A/N: Oh. Boy.

Well. . . first and foremost, I am sincerely sorry for neglecting this story for. . . two months. I hit writer's block the moment the semester ended, and it hit hard. I also took a week long vacation, so I had my brain shut off to all writing during that time. When I came back, the writer's block was twice as bad thanks to vacationing and finals.

I've been working tirelessly at this chapter for days, figuring out the kinks. To be perfectly frank with you, this chapter was meant to be half as short (and to be franker, it could be considered two chapters in one). But, the writer's block lifted, and here we are. I can't be more relieved to be able to say chapter eight is completed and here for you to read.

And boy, am I excited for you to read it. From this chapter, you can really tell I like 'unlikely/unexpected friendships' haha.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Reviews;

AsukaTirento: Oh gosh, I'm so glad to hear you say that. I can also see that Shiv is the bad sides of the two of them. While I certainly meant to make a comparison to Vanellope, I didn't realize I'd done it with Ralph as well, haha. Thank you so much, your reviews make my heart so happy :)

PutMoneyInThyPurse: Thank you so much! I'm really honored to receive such a compliment, aaahh! Oh yes, I do believe I spoke for the whole fandom with that little bit hahaha. I'm glad someone caught onto that ;) hehe, I try to make some things... not so obvious. And perhaps it is not the case, you'll have to see. Thank you so much for this review. I love all the little details that you broke down. You're great, and your review made my day. And all the hearts to you friend!

DaBlueVanellope: Yep, that was a flashback! :)

crankyman7: Survivor's guilt indeed, something that Vanellope is also actively struggling with.

thunderbird shadow: Thank you for your reviews :D

FarrrEast: Sorry to keep you waiting, but it's here now!

SolarFlare579: Haha, it was a flashback and not present time, just for clarification :) thank you so much.

Guest: Your wish is my command.

Tigress-is-Awesome: To be honest the ending made me sad as well. Thanks so much for your review! And I'm so glad someone took notice of that :D I added that little detail in sneakily, and I'm happy it paid off haha.

I wanted to thank everyone once again for leaving such fantastic and supportive reviews. You guys always make my day with what you write to me.

Now, onto the chapter.

Chapter 8

The days had gone by slow—more slowly than they ever had in Vanellope's entire life. Fifteen years of solitude, boredom, bitterness and anger among other unwanted feelings had felt more like fifteen-thousand years long; now, though, those long, torturous years felt like the blink of an eye in comparison to Vanellope's perception of time now.

She wasn't even sure what day it was now. She wouldn't bother to check, nor did she care very much at all. After all, what did it matter when her family was gone? Not to mention her friends, her subjects, and everything she'd ever known. All gone, in the blink of an eye, and she had taken them all for granted when she chose to leave them behind.

What she would give now to go back to Litwak's and stay there with Ralph and the others. To laugh with Ralph as the two of them messed around during Game Central Station's break hours, to know that she was safe whenever she was around her favorite three people in the whole wide world, to know she wasn't alone again. But just like that, in an unexpected high of euphoria at the thought of going off to a new game and having a new life—she threw everything away, and now she could never get any of it back. And how it saddened her.

Vanellope, though, was used to sadness—just not this kind. She had wept her fair share of tears during those fifteen years she spent all alone. Whether it be after a brutal encounter with one of the racers, the NPCs treating her like an actual disease, or King Candy throwing a friendly reminder her way of how she could never race, it would get to her every time. It would slowly eat away at her core, break down her resolve, and reduce her to nothing more than a sobbing, angry mess of glitching. Over time there was a pit of anger that formed in her chest and would stay there, aching every time and reminding her of how unneeded she was in the game she was stuck in.

That pit of anger, though, was back after it had been filled for a few years when she was happy and freed from Turbo's wrath. Instead of anger, though, it was a mixture of regret and grief swirling together—and it always, always ached when her old life and family came to mind.

But now, she couldn't cry anymore. She'd done plenty of that. Maybe her tear ducts were broken, and that's why she couldn't cry anymore. Or maybe she had finally accepted that this was reality, and she couldn't change reality, and there was no use crying over it anymore. Whatever the case, she was still grieving either way.

At least she wasn't alone. During her lowest point, she hadn't been by herself for a moment. She was glad to have her new friends—the princesses—who were there for her, and she appreciated all of their efforts greatly. What they could not fix, though, was that ache in Vanellope's chest. Heck, not even Felix's hammer could fix something like that.

Vanellope was all alone as she walked around the OhMyDisney website, her hands shoved into her hoodie pocket as she walked along. She could hardly stand being around so many happy characters and people when her world had fallen apart.

It made her bitter all the more that none of them had experienced pain like she had felt. Vanellope was fully convinced the world was against her. First, fifteen years of torture, and then when she had finally found true joy in her life, it all was ripped from her? And then the rest of the world gets to laugh and be cheery?

Where was the fairness in that?

She forced herself to cast her gaze at the ground; she pulled up her hood, and tried her hardest to tune out the happiness that surrounded her. Maybe time out of the princesses lounge wasn't doing her very much good after all.

But, if Ariel started singing about something random one more time, Vanellope might've actually lost her mind. She loved the redheaded princess to bits, but how cheery she was all the time wasn't really helping her mental state all that much. She was scheduled to go touring around the site with Ariel and Belle, but no way was that happening. Not while she was still sane. Easy fix—she simply snuck out right under the princess' noses, without a single one noticing she had slipped away.

"What'cha doing out here lassie, takin' a daunner all by yerself?"

Well, almost.

Vanellope, who had been leaning up against the side of a building looked up to see she wasn't alone now. A different redhead was leaning against the building beside her, looking down curiously. Even with a hood pulled over her head, those curly red locks gave away her identity immediately.

If Vanellope had acquired one skill throughout her stay at the princesses lounge which she was proud of, it was learning 'how to speak Merida.' Well, somewhat. Though she could hardly understand her before, now she made better sense. At least now she could start putting two and two together where it counted most.

"I think I just needed to get out a little." Vanellope shrugged.

"Oh. Want juice?" Merida asked, and the racer perked a little. She glanced to see that Merida was extending one arm, a bottle of soda in hand. The racer blinked and gratefully took it.

"Thanks." She said. Her heart couldn't help but ache a little when she took a sip and realized it was cola. It reminded her of her old home, where she slept for fifteen years. She shook it off with a sigh.

"So, needed to get out a little, huh? Aye, I think that'd do ya some good. The others can be downright divs sometimes, treating ya like a bairn."

"Uh. . . a what now?"

"Sorry—a wee bab."

"Oh." Vanellope tapped the top of the soda bottle against her chin thoughtfully. "I. . . guess the thing is, I know they have good intentions. . . but I just. . . think I needed some space." Vanellope's code flickered with a glitch, and she scoffed. "It's funny. About seven years ago I would've done anything to have a single friend, and now. . . now I would rather be all alone again."

Merida had pulled out an arrow, and was running one finger along the sharp tip, her blue eyes trained intently on it. "That's not gonna happen, so long as they're all alive. Jammy, aren'tcha?"

"Yep. Whoop-dee-freakin'-doo." Vanellope frowned.

Merida looked at her curiously, and then looked back to her arrow, "Ya wanna gan somewhere with me? Away from all the noise? I'll show ya my special spot."

Vanellope's shoulders shrugged, and that was enough for Merida. She threw the arrow back in her quiver and placed two fingers in her mouth, whistling.

The candy-themed child watched as through the crowd of people, a horse came running along. He came to a halt in front of the princesses before rearing for a moment, then settling. Vanellope watched Merida flawlessly rush at him, swinging a leg over and swiftly landing on top of him.

She patted the horse for a moment, and then turned to Vanellope, stretching out one hand. Vanellope hesitantly walked forward before slipping her soda away into her pocket, jumping up to grab her hand. The moment she did, Merida tugged her up in one swift motion and Vanellope found herself sitting between the neck of a horse and the princess.

A moment later, they were off. Vanellope had never rode on a horse before, but she had to admit she kind of enjoyed the ride. It was a quiet one, aside from the sound of the hooves clacking against the ground.

Vanellope's eyes were looking everywhere as they sped off through the web. She desperately was looking around, trying to possibly catch sight of anyone she knew, but she realized quickly how. . . stupid it was, to think they were alive. She only kicked herself internally, aggravated by the idea of hope in a situation like this. There was absolutely no hope of their survival.

They were gone.

End of the story.

"Alright lassie, get ready. I'll hold onto ya, yer gonna be fine, but it'll be a little rough of a landing." Merida warned.

"Wait, what?" Vanellope asked, eyes wide when she noticed the black stallion nearing the edge without hesitation.

"Jump, Angus!" Merida commanded, pulling Vanellope toward her.

"Are you crazy?!" Vanellope hollered, just as Angus took flight. She shut her eyes, "Oh, you really are crazy!"

They didn't end up jumping down very far. Something broke the fall, and Vanellope cracked open one eye just out of curiosity. It seemed to be an old, broken sign that used to belong to a website which they had landed upon—a layer of dust came flying off of the plastic material.

She noticed that a blue fog was now surrounding them. Confusion swamped over her—she had thought this 'bottom' of the Internet was actually bottomless.

Regrettably she remembered the time she had ripped away the medal she had made for Ralph, and how she had heartlessly without a care threw it over the side, hoping it would disappear into some sort of oblivion. He'd still gotten it back, though—which meant he had been somewhere down in the bottom, which she hadn't really thought about before.

Angus whinnied, and started slowing down as he now started to navigate his way down the spiral staircase of piled up rubble. It was mostly broken metals that they were traveling over—most was scrapped. In the distance she could see a flickering light, lighting up the word Vine in green. Vanellope's eyebrows knitted together in concern, feeling a bit uneasy by how haunting it looked.

"What is this place?" she asked, suppressing a shiver.

"I know it might seem a bit dauntin' to ya, but it's the quietest place on the web. Sometimes when I need'ta think, I come here since it's deserted. This place is where dead sites and apps among other things go once they go offline. If the lassies ever caught me down here, I think I'd be a goner. I like'ta call it the Panbread Bucket."

"You mind translating that for me? I'm only about eighty-percent fluent in Merida." Vanellope's eyelids fell halfway as she craned her neck toward the princess.

"The dead trash." The red-head answered matter-of-factly, a delighted smile on her face. "Fitting name, don'tcha think?"

"Oh yes, the 'Panbread Bucket' is a great name." Vanellope sighed.

Some time passed by—apparently, this bottom went down far—and their descent came to a stop as Angus finally halted. Merida slipped off the back of the horse, and Vanellope followed suit. The racer coughed a bit as some dust came off of the ground. "Geez." Her voice echoed for a moment, and she paused to take note of how quiet it actually was.

She took a moment to survey the various pieces of broken building that surrounded them, reduced almost to rubble in some spots. The blue fog made it a little harder to see far away, but in the distance there was some larger buildings that barely looked that damaged at all. Ralph had come down to a place like this? Willingly? Just to get their medal back? Her eyes flitted to the ground, and that ache that she had become so used to burned in her chest as guilt washed over her.

She reached around her neck, one hand wrapping around the broken heart. Vanellope quickly started to feel ill, and she tucked it away again, being unable to look at it in full. The bracelet on her wrist was also a grim reminder of what she used to have before she mindlessly threw it all away just to. . . pursue some stupid dream.

"Yer still thinkin' about yer family, aren'cha?" Merida asked, who had been watching her face carefully.

"Yeah. . ." Vanellope replied.

"And yer regrettin' the choice in leavin' them, and wanting'ta change yer fate?" she inquired. Vanellope only nodded as the redheaded princess took a place beside her. "We're a lot alike."

"Uh. . . we are?" the child tilted her head to the side uncertainly. Merida nodded.

"I also wanted'ta change my fate, like ya did yerself. I was supposed'ta marry young because of tradition. So, I found a witch—and I made her make me a spell that I could use on my mum, and that ended up turning my mum into a bear."

"You what?!" Vanellope squeaked, a glitch running through her code as her eyes widened in horror. "That's not the same thing at all!"

Merida went on, ignoring Vanellope's alarm, "I made a mistake. I thought my mum was gonna be a bear forever, but I fixed it in the end. The point is lass, that we've both made mistakes. We couldn't have known what consequences might come from wanting'ta change our fates. We live'n we learn."

Vanellope suddenly felt a little bitter. A rush of anger found its way coming out all of a sudden as she crossed her arms. "Yeah, well, you got your happy ending. My friends didn't, neither did I. But it's not like I deserve it anyway."

Merida blinked as she saw Vanellope's puffed out cheeks. Her anger and sadness was almost contagious; it was thick in the air like a smog, so dense it could be sliced through with a knife. The redhead stared thoughtfully for a moment before she understood.

"Yer blamin' yerself for survivin'. Listen, lassie—ya still deserve'ta live happily, even if it hurts right now. I know how it feels'ta want'ta be able'ta take someone's place—ta save them from their fate. Don't think I don't know what's goin' on in yer head. Quit thinkin' that because yer still alive that it's a crime, and that it should'a been yerself instead."

Vanellope's eyes widened. Her fingertips felt numb as these words processed in her mind. She pouted and looked away, her coding splitting up into strands of numbers. "You're right. I do think that."

"But don't blame yerself, lass. Okay? You have every right'ta continue on."

Vanellope only nodded halfheartedly. Regardless of whatever she was going to hear, she was not going to stop blaming herself; she definitely was not convinced she had 'every right' to continue on without those she loved. She wouldn't believe that for a long time, at least. Seeing her friends' faces flashing in her mind was growing painful for her, and she squeezed her eyes shut tightly for a moment. She breathed out deeply before reopening them.

"So. . . no one lives down here? This is just. . . really a dead zone?" she turned to look at Merida, who had been still watching her. The redheaded teen easily saw the change in subject, and left the old topic behind alongside the younger girl.

"Aye." Merida nodded, "It's a sin, but there's not much here for anyone. They're auld sites, after all. That's not why I wanted'ta bring ya down here, though."

Vanellope's arms were at her sides as the redhead walked up to her. She pulled her bow from off her back, reaching for an arrow as well.

"Why then?" Vanellope asked curiously, knowing she was probably about to find out.

"I wanna teach ya how'ta shoot." Merida grinned.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Vanellope put her hands up, a glitch running through her code as a wave of uneasiness fell over her, "why?"

"A'body had their chance to cheer ya up, and that didn't work so well. Here's my way. Whenever I'm down, shootin' gets me cheery again."

"Look, Merida, it sounds cool and all. . . but Mulan already tried to pull this gig already with her sword, and I couldn't even lift the thing up." Vanellope pointed out.

"Does it look like a sword t'ya?" Merida gave the bow a little shake. "C'mon!"

Vanellope figured she wouldn't get out of the web's graveyard if she didn't comply, so she only sighed. She looked up, "Okay. . . but this means I'll have to teach you how to race sometime. Got it?"

Merida grinned before she put her full attention to her bow, "Can't be that hard, lassie; I can race on horseback plenty fine. Now, watch me. See that?" she gestured to one of the half-collapsed buildings, which was leaning so far over it might tilt over any second now. "I'm goin'ta batter up the windows."

Vanellope's eyes watched carefully as Merida's face grew serious—the most serious Vanellope had seen her. She raised the bow, pulling the arrow quickly into its rightful position. It took her a mere moment of internal calculation before she fired off repeatedly. Vanellope's eyes were wide as she watched Merida take out every window, her accuracy being perfect. The shattering of glass echoed throughout the place.

"Whoa! You. . . you really don't miss, do you?" Vanellope asked, sounding impressed.

Merida smirked, looking quite proud of herself, "No, no I don't. Now, yer turn. I'll help ya, don't worry."

Vanellope couldn't help but feel a bit excited all of a sudden as her sadness started to slip from her mind. Merida got on her knees to be leveled with Vanellope. The younger girl had the bow dropped in her hands, and she felt determination seize her as she gripped onto it.

"Now hold on'ta the arrow like this. Relax yer arm a little bit, yer not tryin'ta kill somebody. Face me, now turn yer head left, that's it. Shoulders back a bit more, and watch the feet. . . there ya go. Now, look at where yer aimin'."

Vanellope's eyes searched for a target. There was a few more windows on that building Merida had fired at earlier, but she needed a closer target.

Her eyes finally landed on another half-fallen building that was leaning away, but the windows were closer. A few were already broken; the few that were intact, though, was all that mattered to Vanellope. Her eyes narrowed.

"Target acquired."

"Alright. Pull back. . ." Merida said, pulling on Vanellope's arm as she tried to steady her. The red-head couldn't stop from grinning when she saw how serious Vanellope was. "Now let'er rip."

Vanellope let go of the arrow, and she watched as it flew away. It didn't hit the window—instead, it hit the wall of the building with a disappointing clunk and then fell down into the rubble. She felt disappointment wash over her, a frown on her face now.

"Don'tcha get all sour on me, it was a well shot for a first. Loosen up a bit."

Vanellope did as she was told, determined more than before to get this shot right. A second time, and still, no success. She breathed out, realizing how tense she actually felt. Then, she focused.

The third time, she listened as Merida repeated her instructions, taking note of every word. She made sure she was in a good position, and then she aimed, and fired.

The arrow whizzed out and there was a satisfying crrkk as the window shattered. Vanellope's eyes widened, and a huge smile appeared on her face.

"I did it! I actually did it!" she said with glee, and for the first time in a long time, she started to laugh as she bounced around.

"I'm proud. Even though yer a wee yin, ya still have good posture." Merida watched as Vanellope glitched around for a moment more before stopping in front of her.

"I wanna do it again." Vanellope said, eyes glowing with excitement.

This time around, it was easier to get into position again. Vanellope grinned as she got ready to fire off again.

That's when she fired again, and had another successful shot. Then, another. This time, Merida laughed with her as Vanellope got ready to fire again, trying to pause in her laughter as she shot again.

But that's when the world around her seemed to change as she got sucked into her mind.

Moments before she was in graveyard of the Internet, and the next she was transported somewhere completely different. Her body stiffened as she looked at the floor. Dark grating was below her feet; it looked foggy. In front of her were a bunch of targets meant to be shot at—the one she was aiming at was completely destroyed. And, the target was in the shape of a Cybug.

Vanellope paused in shock, noticing that she was holding something else in her hands now—her eyes widened slightly to see that it was a gun, some steam coming out of the front of it. That's when she knew where she was.

"You're a true natural, kiddo. Pretty soon, you'll be the sergeant around here."

At that voice, Vanellope froze up, and her eyes slowly moved to see that Calhoun was crouched beside her. A proud look was on her face. Vanellope didn't dare look away, feeling a bit shaky as her breathing hitched in her throat. Calhoun's smile seemed to fade as she noticed the grin dripping off of Vanellope's face, instead replaced by teary eyes.

"What's the matter?" the woman asked, now sounding fully concerned.

Vanellope's lip trembled as she forced out anything she possibly could, "Sarge?"

"I'm right here, kiddo." Calhoun gestured to herself as Vanellope lowered the gun.

Well, she looked real. The worry in her crystal blue eyes seemed real. And she sounded real, too.

The gun dropped from Vanellope's hands as she rushed forward, finding her arms around the sergeant's neck. She shut her eyes tightly as she felt a warmth embrace her as arms wrapped around her small form.

"What's gotten into you?" Calhoun asked.

"I'm just so glad you're here!" Vanellope answered, clinging to her as if for dear life. She could hardly believe that this was real! This was reality, not a nightmare, and she was so happy.

"Vanellope." Calhoun broke into her inner thoughts.

"Y-yeah?" Vanellope asked, voice dripping with a mixture of joy and relief.

"Vanell—"

"—ope!"

The child's eyes widened when she realized she was hearing Merida's voice now, and her eyes opened as she was taken back to reality. Tears fell from her eyes, and unbeknownst to her, she had been in the middle of pulling back an arrow. She let it fly carelessly away, and it flew straight past the building and over a hill of rubble.

The two watched as it went—both with shocked expressions on their faces. Vanellope quickly wiped her eyes against her sleeve, trying to come back to reality in full. Merida turned her attention back to Vanellope the second it was out of sight.

"Are ya alright? Ya froze up, and—"

Merida was in the middle of asking, when there was a piercing cry of pain coming from somewhere in the distance. It echoed, making chills run up and down Vanellope's spine. She didn't even have time to process whatever that had been—it felt so, so real. But she could think about it later.

She and Merida turned toward the sound—it had come from where the arrow had landed. Both of them looked back at each other.

"I thought you said the Panbread Bucket was abandoned!" Vanellope said with a hiss.

"Shush! Keep yer voice down, 'n that's what I thought!" Without hesitation the two headed off toward the sound. Vanellope glitched as she went. She felt worry wash over her in an instant. Had she actually hurt somebody due to her carelessness of. . . daydreaming? Imagining things? "Oi! Wait for me!" Merida hissed, but Vanellope was too far away, and wasn't listening.

The racer got to the top of the hill of rubbish. Vanellope's brows knitted in a frown as she strained to see through the fog.

"Hello?" she called out.

She was greeted with silence.

Cautiously she slid down the hill of rubble and landed on her feet, patting herself off as she looked around. It was almost like the fog was thicker over on the other side; at least, that's what it felt like. She squinted to see if anything was there, but she easily failed.

Her eyes then hit the ground. She bent down, a bit surprised when she saw there was a splatter of crimson liquid on the ground—and that definitely was not jelly donut filling. That's when she felt like something was watching her, and she uneasily straightened back up.

It was so quiet that Vanellope could hear everything, and there was a clear sound of the arrow being removed from skin, as it clearly was still piercing its target. There was a groan of pain—and it didn't sound too happy.

Hey, sorry for shooting you—Vanellope plotted saying in her mind—it was an accident. She turned though, and from the corner of her eye, she felt tense as through the fog, a person appeared, and now she hesitated. She could only see the outline—and that was enough to make her frown. Anyone down here in the dump might not be so friendly. As a result of her hesitation, she didn't even speak.

"Quite the unapologetic little brat, aren't you?" the voice drifted to her, and Vanellope felt a chill run down her spine. The voice sounded so hostile, no, so strange that she couldn't help but feel afraid.

A glitch ran through her code as she remained silent. That's when she heard some rustling behind her.

"Don't run off like that, yer worse than me after I have a fight with my mum—" Merida was saying, but then she paused when she, too, noticed the figure.

Silence from all three. Vanellope was unsure of her next move, but the other princess was already plotting something. Merida slowly moved to grab an arrow from her quiver, but froze when the outline spoke again.

"Oh, there's two annoying brats—so which one of you shot me? I guess it doesn't matter. Did you want your arrow back? Here! Take it." There was a giggle trailing behind the words.

At that, Merida grabbed Vanellope's hand and tugged her behind her as quickly as she could to shield her. Not a second later the sound of an arrow whizzing through the air echoed throughout the fallen place—and Merida could not suppress the shock at how fast it was going despite the clear lack of a bow as she kept her eyes trained on it. It was almost nonhuman. The two girls cowered down and prepared for some sort of impact, when the arrow flew right past the both of them and hit the building behind them.

"That huddy. . ." Merida hissed under her breath.

Vanellope, who had shut her eyes, opened them up in confusion. She turned her head and glanced to see that the arrow was, in fact, sticking out of the side of a half-fallen building that was leaning in their direction. But through the blue fog, it was clear it wasn't just an ordinary arrow anymore. At the end, strapped on tight, was a small black device with a red light flashing on it, barely visible through the thick fog. The beeps made it clear what its intention was as the delay in-between them grew shorter.

"Run!" Vanellope squeaked, grabbing onto Merida's hand as she rushed off. She glitched up the hill of rubble, hoping to get to the other side where Merida's horse was still waiting. The two of them went as fast as they could together.

A moment later, the sound of explosion sounded off just as the two got to the top of the hill.

Both let out a scream of surprise as the force blew up the building and also sent them flying forward. Vanellope scrunched her eyes shut as the ground came running at her, and she skidded against gravel, glitching in recoil when sharp bits stuck in her sides. Vanellope's ears were ringing from the explosion, and she was seeing double for a moment. When her vision cleared, she coughed a bit as the dust started to settle, and forced herself to turn and see Merida was struggling to push herself up.

The explosion had rattled the entirety of the surrounding area, and as a result, some of the other old website buildings were starting to collapse for good. Vanellope's feet moved for her as she glitched upright and raced toward her friend. The shadow of a mid-falling building was hovering over her as she struggled to regain her strength. Vanellope was faster, though, as she grabbed onto her friend's hand and then glitched away. Just as the two disappeared in a flash, the building collapsed.

Vanellope was catching her breath now as she stood a little ways away from the now broken building, wincing a bit at all the riled up dust. She glanced to see that Merida was finally coming back to, who also was recovering with some raspy coughs. Despite the ringing that was still in both of their ears, they were otherwise unscathed. That's when Merida grabbed Vanellope's hand and bolted.

The child looked over her shoulder to see that, through the blue fog and collected dust, there was a just visible outline atop the hill from which they'd come. And then, a bone-chilling laugh followed. Vanellope's heart was beating so fast she was sure it would jump out of her throat, and she found herself unable to take her eyes away from the figure's outline. The dust from the collapsed buildings, though, had finally found its way up in the air, and the figure's outline slowly dissipated into nothingness.

Merida didn't hesitate in the slightest as she jumped on the horse's back, who had been still waiting patiently—though, a bit nervous now from all the excitement—and they took off and began to ascend up the spiral staircase of rubble and fallen metal.

Vanellope watched over her shoulder the whole time, half-expecting to see whoever had attacked them running behind them to see the dirty deed of killing them done as they started uphill. When the coast was clear, there was relief.

"Heh. . . heh, that was close!" Vanellope started to nervously laugh. The older princess joined in, sounding even more awkward.

"That couldn'ta gone any worser!" Merida agreed, as she laughed to.

That was, until, Vanellope opened her eyes again when there was a loud snarl coming from behind them. Both Merida and Vanellope stopped laughing at the same time and turned their heads, eyes wide with surprise when they saw that three creatures were gaining on them.

"Sweet mother of monkey milk! What are those things?" Vanellope cried.

Their eyes glowed an ominous yellow—making chills run up and down her spine. Their mouths gaped with rows of sharp teeth, their bodies long and limbless like snakes. They zigzagged through the air with purpose to hurt the girls, but one thing definitely alarmed Vanellope the most. Though their faces appeared stable, their tail ends giltched and exploded with vibrant red binary. It was enough to nearly make her heart stop—between the yellow eyes and red glitching, she couldn't get. . . him out of her head.

It made her feel sick.

"Viruses." Merida hissed, and then saw the look of horror on her companion's face. "Don't go all whitey on me now, I need yer help ta skelp 'em!"

"What?!" Vanellope's eyes widened. "Let me drive the horse instead! I'm good at racing, not at attacking!"

"There's trouble up ahead too, so just do as yer told!" Merida said, shoving her bow toward Vanellope.

The racer's pupils shrunk a little as she held it in her hands. She glanced back up to see Merida, who was wielding only an arrow, sink the sharp tip into the viruses as they came at her. She nailed one just as it lunged at her. It crackled with binary as it violently shook, still trying to get to the red-headed princess as it struggled. She, however, had a stern frown on her face as she finally sank it in just deeply enough and it went still; without a care, she flicked it off her arrow and waited for the next one.

"I'm sorry! This is my fault because I was. . . I was daydreaming!" Vanellope frowned, and yelled over the snarls of viruses.

"It's fine! Now shoot!" Merida called back.

With the wind rippling through Vanellope's hair, she realized what she had to do. She closed her eyes, and started mumbling to herself.

"Okay, you can do this. You've dealt with Turbo, right? You can definitely deal with a bunch of measly viruses. Yeah, it's just as easy as shooting one of Calhoun's guns!"

Though she wasn't as confident as she would've liked. . .

Her brows furrowed as her mind started racing.

Oh, yeah, you've dealt with Turbo alright—but you couldn't even keep your precious family and friends safe! Pathetic! You're just going to die here and join the others as you should! What makes you so special that you get away while everyone else dies? You don't even deserve that right! What you really deserve is to be infected by a virus since you're so selfish. You're nothing more than a selfish little brat.

As the horrid thoughts filled her mind, tormenting her, tears managed to swell up in her eyes. She grit her teeth and she continued to stay in her self-induced trance even when one of the viruses snapped at her, nearly sinking its teeth into her arm.

"Oi! Stay with me!" Merida shouted at her, and that woke her up as she glanced in alarm to see the viruses readying themselves to actually hurt her this time. "Do it fer them!"

"W-what?" Vanellope stammered, looking at the redhead as she sank her arrow into another virus; it whined as she whisked it away. Merida faced her, a stern looking on her face.

"Live on fer yer friends! It's what they would want, right? They wouldn't want'ta see ya sad and believin' it should'a been yerself instead who was gone! So do this, live on, fer them! Make 'em proud!"

Vanellope searched Merida's face, her eyes wide. The words echoed in the young girl's mind for a moment, and something seemed to click.

Since when was it selfish to continue going on? No. . . they would want me to, I know they would. They risked their lives for me in the past so that I could live on, a happy life free of that monster. . .

Her mind had been a torrent of agony, but now all those dark thoughts started to push away. A glitch ran through her code and a concentrated look overcame her face. Her brows furrowed together again as she snagged an arrow from Merida's quiver.

Merida glanced over her shoulder, a delighted look quickly coming to her face as she saw Vanellope fire an arrow straight into the closest virus's mouth. It squeaked before collapsing.

"I knew ya had it in you, ya wee yin!" Merida hollered with a laugh.

At this encouragement, the racer couldn't help but smile. Then she frowned again as she pulled another arrow, attacking the next virus. But more just kept coming. Vanellope paled as six more appeared when she took out three. They had only a few arrows left.

She fired off more accurate shots—the training with Calhoun in the past had certainly paid off—though the last virus she'd shot had gotten a bit too close.

"We're almost to the top!" Merida informed her, and Vanellope felt some relief. Though she had just let loose her last arrow, and now there were viruses gaining on them.

"Think, Vanellope, think!" her mind was scrambling with any ideas on what she should do. She dug in her pockets to see if she had anything to possibly distract them with.

Her hand met a bottle's. She had forgotten all about her soda—it was warm now, but that didn't matter; she wasn't going to be drinking it now.

With Merida's bow still in one hand, she aggressively shook the bottle of cola with the other. She was hoping this would work to distract them for just a second, so they could make their great escape—

Pop! The cap blew off and cola came spewing out, just as the nearest virus dove toward her. The soda sprayed all over it, and in recoil the virus let out a heinous, pained screech. Vanellope's eyes were wide as she saw steam coming off the nasty little creature, and electric sparks as well—as if it was short-circuiting. No, perhaps that was exactly what was happening.

The virus, still steaming, eventually fell from midair and began its long descent to the ground as its screams grew distant. The others which had been following seemed to become afraid, and stopped their pursuit as they scattered away, going back from where they came.

Vanellope felt an arm wrap around her to secure her as she was pulled back to the front, and a moment later Angus leapt up and they were back on the usual path of the Internet as if they were never down there. Finally, they were out safely. The horse came to a halt, and both girls were panting in relief that they'd gotten away mostly unscathed. Vanellope looked up.

Merida's face was unusually dark now, a mix of confusion and anger clear in her expression. She still was holding onto an arrow, a virus stuck on the end of it as it continued to snap at her.

"I have never encountered anything livin' down there." Merida ran one hand through her curls as she went on, "The burds would have my head fer sure if they knew I put you in danger. I'm sorry, Vanellope, and thanks, ya really saved both our hides back there."

Their ride was now walking at a steady pace, seeming calmer once far away from all the action. Vanellope turned around, and though Merida was fearing the worst, her face was unexpectedly bright with delight.

"Did you see that?! I was shooting them out of the air, and then the soda? Oh man, they hated the soda! It was so great! I didn't think it was gonna work, but then bam!" Vanellope slammed her tiny fists together in glee.

"So. . . yer alright?"

"Hey, it might've been a little scary, but I've taken on he who shall not be named for code's sake—and look, I'm still kicking! After all, whoever that was, I did shoot them first, so I guess I gave them a reason to be angry. . . but the explosives were a bit much. . . and then those viruses came out of nowhere. Huh, maybe it has been too long since I've been out, I think I've forgotten how thrilling a little danger can be, even if it was terrifying."

Merida blinked at this response as Vanellope leaned back, looking up at her with a toothy grin. She was glad to see Vanellope smile, but she was worried about something else.

"I think that huddy sent the viruses after us." She frowned. "And, y'know, I never have seen an arrow go that fast before in my life. Not even I have enough force'ta do somethin' like that, and it seems like that bampot did it effortlessly as well. Without even usin' a bow! That's impossible."

"Well. . . we both saw it."

"Aye, that's the issue. I wish I hadn't, it's gotten my mind ablaze." Merida sighed, and looked away. "No normal person would be able'ta do that. There's somethin' odd about it, I'm tellin' ya. Not'ta mention that. . . someone's willingly livin' down there, or is down there for some reason."

"Don't get your curls in a twist, we probably just invaded their space and that's why they got mad at us—well, aside from my little. . . moment." Vanellope shrugged off her concern, but felt a bit self-conscious of her own actions.

Merida sighed through her nose. She wasn't letting the idea of someone trying to kill them go so easily, but to keep Vanellope's spirits up, she pushed the thought aside. She only nodded slowly, but then she paused, looking up. "By the way, this stays between us two, right?"

"Uh huh!" Vanellope couldn't hide her grin. "My lips are sealed. I don't feel like getting lectured."

Merida stared at the snarling virus she still had impaled for a moment, and something seemed to click in her mind. She had been severely impressed by how Vanellope's bravery had come out in a time of need. There was just one thing she was missing.

"Ya know what? I think it's time."

"Time for what?"

"Yer gonna see."

Vanellope's adrenaline from the events from before had died down. Her mood seemed to fall when she saw the familiar face of OhMyDisney. Time away had did her good. . . somewhat. Quiet was shared between the two girls as they both were lost in thought. Vanellope hadn't had time to think about it then, but now she was thinking about how she had gotten so lost in that daydream with Calhoun.

It felt a little too real. She'd easily gotten entranced by that moment. Oh, how cruel it was; but she couldn't get angry at herself for being reminded of that time in the moment. That day in particular was a fond memory of Vanellope's. It hadn't been long after Turbo's death. Calhoun offered to help teach her how to be able to take care of herself, in case something like Turbo ever happened again. While Vanellope was suspicious of the idea of going alone with her, she could never pass up the opportunity to explore a new game.

That day, though, was the start of a great bond between them. Calhoun was impressed with Vanellope's shooting. She had called her a natural and even suggested she practice on some real Cybugs in the future. And yes, they did it, and Vanellope had much more fun than she had expected with her new friend. Who knew killing bugs could be bonding time?

But thinking about those times hurt now. They shouldn't have. They should have been fond to look back on, but Vanellope couldn't even bear to think about it a second longer. She shook her mind free of the past, and brought herself back to reality.

"Uhhh. . . so where are we going, exactly?" Vanellope asked, raising a brow as Merida made a turn toward a part of the site she hadn't gone to yet.

"Be patient, we're almost there." Merida smirked, which worried Vanellope.

Vanellope's eyes scanned the floor. The Netizens over here weren't dressed up in silly mouse ears and princess gowns and crowns; instead, they donned more serious looking costumes. One caught her eye—they were clad in red and golden robotic armor, their eyes glowing blue. Vanellope's eyes went wide when she spotted one with flowing, golden hair; he was wielding a hammer as he grinned.

A glitch ran through her code as she veered her sight away, being uneasily reminded of a certain someone who also used to wield a hammer.

Merida guided her horse as she went down a small alley between two of the towering buildings, and they strayed from the crowds. Vanellope was feeling more antsy by the second. Though she knew she could trust Merida, their destination was becoming more concerning by the second.

That's when Angus came to a halt, and Merida jumped off her companion. Vanellope glitched off and ended up on the ground beside her redheaded friend.

"We've arrived." Merida gestured to the door that they were now standing outside of. Vanellope blinked, and then she frowned.

"So you brought me to a door?" she asked cheekily.

"Don't give me that type of sass. But I suggest waitin' over there for just a second." Merida pushed Vanellope off to the side. Though Vanellope was curious as to why, she was sure she would find out in a second.

Then the redheaded princess took in a breath as she went up to the door. Her knuckles rapped on it a few times.

There was a moment of silence before there was more knocking. Then, more quiet followed. Vanellope opened her mouth.

"I don't think whoever you're looking for is—" she had started, but was quickly silenced as the door flung open unexpectedly.

A light now filled the alleyway; the form of a gun appeared as it aimed up at Merida, and it was the only thing Vanellope could see. She was really impressed by the technology over in Hero's Duty—and this gun seemed similar to the type of weaponry over there. As in, if fired, it would probably disintegrate the two of them and the whole alleyway instantly. But it was staring Merida right in the face. . . so why wasn't she afraid?

"Oi!" the girl shouted, looking unphased as she pushed it down. "Ya know, this is why this place never gets customers."

"Can't a guy be cautious these days?" a gruff voice responded.

"Who'd ya think was knocking? Thenoes?"

"Thanos—and by the way, we don't talk about that name around here. You coming in or what?"

"I didn't come alone." Merida quickly clarified, and she looked over to where Vanellope was cautiously hiding. The redhead beckoned her over with a hand. The young girl hesitantly came over to join her friend's side. She swallowed harshly as she looked up hesitantly, but then her fear seemed to dissipate. "So, Vanellope, I'd like ya'ta meet Rocket."

The racer took in the stranger's features; the first notable thing was that he was a raccoon. For a moment, she was confused as to why Pocahontas had one that didn't talk. Maybe they weren't supposed to talk? She'd seen plenty of talking animals during her time at OhMyDisney, and it didn't really surprise her anymore. But he was somehow different, actually wearing clothes—an orange one piece suit that came down to the knee with black designs running along it.

Most of the crazy hooligans she'd run into—one of them being a yellow bear—decided that just a shirt or nothing at all was fine, so she was more than impressed. The two of them were having a stare down. Vanellope noted that he was not much taller than her as she gazed up at him.

"Where'd you find this one? Candyland?" the raccoon asked sarcastically, not breaking eye contact with her. Vanellope's eyes twitched away as she noticed Merida's fist fly into his shoulder to make him shut up. He frowned at her, but she was staring daggers into him.

"Technically, I'm from Sugar Rush—but close enough." Vanellope answered, giving a cheeky grin as he looked back toward her. "And where are you from? The dumpster?"

She had, on a few occasions, caught Pocahontas's pet raccoon digging through any trash he could find. A nasty habit, but one that seemed unique to his species from what Pocahontas had told her.

Rocket's brows furrowed as Merida quieted a laugh behind her hand, while Vanellope looked satisfied with her response. But a moment later, even the raccoon seemed impressed by the quip as he cracked a half-grin.

"At least you've got humor on you unlike some of Merida's other friends." She nearly missed the extended hand—er, paw?—reaching out to her. "Nice to meet you, kid."

She reached forward and shook it with a grin. "You know, you're way cooler than Meeko."

The name seemed familiar to him as his ear flicked, and Rocket blinked before he looked up at Merida. "I like her already."

The three were inside a moment later. Vanellope was looking all around as the door shut behind them. The floor was metal beneath her feet, and on the walls hung various weapons with pricetags on them.

"How do you two even know each other?" Vanellope inquired, curiosity spread across her expression. Rocket and Merida, who were standing side by side, looked at each other.

"Security around this site is pretty terrible. The story's a bit long, but all that matters is you know she got me and a friend out of some trouble with Storm Troopers. Who thought they could keep the site secure?" Rocket gave an irritated shrug. "Anywho, long story short—ever since she got my buddy and I out of trouble with them, we've been friends ever since."

Vanellope blinked, and then raised a brow, "So you can understand her fine?"

"Takes a while to get her lingo, but yeah," he gave another shrug, "the princesses—sorry, I mean the prisses—must be deaf."

"Wait, let me get this straight—you think the princesses are prisses, but you're friends with Merida?"

"First, I'm also friends with a tree and a rabbit cop, so as you can tell I have no boundaries in selecting friends. Second, have you seen her? She barely qualifies as a princess." Rocket said casually, smirking a bit as Merida's cheeks puffed out.

"Oi, and you barely pass as a raccoon, ya walkin' trash panda!" She pointed at him.

Rocket's tail immediately fluffed out, eyes narrowing as he glared up at her.

"What did you just call me?"

Vanellope's mouth opened to say anything to stop them as the two launched into a back and forth argument. Vanellope had been concerned at first, but seeing how the two of them were grinning made it clear they were having a good time insulting each other, and this was just typical for them.

She tuned them out and her eyes found themselves looking past the weapons on the walls; she caught sight of a bunch of machinery that was in the back, and some tools and such were lying about. It now became clear to her just how techy of a guy Rocket really was. Vanellope didn't know what any of it did or what it was, but she was curious.

Just as fast as the fight had broke out, Merida and Rocket's argument had ended.

"So, to what do I owe the pleasure, Curly?" he asked, smirking a bit when Merida seemed annoyed by the nickname. She didn't say anything, but she did pull the arrow out of her quiver which still had the little virus attached. Rocket immediately snatched it from her as he jumped onto his desk, examining it in the light. "Where'd you get one of these?"

"The Panbread Bucket." Merida answered. "We were attacked there."

The raccoon seemed surprised. "You brought a kid down there?"

"Look. . . I just thought takin' her out fer a shoot would get her spirits back up." Merida explained. Rocket looked at her inquisitively as he poked the virus, resulting in it growling. He was obviously waiting for some sort of follow up. Merida went on in a more hushed voice, "Her family's. . . deid recently."

Her friend's face instantly fell, and he poked the virus again as he contemplated the thought. He kept it on its arrow as he shoved the thing into a box, locking the top.

Finally he settled on a response, "Poor kid." Both of them stayed quiet for a moment as reality sank in. Then, the silence was interrupted, "So why'd you bring her here?"

Merida approached the desk, which Rocket was still sitting on. She slammed her hands down, staring at him as they became eye-level.

"I want ya'ta make her a weapon. Every princess needs somethin'ta defend themselves with, and she's good with aiming."

"What? She looks like she couldn't even kill a fly. Actually, where did she go?" he swiveled his head around until he saw her. "Hey, kid! Get away from that!"

Vanellope, not expecting the shout, glitched violently as her heart flew into her throat. She had been poking at the machinery. "Sheesh, okay! Scream a little louder next time, I don't think I heard it all that well!" Vanellope called back, frowning. She headed back over to where the two of them were, and then she became thoughtful as her frown faded. "You know what? You're the first one who hasn't been surprised by my glitch."

"Is that what you call it?" the raccoon asked, sounding interested. "Listen, I've been all over the galaxy, kid. Nothing surprises me anymore, not even a superpower like that." Rocket stroked his chin thoughtfully before going on, "You know. . . since you're running into those nasty viruses anyway, I think you could use something to defend yourself. Just in case you run into them again."

"That's why we're here?" Vanellope looked at Merida excitedly, who nodded. "I never thought about getting one before, but. . . ooh, I'll need a title and everything! Vanellope the Virus Slayer! Vanellope the Virus Crusher! No, no. . . I'll think of something. But what kinda weapon am I even gonna use? This is so exciting!"

"By the way, who's the one planning on paying me?" Rocket shot an inquiring look toward the redhead, who heaved a sigh.

"I'll get ya yer money, cheapskate. Anyways, she needs a bow. She can shoot pretty well. A bit shaky, but she can aim." Merida said.

Rocket rolled his eyes, being unable to hide how aggravated he seemed; it all showed in the face.

"Ugh, you and those bows," he groaned, casting the redhead a glare, "they are outdated. I bet you she wants something more like this!"

He jumped to his feet and pulled out his gun again, grinning as it loaded up and made a loud whirr. Vanellope's eyes lit up in awe.

"No, she needs a bow." Merida insisted, shoving the gun away. "The last thing she needs is somethin' like that, she'd blow up the whole website! She's just a wee yin for cryin' out loud! And isn't that type'a weapon prohibited here?"

"Sure, but no one's gotta know. What are they gonna do? Arrest me?"

"Considering ya know a cop, I would be a teeny bit more concerned about somethin' like that happening!"

The two continued to banter while Vanellope was lost in her excitement again. Calhoun had always wanted to get her her own gun, but it just never ended up happening. So to get this opportunity, she felt really eager. Plus, banging up those viruses did feel pretty satisfying.

And then, something in particular had caught her eye out of the blue.

On the wall was a flamethrower. Her brown eyes stared at it intensely for a moment as she sunk into her deepest musing. She wondered if fire would do anything against viruses like how they hated soda. Now that she thought about it again, the way the viruses had reacted to the soda was actually mind boggling. For some reason, it really bothered them and caused them to short-circuit. She stared at the flamethrower some more, thinking and thinking. And then, an idea popped into her mind.

A wonderful idea, in fact. Her eyes slowly grew big as a smile appeared across her face, excitement washing over her like a wave. She let out a little squeak of eagerness at this sudden revelation on what her weapon could be.

She was brought out of her trance when she heard the bickering continue. Merida and Rocket's foreheads were pressed together as they argued.

"Bow!"

"Gun!"

"Bow!"

"Gun!"

"Hey!" Vanellope interrupted, causing it to end as she glitched onto the desk. The two looked heated as they glanced at her, foreheads still stuck together. "Do you take customized requests?" she looked at Rocket with hope in her eyes, and she clasped her hands together nervously.

The princess and raccoon backed off of each other and took a moment to think. Merida and him both shared a look before he rubbed the back of his neck, "Well. . . I wouldn't be against it."

"Really?" Vanellope glitched with glee. "And you're so smart you can make anything, right?!"

"Yeah, that's right." Rocket smirked. "Finally, someone who understands I'm a genius."

"So you definitely can make this weapon for me! It's gonna be the first of its kind!"

Rocket seemed interested. "Okay, kid, normally I wouldn't do this for just anyone, but since you're so keen on it all of a sudden. . . tell me what you want me to make."

Vanellope's eyes lit up with delight.

And then, she told him exactly what she wanted. He listened intently, understanding the child's idea; on the other hand, Merida's face was screwed up as she narrowed her eyes at the drawing Rocket was creating to replicate what Vanellope was telling him. By the time she was done feeding him her ideal weapon in mind, she was beyond excitement as she surveyed the picture the raccoon had drawn out.

"It looks great!" she couldn't hide her excitement. "It's going to be amazing!"

"I'll do my best. I'll need a while to make it up for you, though. In the meantime, go hang out with the prisses. Come back tomorrow."

"You're gonna make it in a day?!" Vanellope was flabbergasted, her eyes quickly growing wide. "I was thinking maybe a week? Sheesh, you work fast! When our karts break down in Sugar Rush, it takes forever—" She cut herself off as memories refilled her head of her old home. It instantly put a damper on her mood as she quieted down. And then she mumbled, "Well. . . it doesn't matter, because Sugar Rush is gone now."

Merida and Rocket only stared at her as her form flickered a little, and she sighed. Vanellope just couldn't shake the horrible feeling she got when thinking about. . . her true home. She internally shuddered at the thought of the twenty-one years she'd spent in the game, and the fact that they were all in the past now, and how she could never go back because of her own selfishness. . . she really missed it.

Before she could think of anything else, she felt a firm touch on her shoulder.

"Hey," she wasn't expecting the gruff voice to sound softer now, and she looked up to meet Rocket's face. She felt a sudden wisdom come over her as she gazed deep into his expression, recognizing some sort of hurt there. Almost like he too had wounds like her own that had gone unhealed. It was clear he was about to coddle her in some way from that look he was giving her, and she wasn't exactly ready. "It does matter. Even if that place is gone now, and the memories are just memories, that doesn't mean you can't reflect happily on them."

Vanellope didn't flinch at the words; she didn't deny them in her mind, but all she could say was, "But what if right now I can't look back on them happily?"

"You'll learn to look back on them happily." Rocket offered, retracting his paw from her shoulder. "I'm no good at comfort, kid, but you'll get there someday. It just takes time. Everyone has lost something, but we all learn to deal with the pain eventually."

"You sound like you're talking from experience." Vanellope said.

"You've got no idea, kid."

She gave him a grateful look, her eyes soft. Though the two of them were wildly different and came from completely opposite worlds, it was clear all of a sudden to her that it wasn't only her who had suffered in the world. She'd thought a lot about the princesses, and their memory banks that were filled with things that never had happened to them personally. But still, if those things hadn't ever happened, it still made them who they were today. Even Calhoun, who had never once touched her ex-husband felt a bitter pain about him sometimes, but had grown from her grief.

She realized just how much pain could get around, and how even a complete stranger could have their own pains, too. She. . . hadn't thought about it like that; but she recognized that, truly, she wasn't the only one who had suffered, just as she had thought before. The world wasn't only against her. Others had lost, too.

She was so blind with grief that she had ignored the fact that she wasn't alone, when she had wanted to isolate herself all this time, and felt like she had no one who understood.

What she didn't realize, though, was that it would take a chat with a near stranger to wake her up to that fact.

"Thank you." Vanellope settled on a response, sounding like herself again.

"Since when have ya gotten so nice?" Merida nudged Rocket. He contemplated her inquiry for a moment before he smirked.

"I've been all around the galaxy. Maybe I've picked up a few tricks about how to be a good person along the way."

With the promise of her weapon being made by the next day, Vanellope and Merida went on their way. They were riding the horse again; Vanellope still was wearing a smile on her face. She felt. . . relieved, in a sense.

While she had been reassured by the princesses before, and had heard of their own tragedies and shortcomings, she still felt alone. But now, it was as though something in her mind had finally shifted. The pain she was feeling wasn't going to leave anytime soon, but she realized now she didn't deserve to be alone. Everyone else had pain, too, and she couldn't let it get the best of her. She didn't want to drown beneath a sea of her own creation, weighing with regrets and sadness.

Instead, she would continue to fight against the current so that she too could look back on her time with everyone she held near and dear to her heart with fondness instead of emptiness—like others did. But while that seemed to be impossible now, perhaps it would become reality in the future.

Vanellope felt light after the events that had unfolded in the past hour. As if a weight had lifted off her shoulders. Like the eternal loneliness she had accepted and adorned like a crown had now crumbled.

The two girls had been continuing their ride back to the Princesses Lounge on horseback. They were talking casual as they reached the door; Merida was re-praising the young girl for her courage in taking on the viruses. Vanellope was trying to play it off, though smirking on the inside. She really did feel so much better. But that wasn't going to last long.

As they entered, though, the room was all silent. And boy, did Vanellope feel dread as she looked ahead.

She recognized her friends from Slaughter Race, all gathered like a pack of lost sheep without their shepherd and congregating with the other princesses. Vanellope felt a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought about. . . Shank. She hadn't exactly addressed that in her mind yet. Aside from her cursing Shank up and down from deep within her soul, she hadn't come to terms with Shank's true intentions yet, and she wasn't sure she ever would.

"Vanellope, we've been so worried about you!" the first one to speak up was Little Debbie. Though Vanellope was still sizing up the group to make sure Shank wasn't there, and thankfully, the older racer was absent.

Vanellope glitched slightly, hearing the edge of uneasiness in the woman's tone. "W-what are you guys doing here?" she asked, brows furrowed.

"Well, we thought you needed space after everything happened. So we've left you alone." Pyro explained.

"But. . . well. . . we have a problem." Felony added uneasily.

"Are the players noticing I'm gone?" Vanellope immediately asked, eyes widening. The idea had never crossed her mind.

"No, it's not that. You're fine." Butcher Boy reassured her. And then he seemed to hesitate. The others did too. This only made Vanellope feel more antsy.

"The players aren't noticing you're missing. They are noticing that Shank is missing." Elsa took it upon herself to speak up, coming up beside Vanellope.

The dark-haired child's eyes widened slightly, and then she looked down. Her code exploded into binary for a moment as the information reached her brain. But then she frowned, her fists balling up.

"So? What's that got to do with me?" she demanded, her voice quickly rising as her glitches became worse. She looked at Shank's buddies seethingly. "I lost everyone I ever knew because she didn't let me go back! If I had known. . . I could've done something! Now I have to go looking for her?"

The Slaughter Race squad's faces showed their visible reactions; between sadness and surprise, they all were taken aback by her words. It was clear her feelings toward Shank were still pretty bitter. Vanellope's brows were furrowed as she continued to glitch and think.

It was all Shank's fault I've felt so alone! It was all Shank's fault my whole world is collapsing in on itself. No one here understands it. No one here knows what I'm feeling—

That was, until a voice broke through the fog that was clouding up her mind.

"Yesss is gone as well. The two of them went searching to find out what happened to the arcade. They wanted to try and right the wrong." Elsa said gently, crouching down as she put a hand on the girl's shoulder. A soothing action which actually worked. Vanellope's anger began to ebb away slowly as she comprehended what the queen had said.

"That doesn't. . . that doesn't matter." Vanellope's form glitched again, and Elsa's eyes grew sad. "Because of what she did, she prevented me from ever seeing my friends again. Don't you see how messed up that is? How could I. . . how could I ever forgive that?"

There was silence. No one was quite sure how to respond to her anguish. These feelings that she had been bottling up about Shank were definitely. . . not positive in the slightest. She just couldn't understand how Shank had been able to be so cruel, even if she did want to keep her safe.

"Vanellope. . . I think it's time we tell you something that we've kept from you. Just because we don't like talking about it." Little Debbie said, the most quiet the girl had ever heard her.

Vanellope looked up in confusion, a glitch running through her code.

And then, just like that, the story of how Shank lost Shiv was retold. During the retelling, Vanellope couldn't help but feel a flurry of emotions wash over her. Surprise, sadness, guilt, anger, confusion came down on her all at once. Once a while ago, when Vanellope told Shank about Turbo, it seemed Shank wanted to reveal her own traumatic experience, but she didn't.

Now, Vanellope knew what she wanted to say, but hesitated on. This story. As it was retold, she couldn't help but be reminded of herself. Was that same sadness that Shank felt when Shiv left Slaughter Race the same as Ralph's pain of her wanting to leave? It made her feel angry at herself.

But that story, well. . . it explained. . . absolutely everything. Shank's selfishness in wanting to keep Vanellope away from the arcade, going through her phone, seeming more on the edge during the days leading up to the reveal. . . it all started to click.

And by the time the retelling was over, Vanellope was surprised she wasn't broken down into a crying mess. Because suddenly, the grudge she'd held against Shank. . . well, it wasn't really as thickly laid on now, even if it had lifted just slightly. No, there was no doubt she was still upset about the loss of her friends, and she still was angry at Shank, but at least. . . the logic behind her actions were adding up. She just didn't want to lose another person she cared so deeply about—that was all, but she made a horrible decision.

Shank didn't want to be held responsible for Vanellope's death, just as she felt responsible for Shiv's, even if that meant the girl would never see anyone she had previously loved ever again. It was obvious that if Shank had the opportunity presented to her to prevent something like that happening again, she was going to.

There were more words being spoken, but she had tuned them all out entirely. She thought back on before, when she realized she wasn't alone, and that the world wasn't against her. She thought back on how horrible she'd been feeling to lose people she cared about.

Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she cared deeply about Shank. Her intentions toward Vanellope had always been good no matter what. She gave Vanellope the opportunity to follow her on-a-whim dream and supported her through the choice. And, she had inadvertently saved her life, even if it meant Vanellope would end up hating her. Vanellope, after all, would've rather gone down with her best friends than survive all alone. It was due to that, that she had felt so utterly hopeless and alone.

And for Shank to end up saving Vanellope's life at the extent of everyone else's life had made Vanellope feel like the most selfish, terrible person for surviving a tragedy that no one saw coming.

But at the end of the day, even with how deep her anger was, she still loved Shank. Someday, maybe she would be able to fully forgive her and push away her grief about all the horrible things that had happened recently. Maybe if she just put on a smile, she would be able to forget like Shank had hurt her.

She wasn't sure if she really could, but she did know she still cared for the woman deep down, no matter what grudge she held against her.

Vanellope herself couldn't bear think about losing someone else she cared about. And now, Yesss, who was another good friend to her, was missing as well. The whole thing seemed fishy. But Vanellope couldn't let more of her precious friends die on her. Not again, not ever again, no matter how mad she was at one of them.

This time, she was going to see to it that they were safe, no matter what. She wasn't going to have more death haunt her.

She looked back up, and cleared her throat. The voices around her died down as they turned to listen to her.

"If I lose one more person that I love," her voice was soft, "I'm going to lose my mind. So, count me in. I'm going to find those two if it's the last thing I do! I might not have forgiven Shank completely, but. . . but I don't want to see her gone. I want to try and make our friendship work. I really do, even if. . . it takes forever."

While she was really, really upset with Shank, she could at least now understand the logic behind her actions. It had cost the life of her friends, something that she knew deep down she could never fully forgive. She hadn't exactly fully forgiven her racer friends' actions for tormenting her for fifteen years, after all—the kid knew how to keep a grudge going. But in the meantime, she didn't want Shank out of her life completely.

She wanted to work on their friendship as much as possible, and she wanted to try and forgive her. Even if her actions were something she could never fully forgive.

The facial expressions around the room stirred with surprise. This unexpected turn of events was not something the Slaughter Race gang saw coming, nor the princesses. There was quiet for a moment, and then it was broken.

"Atta girl!" Moana said from where she stood, looking at her proudly.

"And of course, we want to help too." Mulan said. "They're our friends too, after all."

"But what about the site?" Little Debbie asked.

"It can live without us for a while." Anna grinned.

"That's right." Elsa rejoined her sister's side.

"Now, let's make a search-party plan!" Ariel cried with a grin.

As the group gathered around to discuss, Vanellope felt a tap on the shoulder before she could join them.

"I'm proud'a ya, lassie." Merida smiled, eyes twinkling.

Vanellope grinned, because she was proud of herself, too.

Part of her was scared, though, and the smile faded away. She was afraid she would never see Shank again, just as she had wished before.

That was the last thing she'd ever said to Shank. I never want to see you again!

It echoed in her mind and haunted her, and guilt crept up on her once again. But she was conflicted. Her anger and sadness toward Shank was still very, very evident. That didn't mean she wanted to never see Shank again, though. She wanted to work out their friendship, that much was true, but. . . could she really? She would never get the chance to, though, if she never saw her again.

However, in that moment, she promised herself she would find Shank. Vanellope would try to learn how to forgive her, and they would be able to live on happy once more, just like the good old days before things went downhill.

Things could go back to normal, even though Vanellope's precious family and friends were all gone, right? Even though it was Shank who had prevented her from getting to them. Even though that thought still made her miserably angry beyond any reasoning. Even though she knew deep down, she would never be able to get over that.

Right?