A/N: It's the first WIR fic I'm posting so please be nice. This starts during the scene when the virus infected Slaughter Race.
Disclaimer: I don't own Wreck-it Ralph, it's owned by Disney.
Enjoy!
"Looks like we're not finished. Come on, V, let's go." Shank said with a smirk and speeded up her car to follow the player that was heading to the Bert's Chop Shop to deliver a car. Vanellope smiled and followed her until she noticed a huge Ralph-like figure.
"Ralph?!" Vanellope exclaimed and pushed the brakes, the tire screeched as her car stopped moving. She looked back to see the Ralph-like looking figure was actually a giant gorilla balloon on top of a shop. "Huh. Okay, relax." She told herself as she glitched. "Relax! I'll just call him after the race. It'll be okay." She tried to calm herself down but kept on glitching. "Ralph will be fine. He'll understand, Vanellope. Stop freaking out and just focus on the race." She told herself and took a deep breath, her glitching calmed down a bit. "Good, now let's just finish this r-" she interrupted herself as she noticed the nearby building glitching violently, then the building next to it and after a few seconds, almost everything. She gasped. "What is happening?" she asked to herself and started up her car, catching up to Shank. Was it happening because of her glitch? There was no glitch here except her, so obviously it happened because of her. Maybe her glitch was too unstable for this game to handle.
Vanellope caught up to Shank who was worried as well. "Come on, kid. The game is crashing, let's go!" she shouted.
"I think it's my glitch!" Vanellope shouted back. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to destroy your game!"
"We'll be fine, but your code isn't part of this game, we gotta get you out of here now. Follow me to the exit!" Shank commanded and speeded up, Vanellope right behind her. Vanellope felt guilty, ever since she became a racer her glitch had always been something she could trust with her life, it defined her, and was what made her feel like herself. Her glitch had messed up everything today.
Vanellope came out of her thoughts as she noticed a building turning into pixels and crashing down, blocking her way. "Oh, no, no!" She stomped the 'stopper' pedal, her car screeched and crashed into the building, recoiling back and crashing into the debris. Vanellope's head banged against the steering wheel, knocking her unconscious and everything went black.
Maybe this was the end, she wished she'd never abandoned Sugar Rush. They had gotten the steering wheel, she could have just gone back to the arcade instead of deciding to stay here and following her stupid dream. That's it, you die outside your game you don't regenerate. She didn't even get the chance to see Ralph for the last time. She wished she could see him, tell him how much he meant to her and how he had helped her learn who she was, thank him for everything he did for her.
"Ralph…" Escaped her throat as she started to fade out until she heard a voice.
"Kid!" It was familiar, very familiar. "Kid, where are you?!" she fought to open her eyes to see Ralph rushing towards her.
"The server is rebooting, Ralph. Both of you have to get out of here now!" Shank's voice added.
"Kid, I got you. I got you." He whispered. The last thing she noticed was the cookie medal with the words 'You're my Hero' before she faded out.
"Game reboot…" The announcer announced. "5…4…3…2…" Ralph punched opened the closed gates of the game and rushed out with an unconscious Vanellope in his hands. "…1…Reboot in-progress."
Ralph gently laid her on the floor. "Come on, Vanellope. Wake up. Don't leave me, kid." He whispered, she slowly opened her eyes to look at him.
"Ralph?"
Ralph breathed in relief. "Oh, there you are. You okay, kid?"
Vanellope looked at him for a moment before her eyes filled with tears. "Ralph…I messed up so bad." She squeaked.
"No, you didn't. It's okay."
"This is all because of me and my glitch." Vanellope stood up, wiping her tears. "I should've just stayed with you instead of following some stupid dream!" she cried and hug him, sobbing as she tightly gripped his overalls. "I ruined everything."
"No, kid, no. Don't cry, it's okay." Ralph hugged her back, softly patting her back as she kept sobbing. Ralph felt tears coming in his eyes as well. But he couldn't tell her that it was him who ruined the game, he could expect what would happen if he did. She probably wouldn't want to be his friend if she found out. It's probably not the right time. 'Better not let her know right now.' He thought.
"No, it's not okay!" Vanellope said, backing off and looking at him. "None of this would've happened if I hadn't decided to follow that stupid dream I had. None of this would have happened if I'd just told you everything." She sobbed and looked down. "I…wanted to live in Slaughter Race forever, Ralph. But I was too afraid to tell you because I thought you might get hurt, I was afraid that you…that you wouldn't want to be my friend anymore." Ralph's eyes widened, she was keeping it a secret because of that? And he thought she was the one who was betraying him, how could he be so wrong about her? "And I know you might hate me for it now, Ralph. I don't blame you if you don't wanna be my friend, I…I deserve it." She said while sobbing until she actually began to cry.
Ralph embraced her in his arms again. "Hey, there, there. Kid, I would never think that. How'd you think I could ever be so cruel to break our friendship? Now way. I love you too much to do that."
Vanellope looked at him with wide eyes. "R-Really?" he nodded with a small smile. "But…but I destroyed Slaughter Race with my glitch, no one will ever want me there. Shank would probably start to hate me. Maybe…maybe King Candy was right about me, I'm only meant to destroy whatever game I put my hands in."
"Hey, it's nothing like that. It's okay, kid. It's not too late to fix the mistake, we got the steering wheel, so you still got Sugar Rush, your old home." Vanellope wiped her tears and nodded.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. I should probably never come back to Slaughter Race again." She sighed and turned back, hanging her head down. "Let's get back to the arcade."
Ralph sighed, he hated keeping it a secret, but he could not just tell Vanellope, he doesn't know what she might do. Well, at least he got to take her back to the arcade. 'I'll tell her later.' He thought to himself before following her, not knowing that the virus had escaped through the hole he had made.
Wednesday morning…
"Delivery, Mr. Litwak." The postman knocked, Litwak opened the door. "You have a parcel from Ebay, sir."
"Huh, did I order something?" Mr. Litwak murmured as he took the parcel. When he opened it, his eyes widened. It was a steering wheel for Sugar Rush, the same one he saw on Ebay. "But…how?" He murmured, who ordered this steering wheel? He turned to look at the Sugar Rush game and then looked back at the steering wheel. Maybe someone from the arcade who really liked Sugar Rush ordered it for him.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
"Hey, plug-in alert! I think the Steering Wheel is here!" Ralph exclaimed as the Sugar Rush characters gathered. The beeping stopped and showed the title 'SUGAR RUSH'. Everyone cheered and jumped with excitement.
"Sugar Rush is back!" the racers cheered. Felix and Calhoun shared a look and smiled.
"Well, Ralph, congratulations. You did-" Felix stopped as he turned to see Ralph not there. "Ralph?"
"Vanellope! Kid!" Ralph rushed to his stump, where Vanellope was walking back and forth, lost in thoughts. "VANELLOPE!"
Vanellope glitched in surprise. "Ralph! Quit doing that, you gave me a code attack!"
"You won't believe it, kid! The steering wheel is here! Sugar Rush is saved!" Ralph said while panting with exhaustion.
Vanellope nodded and put her hands in her pockets. "Yeah, of course it's here. I mean, we paid for it obviously."
"Aren't you excited? Your home is back, kid."
"Why would I be excited when the place I felt like home is ruined cuz' of me?" she asked with pain in her voice. Ralph raised his eyebrows.
"But…aren't you happy for Sugar Rush?"
"Of course I'm happy for it, I'm just not freaking out about it." She gave him a look and started walking away. "Now if you excuse me, I should probably go for the Roster Race." With she left.
Ralph couldn't bear the pain he felt in her voice. What's the point of having her back if she's not happy about it anymore? She just kept blaming herself for something she hadn't done. Maybe he should just tell her, but what if she didn't want to be his friend then? Ralph shook his head. No, she is cursing herself for nothing because of him, he couldn't see her like this. What's the point of such friendship?
No, he can't let her hate herself. "I'll tell her tonight." He sighed and walked back.
"Good race today, Rancis." Taffyta appreciated with a smile.
"Yeah, you too, Taffyta. We'll try to win next time." Rancis replied.
"Losing builds character! We love you, our Honeypies!" Felix cheered while jumping in 8-bit style.
"You learn only when you lose, which means everyone is a winner!" Calhoun added, giving a flying kiss to the kids.
"We love you, mom and dad!" Taffyta shouted back. Vanellope rolled her eyes at the goofy adults and kids who had kept on yelling during the whole race. She put her hands in her pockets and started walking away. "Hey, Vanellope, congratulations on your victory." Taffyta said.
Vanellope looked at her, a bit surprised at her sudden change of attitude. "Um…yeah, thanks. You did well too."
"Hey, Van, we're celebrating Sugar Rush's re-plugging tonight. You wanna join us?" Rancis offered.
"No, thanks. I would like be alone for a moment." Vanellope replied before walking away to the exit.
"…And that's the thing, Tapper." Ralph finished his story as well as another glass of Root Beer. "I don't know what to do, she's literally blaming herself for nothing. I can't see her like this, but I can't even tell her."
Tapper hummed as he cleaned a cup. "Hmm…look, I understand, Ralph. But you can't keep it a secret forever, can you?"
Ralph sighed. "No. But she'll get mad at me."
"You're the one who started this, Ralph. Now you gotta tell her before it's too late. Make her understand the true reason why you did all that, she's your friend, she'll understand. You need to trust her." Tapper advised. Ralph looked down at his cup.
"Hey Tapper! I need a Root Beer!" A person yelled. Tapper turned to look at Ralph.
"Look, I'm not telling you what to do. The choice is yours; either risk it and tell her the truth or let her blame herself for this for the rest of her life." Tapper said before walking away to do his job.
Ralph sighed and looked down at his cookie medal and clutched it in his hands.
Vanellope sat on roof of the Niceland apartment, hugging her knees. She heard someone coming upstairs; judging by the heavy footsteps, she knew who it was.
"Aren't you celebrating Sugar Rush's re-plugging with everyone, Ralph?" she asked as Ralph took a seat next to her.
"I'm not celebrating it without you, kid. We did it together." He replied.
"No, Ralph. Not we, you did it. You made those videos to earn the money, I just ruined everything."
"Oh, come on, kid, you didn't. You're just overthinking it."
"No, Ralph, I think Turbo was right all along. Now I know what I really am; I'm just a glitch that is programmed for nothing but infecting everything with her defect. A glitch that was never supposed to exist." She buried her face in her hands, sobbing. Ralph put a finger on her shoulder, telling her to stop crying. "No, Ralph, you did everything for me and I lied to you." She wiped her eyes and glitched to her feet. "I think we should just stop hanging out together. I don't deserve your friendship and loyalty."
Ralph closed his eyes, he couldn't take this anymore. "No, kid. I'm the one who lied to you all along. I never meant for this to happen, at least I didn't expect it to get this bad."
Vanellope stopped and turned back to him. "What do you mean? You didn't mean for what to happen? What are you talking about?"
Ralph gulped. "I might've…kinda…sorta…put a harmless…little virus in Slaughter Race so it slows down and you come back with me." He confessed. Vanellope's eyes widened as she glitched with shock.
"V-Virus? You did this?"
"Yeah, when I heard you telling Shank that you wanted to live there forever-"
"Wait, you knew it all along?" She asked with disbelief, glitching. "You mean you were spying on me?!"
"Hey, you're not completely innocent here! You wanted to abandon Sugar Rush and ditch everyone, what was I supposed to do?!" Ralph defended, getting to his feet.
"Oh, please, I'm one of 16 racers, it wouldn't make a difference!"
"That game was too dangerous for you, kid! You could have gotten hurt!" Ralph argued.
"Oh, yeah. You almost killed me with that harmless little virus of yours!" Vanellope argued back. "All this time I was blaming myself for everything and was thinking I didn't deserve your friendship while it was you who did all this!"
"Nothing of this would've happened if you'd just told me everything! I was afraid I'll lose you!"
"You're a liar, don't wanna be with you!" she yelled and turned back to leave.
"Wait, where are you going, kid?"
"What do you think? I don't know what Shank might be thinking about me! She needs to know everything."
Ralph growled with anger and grabbed her by the hoodie as she glitched and struggled to get free. "Even after everything that happen, still all you care about is what Shank might think about you?! She's the reason of everything that happened!"
"Hello, she didn't do anything, genius! It all happened because of your own stupidity!" Vanellope shouted back, struggling to get free. "Now let go of me!"
"No, you're not going back there! I'm not letting you put yourself in danger again!" he tried to get a hold on her while she kept struggling to escape.
"Stop it! Let go of me right now, Ralph!"
"No!" her furious glitchy movements accidently ripped off the cookie medal off Ralph's neck, causing Ralph to suddenly let go of her. She landed on her feet and stepped back, expecting Ralph to try and catch her again but instead he stood there with shock. Vanellope looked down and gasped, she noticed that she had stepped on the cookie medal and caused it to break in half. "No…" Ralph picked it up, staring at it with tears in his eyes. Vanellope realized what she'd done.
"I…I didn't mean to…" Vanellope mumbled as she stumbled back with tears in her eyes, she kept on glitching uncontrollably before running off, sobbing. Ralph kept looking at the broken cookie before closing his eyes. He should've never started it. Then he realized that Vanellope had ran off; worried about what she might do, he ran off searching for her.
Vanellope kept running, sobbing and glitching uncontrollably until she bumped into someone. "Uh…" She groaned and looked to see that she had fallen on Q*bert.
" #?!" Q*bert said in gibberish.
"S-Sorry, Q*bert. I…I gotta go." She said in a creaky voice before running to the Wi-Fi router. Surge Protector appeared and blocked her way.
"Woah, hold on. You're not accessing the Internet again, miss." He said in a stern voice.
"Please, I need to go! It's urgent!"
"No means no, kid. One tour isn't enough for you?" he asked. Vanellope thought for a moment and groaned before she disappeared into pixels, surprising the Surge. "Woah, where did she go?" Vanellope glitched inside the socket and rushed into the router before Surge Protector could follow her.
Ralph rushed to Q*bert. "Hey, Q*bert! Buddy, have you seen Vanellope?!"
Q*bert looked at the Wi-Fi socket and murmured. " #$?!"
Ralph looked at the socket and breathed out. "Looks like we're not finished yet, Internet."
A/N: Okay, I changed their 'Breakup' scene a bit to make it look like Vanellope didn't mean to break the medal, instead it broke by mistake. Instead of their friendship, this story will mostly focus on her insecurity and how glitching isn't the only insecurity she has.
This is my first WIR fic I've posted, I haven't really decided if I'll make a next chapter or not, tell me in the reviews if I should. But if I do, it'll take time. Thanks!