Note: Ohgosh, first time writing fic for this and first time I'm trying a chapter fic for something this far outside my comfort zone. I really, really hope that it works and that I've managed to even remotely capture my feelings for this movie in my words here. To all of you reading- I hope you enjoy! And hopefully, I'll have the second chapter finished soon. I work retail and it's Christmas season, so I don't have a specific date- but I am working on it :)

Restart

It was quiet in the cruiser as they flew out of Sugar Rush and back into Game Central Station, all of their thoughts resounding with all that they'd just been through. Finally, as she expertly brought the craft to land right outside the portal to their game, Sergeant Calhoun spoke up.

"All right men, here's your drop-off point. "

Felix and Ralph both began to step out, figuring that's all they'd get from her. But she stopped them.

"Wreck-it," she hollered after the large man as he exited. He turned to face her and was surprised to see her hand held up to her forehead in a salute. "You're a good man, soldier. Don't forget it."

A lopsided grin surfaced on his face. "Thanks. Don't think I will, but it means a lot coming from you."

"As it should," she replied firmly, knowing she never gave out compliments easily. "Now get your butt back in your game before they have to issue an evac on your unit, got that?"

Ralph saluted back; feeling like after all he'd been through, perhaps surviving a bit longer in Hero's Duty wouldn't be so hard now.

"Yes Sergeant."

Felix moved to follow, knowing that after Ralph wrecked the building it would be his cue to enter. But at the same time, his feet weren't as steady as they could be and they hadn't been since the sergeant had entered his life.

"Fix-It, hold up a minute." She put the brakes on the cruiser, bringing it slamming to the Game Central Station floor.

He paused, nervously removing his hat and turning to face her. "Yes, ma'am?"

She stepped out of the cruiser, all long legs and armor, as she moved smoothly over to where Felix stood.

"That is Tamora to you now, Fix-It. And you are to pick me up at closing time so we can go out for drinks. Copy that?"

He blushed, running a hand back through his hair. "Oh. Well gee ma'am- I mean, of course, I…thank you. Thank you for everything. "

She shook her head and sighed, crouching down to his level. "No, thank you. I suppose they don't call you Fix-It for nothing," she remarked, prying the hat from his hands and settling it down on his head. She flicked the brim up so she could see his eyes.

"I try, ma'am."

"Tamora," she reminded. "And I'll try not to shoot at you this time."

Felix smiled. "That would be much appreciated." He paused then, as if bringing himself to say it was a great effort. Finally he managed it amidst rosy cheeks and a sappy smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Tamora."

"Fix-it, Felix!" The voices echoed from inside the game.

"I've gotta go, Ta-"

She silenced him with a quick kiss and then stood and gave him a salute. "See you later, Fix-It."

The bounce was back in his step now, perhaps more than ever. "Yes ma'am. Tamora. …oh heavens, I've gotta go."

And as he raced into his game, his voice echoing down the cord with a cheerful tone as he uttered his line, Sergeant Calhoun quirked a smile.

Positively disgustingly adorable. I'm gonna make myself vomit from warm fuzzies, Fix-It.

She turned, seeing the Surge Protector eyeing her craft and snapped at him. "Leave it blue boy, I'll get it later. I've got business to attend to that's far more important than you wanting to practice your cursive writing for a parking ticket, got that?"

He paused, and slowly lowered his notepad. Calhoun grinned, walked over and pulled out her gun from the cruiser. "Good. Just keep an eye on it and don't let those brats from Sugar Rush take it for a joy ride."

As she turned towards her game, she could see several of her soldiers waiting near the entrance. She cocked an eyebrow.

Well, well, looks like they miss me after all, she thought to herself as she switched her space helmet on.

"All right girls, get your dresses on and let's get going. We have a date with some cybugs for breakfast."

Ralph really wasn't sure what to expect the next morning. It's not like he'd won any favor from the Nicelanders for leaving and almost getting them unplugged. And well, all the good stuff he'd done the night before, only Felix even saw some of it. He sighed as he climbed the building the first time and began his job wrecking; afraid that even after all that had happened, things were apt to go right back to normal.

But around noon, when the arcade died down a bit, he heard a voice calling out to where he was sitting atop the building while the last GAME OVER screen faded away.

"Ralph? Are you hungry?"

It was Mary. The person whose cake he'd ruined. He raised an eyebrow, but made sure not to get his hopes up. It was probably just some burnt leftovers.

"Yeah, a bit. Didn't exactly have time to grab breakfast," he replied casually.

"Wait right up there, I'll be up in a minute," she called from her window. "Felix, you'd best get up here too!"

Ah, there they go, making sure Felix is on standby when I mess things up. Same old, same old.

As he sat waiting atop the building, he glanced out at the arcade. The kids had mostly dispersed to go grab some lunch, but his eyes lingered on the Sugar Rush console. There was still a crowd gathered around that had been there most of the morning when the racers of the day revealed a new racer unlock they'd never seen before. And sure enough, there she was racing down the track with a smug smile on her little face.

Ralph felt himself smiling despite his own situation. Hey, if the kid was happy, that's all that mattered. She'd been through much more than he had and if she was good, he'd find a way to manage going back to the same life.

"Ralph, I hope you don't mind vanilla," Mary said, coming up on the rooftop with Felix at her heels.

Ralph blinked. There in her hand was a small vanilla cake with a little sculpture of him and…a cricket?

"Uh, not to be rude but is that bug supposed to be on the cake or is just snacking on it so it feels more like homecooked dump-food for me?"

Mary gave a tense smile. "It's a…oh, what were they called Felix?"

"A cybug, ma'am. Sorry, I didn't really have time to describe them all that well through the window during that last level, Ralph. No harm intended," he added, giving them a million-watt smile.

Ralph looked skeptical. "So a cake, huh? Bug cake?"

Felix seemed to sense something was off and stepped forward, "Ralph, I know it's just a small token and it won't seem like much in terms of missed gratitude built up over thirty years, but…Well, look at that little guy. She whipped it up between level one and eight!"

And for the first time, Ralph really looked closely at the small figures atop the cake. His figure was smiling, and although the arms were held up above it, it was more in victory over the cricket-cybug than in wrecking. Written across the bottom in red frosting it read, "Arcade's Hero, our man Ralph!"

He cracked a tentative smile. "Vanilla huh? Well, I've never had cake but I like vanilla flavoring at Tappers so, it sounds good."

Mary's smile eased. "Well, it's all yours Ralph. We haven't heard exactly how everything happened, but Felix told us you saved the entire arcade. It sure sounds like a big adventure."

Ralph laughed, partially because he couldn't believe someone had actually made him a cake and partially because saying it was a 'big adventure' really didn't quite capture the whole ordeal.

"Yeah, it's a doozy. I'll tell ya," he said gently reaching out to take the cake from her. If being in Sugar Rush last night had giving him one good life skill it was that he was a little less apt to completely destroy sugary works of art now. He took a small bite and sighed. It was bliss, soft and moist and just the right amount of frosting to make it taste amazing without being too sweet.

"Wow. This is great, Mary. Thanks."

"Good," she said, clasping her hands together.

"Ralph, I do have one favor to ask of you…" Felix began and Ralph warily lowered his fork. Ah, so they were just buttering him up to spring something on him.

"Well, you see, as much as I'm certain everyone here has heard something here or there about last night- even I don't know how it all went down. So, in between gamers today, would you kindly fill us in, brother?"

And maybe it was the genuine interest in his tone, not just that niceness that Felix couldn't help but have, or the way Felix placed a hand on his wrist when he said it- but Ralph felt that for once, someone finally cared in his game. Someone wanted to know about his day and how he felt. It was no longer about the pies and the code-generated medals or who was on top of the building at the end of the game. It was just him and Felix, his comrade- no friend- no, perhaps the term brother fit it better. They might compete but well, they wouldn't be anywhere without one another quite literally. Two guys out of the same code.

"Sure," he replied giving Felix the lightest pat on the shoulder he could manage (he had to use a single finger to make sure he didn't hurt the little guy). "If you really want to hear it, that is."

Now, not just Felix, but several other voices from the Nicelanders who were obviously eavesdropping piped in. It was a chorus of "Of course!" and "Yes!" and "Oh certainly!"

Ralph smiled; a sincere joy in his heart. "But first, I'm going to finish my cake."

For the first time, the chorus of laughter in Niceland was a welcome sound as it echoed in Ralph's ears.

As much as the sergeant was thankful for skilled gamers, they came with their own set of problems. Sharp eyes, quick trigger finger and the ability to not get themselves killed in the first twenty levels meant that they were doing great, but it also meant they'd begun to access the unlocks.

Certain collected objects, certain levels being reached without losing too much health and the gamer was rewarded with extra cutscenes. Cutscenes that told them about the scientists that created the cybugs, how one brave idiot who helped create them stayed behind when things went wrong, and how that same man found himself meeting Sergeant Calhoun of the space marines.

The first player to access these was on the second day of being plugged in, and after that, her soldiers knew why she was so intense. She'd lectured them for hours after the arcade closed about cybug safety and how there is no such thing as too many perimeter checks.

She'd deny it later, but she also threatened to feed any of them who thought her relationship with Brad made her weak to the first cybug she found. Thankfully, for their sake, it just endeared them to her even more. Markowski, the poor guy, had even murmured a quiet "that just makes you stronger" amidst the ranks, which everyone thought the sergeant hadn't heard.

She had. That little statement from one marine had been nagging her ever since. And after the fiasco the night before, having a player hit two unlocks the next day didn't exactly sit well on her stomach.

"All right, ya babies. We made it to level forty five, but don't break your arms giving yourselves a pat on the back. They will be back tomorrow, they will be out for more and they will be shooting for a higher score. This means no whining, no complaining and most of all," her eyes turned to Markowski, "no turning up in the morning drunk and not in uniform, copy that?"

"Yes, Sergeant!" The soldiers replied. Markowski had the dignity to at least look guilty, she supposed.

"Now for any of you pussywillows that aren't completely worn out by a little days work, I need extra perimeter guards for all of Game Central Station. I'm sure some of you heard, but there was an incident last night and it almost cost Sugar Rush dearly. It will not happen again, correct?"

"Yes, Sergeant!"

"Markowski, go pack a cruiser with at least one of everything that will fit. You five that look about to fall asleep on your pathetic faces, you've got one hour before I expect you on duty in the station. Do not be late even one second." The five, who had been snickering at Markowski's task all hushed up immediately. "You, perimeter check the northeast quarter, you- the northwest. You two lovebirds whispering over there can cover the entire south and west quarters and you three the east. If you have been assigned a task previously, stick to it or else. Kohut, with me and you other ladies can go powder your noses and go have fun. Congratulations on not being entirely inadequate today. Unit, dismissed!"

As they filed off down different corridors of their spacebattleship, Calhoun tossed aside her helmet to the first soldier stupid enough to stare at her too long and Kohut just shook his head as she smirked when she heard the idiot drop it.

Kohut was the closest thing she had to a corporal, even if the game didn't award him the title; he was also the closest person she had to a friend and confidant, even if she didn't dare call him either because it might go to his head.

Maybe it was in her code, but she trusted Kohut with more than anyone else in her game. He had been there when she'd first arrived on the planet, helped her fight through the hordes of cybugs as they got the civilians out and, as both their programmed memories constantly reminded them, they were side by side when they'd first met Dr. Brad Scott.

"So how'd things go last night?" Kohut asked as they got away from the throng of soldiers.

"Sugar Rush was almost a candy-themed snackbar for a cybug horde that would make level hundred look like a cake-walk, some whack-job was playing puppeteer with the game's programming and had turned their ruler into a glitch who would die if the game got unplugged, and it all had to put into evac because it was about to be game over until Mr. Wreck-It went and set off a volcano to beacon-fry the bugs out of the sky."

"So," Kohut asked with a smirk, "could have been worse?"

"Much worse," she replied darkly.

"Any losses?"

"False king merged with a cybug and bought the big one when the sky got lit up. So no, no losses."

He smiled at that. "Now that, I am glad to hear." They took a corner into an empty corridor and Kohut shot her a look. "So, I take it the little guy held up better than he looked?"

"Don't give me that look, Kohut."

"What?"

"Because if you're doing that, I might as well just rip my heart out and serve it on a shiny platter to the next cybug I see to save myself the trouble."

"Sarge."

"I let my guard down once. Once," she emphasized with a fist to the wall, a metallic echo following after. "I have to live with that guilt forever. So tell me why would I be such a fool to do it again?"

"Tammy."

The use of her name, a nickname only Brad and Kohut ever were allowed to use, brought her back into the moment. Her eyes flickered around back to her comrade.

"I hate to be a smartass."

"You always are," she quipped back.

"But this amazing woman once told me that if I saw love as a weakness that I was supposed to line up as cybug chow. Now, I have to ask, are you volunteering?"

Her shoulders eased at that and a small smirk quirked on her lips. "Well played, soldier."

"No problem, Sarge. We respect you something fierce, I'll have you know. Markowski especially. He's scared of his own shadow and yet, after all you've been through, you're still standing tall. It's one thing to take a hit and keep going, but you're something else when it comes to that."

She raised an eyebrow at that. Markowski's comment had nagged her because she couldn't comprehend it fully, seeing it more as a "love has turned you into a scary mess" than the true compliment it was.

"You've lived, loved and lost and came out stronger from it all. Maybe it's time to give living a second chance, Tammy."

Calhoun moved to walk past him, punching him in the arm as she went. "You know I hate it when you're right."

"I'll try not to be in the future, if that helps," Kohut replied, turning to follow her down the corridor.

"Smartass."

"That, on the other hand, I can't help."

"I copy that loud and clear. Now you've earned yourself some R and R. Tell Markowski to get his butt out here and to meet me at Sugar Rush. I think I have a special job for him."

"Gotcha. Markowski to SR, me to Tappers and what about you? You going to be okay the rest of the night?"

She gave him a smile. "If all goes well, it looks like I have a date."

Kohut grinned, wrapping his large arm around her to give her a one-armed hug. He then stepped back and saluted. "Good luck, Sergeant."

She lightly punched his shoulder. "That, I hopefully don't need."

to be continued...