Author's Note: Just when you thought it was all over, here comes an epilogue!

Epilogue: New Game

The Pink Lightning hit a ramp and, for a brief second, flew across the Nougat Mines. Taffyta Muttonfudge grabbed an item box as she landed.

"Power Up!" the announcer bellowed.

With a slightly evil smirk on her face, Taffyta pressed the little pink button near her steering wheel. Sprinkle spikes blasted out of the exhaust.

"Uh-oh, I'm getting Taffy-Whacked!"

The racer behind spluttered as sprinkles flew into her face. She brushed herself off – taking her hands off the steering wheel. For a second she lost control of her Ice Dream. It veered dangerously close to the edge of the track. She swerved to the right, only just stopping herself from falling into a bottomless pit.

"Stay sweet!" Taffyta taunted her.

Vanellsa Von Arendelle gritted her teeth and pressed her foot down on the accelerator even more. Another item box was in her sights.

"Power Up!"

Vanellsa grinned. With a few flicks of her finger, four bursts of magic shot out and hit the wheels of the Pink Lightning. They iced over immediately.

"What's this?" the announcer asked. "Freeze!"

The wheels stopped turning. Taffyta screamed as her beloved kart slipped and skidded – and crashed into the wall separating a fork in the road.

"Stay sweet!" Vanellsa mimicked as she overtook Taffyta. She was sure to win now!

But outside, speeding past the Fields of Lollipops, Vanellsa noticed a flickering blue light up ahead. First it was surrounded by ones and zeroes. Then tiny blue pixels appeared. Then larger multi-coloured blocks slotted into place. Finally the Candy Kart was complete – and ahead of Vanellsa.

"Sorry!" Vanellope called back. "Nothing personal, I just wanna win!"

The President and her recolour crossed the finish line in first and second place. They pulled over to one side of the track.

"Great race, Booger-Face," said Vanellsa, climbing out and shaking hands with Vanellope.

"Same here, Chilly Dear," Vanellope replied. "How's your kart?"

The Ice Dream was baked in the same style as Vanellope's Candy Kart and Crumbelina's Tira-Missile. It was dusted all over with snow-white frosting, and butterscotch sauce had been drizzled over the bonnet to make the shape of an intricate snowflake. The spoiler was a long chocolate flake held up by two ice cream cones.

"Sub-zero!" Vanellsa replied with a thumbs-up.

Vanellope giggled. "Is that gonna be your catchphrase or something?"

"Maybe. Do you like it?"

"Yeah! It's almost as awesome as 'Sweet Mother of Monkey Milk!'"

Their banter was interrupted by an alarm: "Red Alert! Red Alert! Mr Litwak is entering the building!"

"What? The arcade doesn't open for hours!" yelped Vanellsa.

Nine avatars rushed to the Chews Your Racer screen and climbed into their squares. Settling into their signature poses, only their eyes moved, following Mr Litwak as he strolled into the arcade. A group of men stood at the door beside a glittering console.

"All right, a new game!" Swizzle said in awe. He was promptly shushed by Adorabeezle.

The console was as wide as Sugar Rush. It had two dance mats on the ground and all sorts of buttons and levers below the screen. White letters spelled out the name, "FROZEN ARCADE ADVENTURES," and the caption, "Over 50 chilly mini-games to choose from!"

"It's the next big thing in this arcade," Mr Litwak was saying. "First there was the new ice cream avatar in Sugar Rush, then that bonus level in Fix-It Felix Jr."

"Makes sense to give the kids what they want, huh?" a ginger man drawled.

Mr Litwak made his way past his video games, which were on their demo screens and behaving normally. He found the power strip. "Darn it!" he cursed. "It's all full up! Like my nana," he added. He paused for thought. "Well, I was gonna unplug it soon anyway. . ."

He bent down. Every character held their breath as he did so, waiting for the sky to darken, for the ground to dissolve into pixels, for the whirlpool of code that would suck them into oblivion –

"Fancy a trade?" Mr Litwak asked, standing up. "You give me Frozen Arcade Adventures and I give you a Wak-A-Troll?"

"Yeah, sure, we've got space in the van."

The men didn't say any more for a while because they were busy moving out the Wak-A-Troll and setting down Frozen Arcade Adventures in its place. The new game was plugged in; the old game was taken away, maybe to another arcade. Mr Litwak left, and the characters were alone again.

"Come on, guys!" Vanellope told her fellow racers. "Let's give those newbies a nice, warm welcome!"

. . .

Unlike the other plugs, this one had icicles poking down from the archway to Game Central Station. Four humans, a reindeer and a snowman stood underneath while the Surge Protector bored them with the rules of the arcade.

One character caught Ralph's eye. She had a small nose, blue eyes and pale skin with a light dusting of freckles. She wore her long, platinum blonde hair in a side plait. Her tall, slender body was cloaked in a crystal-blue off-the-shoulder dress with a knee-high slit, a crystallised bodice and translucent powder-blue sleeves.

She was beautiful, and Ralph had to know who she was.

"Say, did you catch the name of that lady over there?" he asked Vanellope.

"Which one? The girl making goo-goo eyes at the reindeer man?"

"No, the other one. The blonde one."

"Oh, she's Elsa, the Snow Queen. Why?" Vanellope nudged him conspiratorially. "Do you like her?"

Ralph hesitated.

"You do, don't you?" She sang, "Ralph's in love with the Snow Queen, Ralph's in love with the Snow Queen!"

"Shut up," Ralph hissed. "She'll hear you."

"From all the way over there?" Vanellope started a new rhyme. "Ralph and Elsa sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Vanellope, leave him alone," Felix scolded her.

"Thanks, buddy," said Ralph.

Felix added, "It's hard enough being in love without people teasing you all the time."

"I'm not-"

"Ooh, she's coming over!" Vanellope squealed. "Quick, make sure there's nothing stuck between your teeth!"

"Oh, stop it!" But Ralph still had to ask, "Do I look okay?"

"Your mouth is fine," Felix reassured him, just as Elsa reached the gang. She was even more striking close up.

Without thinking, Ralph found himself bending over until his chest and legs were at right angles. Felix copied him.

"Why are we bowing?" he hissed.

"I don't know," Ralph replied.

They waited.

"This is awkward," Ralph whispered. "When should we stop?"

"You tell me, you started it!"

Luckily Elsa relieved them. "There's really no need to bow before me. Otherwise you'd spend all your time bobbing up and down."

The brothers straightened up a little sheepishly.

After everyone introduced themselves and the concepts of their games, there was a short pause. Vanellope suddenly asked, "So is there a Snow King in Frozen Arcade Adventures?"

Elsa blinked, taken aback by the nature of the question. "No, there isn't. I don't have a husband. Or a . . . boyfriend." The word seemed strange coming from her mouth. "Why? Do you?"

"No way!" Vanellope answered immediately. "Boys stink!"

Elsa laughed. "What about you two?"

"Well, Felix is married," Ralph explained, "and I . . . I used to have a girlfriend until she tried to kill my brother."

"Oh dear," was all Elsa could think to say. "You won't like Hans, then."

Ralph followed her gaze to a man with auburn hair trying to approach the Angel Kids. They screamed and ran away. The man's shoulders drooped.

Elsa continued, "He claimed he wanted to marry Anna – that's my sister – for love, but he just wanted to get us out of the way so he could take over the kingdom." Her eyes widened in realisation. "It's amazing how similar our stories are."

"I'll say," Ralph agreed.

The wrecker and the Snow Queen held eye contact for a little while longer.

"Well, the arcade will be opening soon," said Elsa. "I'll see you again later."

It was a promise Ralph really hoped she would keep.

ENDEN*

*Norwegian for "End," according to Google Translate