friend," Ralph growled, glaring at the paper, "She could live here!" As much as he wanted to rip it up, he stuffed it into the front pocket of his overalls. Ralph stared angrily down at the steaming piece of pie in front of him, the whipped cream melting all over the place.
"Maybe she'll come around," Gene said hopefully, washing a martini glass.
"Maybe all that sugar coated fame has just gone to her tiny head," Calhoun chimed sharply, shaking her head in dismay as she put some dishes away.
"Would it be unwise to go visit her? Maybe see if you can talk to her in person?" Felix questioned gently, hoping not to rouse the beast that is Ralph.
Without a word, Ralph stood and stormed out of the room, making a few tiles in the floor shatter. He swung the door open and tore it off it's hinges. He walked away without looking back or hesitating. The whole room was frozen in fear and uncertainty. Felix finally broke the silence by heaving a long, disgruntled sigh.
"That was hard," Felix softly complained as he slumped his face into his hands. Gene poured him a drink as Calhoun put her hands on her hips.
"Breaking news to that fella is never easy, Fix It," Calhoun breathed, staring up at the ceiling.
Ralph bursted through his outlet and into Game Central Station. The surge alarm signaled, but he didn't stop. He pressed on towards Sugar Rush. All of Game Central Station was quiet, minus the familiar surge alarm, making it clear that it was time for recharge. Ralph quickly approached Sugar Rush's outlet and made his way to the train station inside, setting off yet another surge alarm. Clumsily climbing the steps, Ralph approached the train which was stationed and ready to be used. He gazed down Sugar Rush's wire, his heart racing and his mind jumbled. Ralph softly panted and stared deep into the darkness that consumed the wire tunnel.
"Ralph, you violated two surge alarm protocols by running off, I know you don't want to be suspended from Game Central Station for a week," the surge protector sharply said as he appeared next to Ralph with his clipboard. He looked up at Ralph and immediately softened once he saw Ralph's troubled state.
"Is, everything okay Ralph?" Surge asked gently, "Look, I won't write you up if you just promise to step through the outlets a little slower."
"Sorry, Surge," Ralph muttered, his eyes slowly dropped to the floor.
"You headed to Sugar Rush, then?" Surge questioned, gazing down Sugar Rush's wire.
"I'm not sure," Ralph mumbled.
"Is there someone there you need to see?" Surge asked curiously as he tucked his clipboard under his arm.
"Yes, but she doesn't want to see me," Ralph said quietly, feeling his eyes sting with tears, though he'd never dare let anyone see him well up. He blinked hard a few times.
"Ahh, I see," Surge breathed as he lolled his head and gazed up at Ralph knowingly, "A certain special lady not fancying you, eh?"
"Uh," Ralph chuckled in an annoyed manner, "It's not like that, Surge."
"A-huh," Surge prodded, "Maybe showing up will make her change her mind about you? It's worth a shot, right?" Surge chimed.
Ralph gazed long and hard down Sugar Rush's wire. Memories of Sugar Rush filled his mind. The sweet scent in the air, the cotton candy clouds, and Vanellope. As annoying as everyone thought she was, he cherished her friendship more than anyone ever could. Ralph sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat, feeling as if his whole soul was just dropped from the Niceland building's height.
"I don't think so," Ralph grumbled, "Sorry for setting off the alarms, Surge. You won't be seeing me through Game Central station much, anymore."
"Don't worry about it, Ralph. I hope everything pans out," Surge smiled as he quickly wisped away like an electric current. Suddenly, Ralph was alone. Both physically and mentally. He quickly began to realize how much of a stranger he was going to become to Sugar Rush.
Ralph frowned harder than he had in months. He could feel the old him returning, as if he had lost everything he had fought for. He battled a massive virus outbreak for his first best friend, nearly had an officially game over for her. Ralph wondered how all of this could happen. It was from that moment on that Ralph realized how terribly inner game fame can go to an individual's head. Ralph turned on his heel and slowly headed back to Fix-It-Felix Jr. He remained there exclusively, only leaving to visit his Bad Anon. group which is held at Pac-Man's cabinet weekly. Even so, that group he was starting to neglect. There wasn't a group for being ditched by your first and best friend. Ralph let his feet grudgingly guide him back to his game, where he would remain, hoping to never find reminders of his happy few month past.